No, we were one of the best teams. The outcomes in the playoffs weren't what we wanted, and there are always things to work on to extract that one more goal or save that you need in the worst situations, but we performed a lot better than people give them credit for. A lot of people can't look beyond the black and white of round number and series outcome. I don't get that mindset.
Panthers was 5 games, but I wouldn't call a bunch of 1 goal games and OTs going out with a whimper, especially considering that we actually played quite well and lost going up against one of the best goaltending performances of the modern era with our backup. Carolina basically went through the same thing right after us and actually got swept, and their coach (one of the best NHL players of all time) was still talking about what a close 50/50 battle it was. Hockey people don't think like this board.
Losing to Montreal sucked, but we didn't go out with a whimper there either. 7 game series with a bunch of OTs, despite losing a 1C, a top pairing defenseman, and having two top line players and our big deadline addition playing injured. Both Winnipeg and Vegas lost worse. The Canadian division was our division, and we won it. And the only reason we didn't win it the other two years is because we were in a division with a team putting up the 1st and 8th highest point totals in NHL history. Nobody is striving for the same playoff outcomes. We're striving for that quality of team, and if somehow possible, beyond, to give us the best chance possible of winning a cup.