The general manager of the Vancouver Canucks wasn鈥檛 happy Thursday afternoon.

Patrik Allvin wanted to be watching his players prepare for another playoff game. Instead he was conducting exit interviews and speaking to reporters about the season that was.

鈥淚鈥檓 not happy sitting here to be sitting here today. Definitely not satisfied,鈥� Allvin said. 鈥淲e lost our last game and it was only in round two.鈥�

Few expected the Canucks to be a playoff team when the NHL season began.

Vancouver surprised many, spending much of the campaign around the top of the league standings and finishing the regular season first in the Pacific Division with a 50-23-9 record. The club made the playoffs for the first time since playing in the bubble at the end of the COVID-condensed 2020 season, and Vancouver hosted post-season games for the first time since 2015.

The playoffs saw the Canucks down the Nashville Predators in a six-game first-round series before being ousted by the Edmonton Oilers in a seven-game second-round matchup that ended with a 3-2 loss at home Monday.

鈥淚 think we got better. But that being said, we鈥檙e not satisfied at all,鈥� Allvin said of the season. 鈥淵ou don鈥檛 know how many chances you鈥檙e going to have to play in Game 7.鈥�

Brock Boeser detailed Thursday the blood clotting issue that forced him to sit out that decisive game.

The right-winger said he was hit in the leg with a puck in Game 1 of the second-round series, causing a bruise. About a week later, he started experiencing pain in his calf and a scan revealed he had a blood clot in a small vein, but doctors determined he could still play.

Another scan after Game 6 changed everything.

鈥淚t showed there was more clotting that moved into my deep vein,鈥� Boeser said. 鈥淚 wasn鈥檛 expecting that going into that. I didn鈥檛 really understand, I think. (Monday) was an emotional morning for me.

鈥淭o get told that news after you鈥檙e giving all your energy to your teammates and the playoffs, and you鈥檙e really striving and pushing for that ultimate goal. To get that kind of swept out from under you, to not be out there in Game 7 with these guys, it hurt.鈥�

Boeser was Vancouver鈥檚 leading scorer through the regular season, putting up a career-high 40 goals. He added another seven goals and five assists in 12 playoff appearances.

He admitted to thinking about how he could have helped his team in Game 7.

鈥淚鈥檓 crushed. I wish I could have been out there with the guys,鈥� Boeser said. 鈥淥bviously a one-goal game, of course I鈥檓 sitting there saying 鈥業 could have scored in this game.鈥� You never know what could have happened if I鈥檇 been out there.

鈥淚 would have done anything to be out there. I asked if I could play and tried to push them. But the risks were too big. And I had to protect my future. You don鈥檛 want health issues moving forward.鈥�

Boeser wasn鈥檛 the only Canuck playing hurt.

Elias Pettersson revealed Thursday that he had been playing with a knee injury since January that impacted his performance.

The star centre had 34 goals and 55 assists in the regular season, but struggled in the playoffs, putting up just one goal and five assists in 13 appearances.

鈥淚t鈥檚 been a nagging injury, so the longer it went, the more pain I felt,鈥� the 25-year-old forward said.

The injury won鈥檛 require surgery, but it will need time to heal, Pettersson said.

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After going down with a lower-body injury in Game 1 of the first round, all-star goalie Thatcher Demko worked hard to get back to help Vancouver鈥檚 playoff run. Ultimately, he didn鈥檛 make it and will have to wait until next season to play another game.

鈥淧robably the hardest thing I鈥檝e had to go through as a player not being able to play,鈥� Demko said, adding that he was 鈥渃lose鈥� to coming back and likely would have been available for the next round had the Canucks advanced.

鈥淥bviously we鈥檝e been through some tough years here and finally get the opportunity and it鈥檚 always tough watching.鈥�

Getting to the playoffs will 鈥減ut a hunger鈥� in the stomachs of many Canucks players, said forward J.T. Miller.

鈥淎t the end of the day we have a really good hockey team and we have a lot of good qualities and these opportunities just don鈥檛 come around very often,鈥� said Miller, who had a career-high 103 points during the regular season.

The real test will come next year, he added.

鈥淭hat is going to be a challenge, not taking it for granted and raising the bar again,鈥� Miller said. 鈥淏ecause we can feel good about what we did this year but at the end of the day we still lost. And for me, it makes me want to work even harder knowing that we鈥檙e a goal or two away from Final Four.鈥�

For Allvin and his front office staff, there鈥檚 a lot of work to be done between now and next season.

The Canucks have nine players who will become unrestricted free agents this summer, including trade deadline acquisition Elias Lindholm, bruising defenceman Nikita Zadorov and big winger Dakota Joshua. Offensive defenceman Filip Hronek and goalie Arturs Silovs 鈥� who became a playoff sensation 鈥� will be restricted free agents.

Many players have expressed an interest in staying with the Canucks, Allvin said, but whether there鈥檚 a deal to be made will depend on dollar figures.

鈥淲e all know we have a salary cap so we want to be a competitive team moving forward,鈥� the general manager said. 鈥淪o it鈥檚 only so much I can pay certain individuals. And hopefully we can find ways to keep a lot of players because I do think that a lot of them have a chance, with the coaches here, take their game to the next level.鈥�

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Gemma Karstens-Smith, The Canadian Press