Vancouver Canucks

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Vancouver Canucks
Conference	Western
Division	Northwest
Founded	1970
History	Vancouver Canucks 1945-1952 (PCHL) 1952-1970 (WHL) 1970-71-present (NHL)
Arena	GM Place
City	Vancouver, British Columbia
Local Media Affiliates	Rogers Sportsnet Pacific Team 1040 (1040 AM)
Team Colours	Midnight Blue, Standard Blue, Red, and Silver
Owner	Aquilini Investment Group Inc.
General Manager	Dave Nonis
Head Coach	Alain Vigneault
Captain	Markus Näslund
Minor League Affiliates	Manitoba Moose (AHL) Victoria Salmon Kings (ECHL)
Stanley Cups	none
Conference Championships	1981-82, 1993-94
Division Championships	1974-75, 1991-92, 1992-93, 2003-04

The Vancouver Canucks are a professional National Hockey League (NHL) ice hockey team based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Contents 1 Franchise history 1.1 Ownership 1.2 Logos and Jerseys 2 Season-by-season record 3 Notable players 3.1 Current roster 3.2 Team captains 3.3 Hall of Famers 3.4 Retired numbers 3.5 First-round draft picks 3.6 Franchise scoring leaders 4 NHL awards and trophies 5 Franchise individual records 6 Media 7 References 8 See also 9 External links

Franchise history

In 1945 the Pacific Coast Hockey League established an ice hockey franchise in the city of Vancouver. Known as the Canucks, they immediately enjoyed success by winning PCHL championships in their first (1946) and third (1948) year of existence. In 1952, the PCHL merged with the Western Canada Senior Hockey League to form the professional Western Hockey League. With numerous star players coming through the ranks like Johnny Bower, Andy Bathgate, Tony Esposito, Allan Stanley, and Phil Maloney, the Canucks would again win the President's/Lester Patrick Cup in 1958, 1960, 1969, and 1970. The team played at the Vancouver Forum.

In 1965, when the NHL announced plans to expand to six additional markets, the owner of the WHL's Canucks (and former Vancouver mayor), Fred Hume, announced that the city of Vancouver would apply. However, the presentation to the NHL's Board of Governors was sloppily prepared. Because of this, and the fact that the Vancouver ownership group was disliked by Detroit Red Wings owner Bruce Norris and Toronto Maple Leafs co-owner Stafford Smythe (who hated Vancouver in general because of a failed arena plan), the application did not succeed. Nevertheless, the Pacific Coliseum, which was to be the first home for a prospective Vancouver NHL team, was built on the grounds of the Pacific National Exhibition (PNE).

In 1970, another Vancouver ownership group bought the Canucks and, after much negotiating, joined the NHL for the price of $6 million ($4 million more than it would have cost in 1967).

First NHL Captain: Orland Kurtenbach

First NHL Game: October 9, 1970 vs. Los Angeles Kings

First NHL Victory: October 11, 1970 5-3 vs. Toronto Maple Leafs

First NHL Goal Scored: Barry Wilkins vs. Kings

The Canucks were 1975 Smythe Division champions, but were generally mediocre for the first decade of their NHL existence, missing the playoffs 8 times in their first 10 years. After a decent regular season, the Canucks became the Cinderella story of the 1982 playoffs and made it all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time in franchise history. However, they were promptly swept 4 games to none by the heavily favoured New York Islanders. Mike Bossy, who had scored the magical 50 goals in 50 games mark during the previous year, put away the goal that allowed the Islanders to "three-peat".

See also: Towel Power

After their improbable Stanley Cup run, the Canucks slipped back into mediocrity for the rest of the 1980s. Later on, under the guidance of new general manager Pat Quinn, the Canucks rose to prominence in the early 1990s. Led by players such as Trevor Linden, Kirk McLean, and Pavel Bure, the Canucks won two consecutive division titles in 1992 and 1993.

In 1994 the Canucks made their second trip to the finals, entering that year's playoffs as the seventh seed in the Western Conference. The club had what could be characterized as an off-year during the regular season, but resumed their form during the playoffs, beating the rival Calgary Flames in the first round in an incredible seven-game series. They won games five, six, and seven in overtime; Pavel Bure (nicknamed the "Russian Rocket") scored the Game Seven winner on a breakaway, which many consider the biggest goal in franchise history. They went on to defeat the Dallas Stars and Toronto Maple Leafs before meeting the New York Rangers in the Finals. Vancouver won Game 1 3-2 in OT because of goaltender McLean's 52-save performance. The Canucks lost Game Seven in the finals by an identical score of 3-2. Craig MacTavish, who would later coach Vancouver's rival Edmonton Oilers to the 2006 Stanley Cup Final against the Carolina Hurricanes, won the last faceoff with 1.6 seconds remaining in game seven to clinch the Cup for the Rangers. The Canucks' failure was followed by a major riot by disappointed hockey fans in downtown Vancouver, many of whom had been drinking heavily.

After the Canucks' incredible 1994 run, Vancouver continued to be a force for the next two seasons, acquiring Alexander Mogilny and Markus Näslund via trade, from the Buffalo Sabres and Pittsburgh Penguins, respectively, to further improve their offence. In the 1997 off-season, the Canucks made a big splash and signed Mark Messier from the Rangers to a lucrative five-year deal. Fans in Van-City were hopeful that the legendary "Greatest Leader in NHL History" (Messier had also captained the Oilers to the 1990 Cup) would lead their team to the Promised Land, but it wasn't to be, as "Moose" Messier and the Canucks never got a hint of post-season action together. He rejoined the Rangers as a free agent in 2000.

With a new general manager, Brian Burke, and coach Marc Crawford (who'd won a Stanley Cup with the 1996 Colorado Avalanche), Vancouver rebuilt their team and returned to the playoffs in 2000-01. This season started in Sweden, when the team held their training camp in Stockholm, and participated against Swedish and Finnish teams in the NHL Challenge. Led by forwards Näslund and Todd Bertuzzi, defenceman Ed Jovanovski and goaltender Dan Cloutier, the Canucks would achieve some success in the next few years. However, since 1994, the Canucks have not yet achieved significant playoff success, failing to achieve victory in the second round.

It was Brian Burke who coined the phrase "Goalie Graveyard," when referring to the Canucks' long-standing history of having troubles between the pipes. As it turned out, Vancouver became Burke's own graveyard. Before the lockout of 2004-05, Burke did not have his NHL GM contract renewed by the Canucks, a move that many Vancouver fans regarded as a poor decision, and was replaced by Dave Nonis, who had been assistant GM. Free agent activity in the summer prior to the 2005-06 season saw players such as Anson Carter and Richard Park arrive in Vancouver. However, Nonis' moves were viewed by some to be rather meek compared to other NHL club GMs.

The 2005-06 season began with much promise, with some hockey analysts picking the Canucks as Stanley Cup favourites. However, the team failed to meet expectations and completed the regular season in a disappointing 9th place in their Conference — narrowly missing a playoff position to the Oil, which caused some discussion in regards to the effect of the "Loser Point" recently instituted by the NHL. The season was characterized by under-achieving play, most notably in the first line of Näslund, Bertuzzi, and Brendan Morrison, which was expected to produce higher point totals under the new league rules. Morrison had a career-high 84 penalty minutes. Meanwhile, his wingers, Bertuzzi and Näslund, had a combined -37 in Plus/Minus Rating. Vancouver's highest-scoring line was that of Carter and Daniel and Henrik Sedin.

On April 25, 2006, the Canucks fired Crawford. Alain Vigneault, who had just coached Vancouver's American Hockey League affiliate, the Manitoba Moose, to a 102-point season, was hired as his replacement on June 20, 2006. The Los Angeles Kings hired Crawford soon after Vancouver let him go. Net minder Dan Cloutier went to Hollywood too.

The re-building of the Canucks continued just three days after Vigneault's hiring, when Nonis completed a blockbuster trade with the Florida Panthers, trading Bertuzzi, Bryan Allen and Alex Auld for Roberto Luongo, Lukas Krajicek and a sixth-round draft pick (Sergei Shirokov) of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft. Florida fan favourite Luongo initially claimed to be "surprised and unhappy" with being traded. Luongo later signed a long-term 4-year, $27-million deal with the Canucks which includes a "non-trade Clause" after the first year, tying the Chicago Blackhawks' Nikolai Khabibulin as the highest paid goaltender in the National Hockey League and showing the Canucks' clear intention of making Luongo a franchise goalie.

On September 12, 2006, the Philadelphia Flyers offered restricted free agent Ryan Kesler a one-year, $1.9 million dollar contract, forcing the Canucks to either match the offer or lose the rights to Kesler. Kesler, the Canucks' first-round draft pick in 2003, scored 10 goals and had 13 assists in 82 games for the Canucks in 2005-06. The offer is considered high for a young player with relatively low-stats, and Bobby Clarke, the now ex-General Manager of the Flyers, has drawn criticism for the move. The Canucks matched the offer on September 14, 2006. The offer made by the Flyers was the first offer sheet extended to a restricted free agent in eight years, and the first following the 2004-05 NHL lockout.

Ownership

From 1988 to 1997, the Vancouver Canucks were owned by local businessman and philantropist Arthur Griffiths. However, he was forced to sell his majority interest in the Canucks after overextending his resources trying to build a new arena, GM Place. As a result, he sold his majority share to American billionaire John McCaw.

Francesco Aquilini, head of the Aquilini Investment Group in Vancouver, purchased a 50% share in the franchise and GM Place sports arena from John McCaw on November 17, 2004. However, in January 2005, Aquilini's former business partners, Tom Gagliardi and Ryan Beedie, filed a lawsuit against Aquilini and the OrcaBay Parenting Company, the group that currently owns the Canucks. Gagliardi and Beedie claimed that Aquilini and OrcaBay had acted in bad faith and went behind their backs when Aquilini and OrcaBay brokered their deal, despite Aquilini having had to pull out of his partnership with Gagliardi and Beedie to purchase the team due to financial concerns.

On Wednesday, November 8, 2006, Francesco Aquilini and the Aquilini Investment Group purchased the remaining 50% of the Vancouver Canucks and GM Place from McCaw. ^[1]

Logos and Jerseys

The team has gone through several different logo and sweater changes in its history. One of their first sweaters is now worn on the occasional "vintage night"; a blue rink-shaped rectangle with a hockey stick in it designed by Joe Borovich of North Vancouver. A version of this logo is still in use, as a shoulder patch on the team's current jerseys, with the modern team's colours.

In 1978, aiming for a more "aggressive" image, the team switched to one of its more controversial looks. The new sweaters consisted of a huge yellow, orange, and black striped "V" coming down from the shoulders which, depending on whom you ask, is usually considered to be either their best or (more commonly) worst sweater. This theme was abandoned in the mid-1980s to feature the team's emblem on the front rather than the "V" (the emblem had previously been worn only on the arms). The logo consisted of the word "Canucks" in a diagonal slant and is part of the blade of a skate. The logo, with its laser-like design, was sometimes referred to as the "Star Wars" logo, or, more commonly, the "Downward Skate". Eventually the yellow home jerseys were scrapped in 1989 in favour of more conventional white ones, and the triangular shoulder stripes which adorned the post-"V" jerseys were discarded at the same time. The new incarnation was worn from 1989-92, when a subtle change was made — and went largely unnoticed for the rest of the jersey's lifespan. The orange was switched to red, and the deep "gold" colour was changed to a much brighter yellow, reportedly because jersey-maker CCM no longer produced the required hues. Actor Martin Lawrence once wore this edition of the Vancouver jersey during an episode of his 1990s sitcom, Martin. In 2006 the Canucks officially abandoned their gradient red alternate jerseys and replaced them with the popular retro stick and rink blue uniforms from the 1970s.

Season-by-season record

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime Losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes

Records as of December 4, 2006. ^[2]

Season	GP	W	L	T	OTL	Pts	GF	GA	PIM	Finish	Playoffs
1970-71	78	24	46	8	—	56	229	296	1371	6th, East	Did not qualify
1971-72	78	20	50	8	—	48	203	297	1092	7th, East	Did not qualify
1972-73	78	22	47	9	—	53	233	339	943	7th, East	Did not qualify
1973-74	78	24	43	11	—	59	224	296	952	7th, East	Did not qualify
1974-75	80	38	32	10	—	86	271	254	965	1st, Smythe	Lost in Quarterfinals, 1-4 (Canadiens)
1975-76	80	33	32	15	—	81	271	272	1122	2nd, Smythe	Lost in Preliminary Round, 0-2 (Islanders)
1976-77	80	25	42	13	—	63	235	294	1078	4th, Smythe	Did not qualify
1977-78	80	20	43	17	—	57	239	320	962	3rd, Smythe	Did not qualify
1978-79	80	25	42	13	—	63	217	291	1134	2nd in Smythe	Lost in Preliminary Round, 1-2 (Flyers)
1979-80	80	27	37	16	—	70	256	281	1808	3rd, Smythe	Lost in Preliminary Round, 1-3 (Sabres)
1980-81	80	28	32	20	—	76	289	301	1892	2nd, Smythe	Lost in Preliminary Round, 0-3 (Sabres)
1981-82	80	30	33	17	—	77	290	286	1840	2nd, Smythe	Won in Division Semifinals, 3-0 (Flames) Won in Division Finals, 4-1 (Kings) Won in Conference Finals, 4-1 (Black Hawks) Lost in Finals, 0-4 (Islanders)
1982-83	80	30	35	15	—	75	303	309	1639	3rd, Smythe	Lost in Division Semifinals, 1-3 (Flames)
1983-84	80	32	39	9	—	73	306	328	1474	3rd, Smythe	Lost in Division Semifinals, 1-3 (Flames)
1984-85	80	25	46	9	—	59	284	401	1451	5th, Smythe	Did not qualify
1985-86	80	23	44	13	—	59	282	333	1813	4th, Smythe	Lost in Division Semifinals, 0-3 (Oilers)
1986-87	80	29	43	8	—	66	282	314	1917	5th, Smythe	Did not qualify
1987-88	80	25	46	9	—	59	272	320	2196	5th, Smythe	Did not qualify
1988-89	80	33	39	8	—	74	251	253	1569	4th, Smythe	Lost in Division Semifinals, 3-4 (Flames)
1989-90	80	25	41	14	—	64	245	306	1644	5th, Smythe	Did not qualify
1990-91	80	28	43	9	—	65	243	315	2063	4th, Smythe	Lost in Division Semifinals, 2-4 (Kings)
1991-92	80	42	26	12	—	96	285	250	2075	1st, Smythe	Won in Division Semifinals, 4-3 (Jets) Lost in Division Finals, 2-4 (Oilers)
1992-93	84	46	29	9	—	101	346	278	2326	1st, Smythe	Won in Division Semifinals, 4-2 (Jets) Lost in Division Finals, 2-4 (Kings)
1993-94	84	41	40	3	—	85	279	276	1923	2nd, Pacific	Won in Conference Quarterfinals, 4-3 (Flames) Won in Conference Semifinals, 4-1 (Stars) Won in Conference Finals, 4-1 (Maple Leafs) Lost in Finals, 3-4 (Rangers)
1994-951	48	18	18	12	—	48	153	148	1093	2nd, Pacific	Won in Conference Quarterfinals, 4-3 (Blues) Lost in Conference Semifinals, 0-4 (Blackhawks)
1995-96	82	32	35	15	—	79	278	278	1546	3rd, Pacific	Lost in Conference Quarterfinals, 2-4 (Avalanche)
1996-97	82	35	40	7	—	77	257	273	1607	4th, Pacific	Did not qualify
1997-98	82	25	43	14	—	64	224	273	2166	7th, Pacific	Did not qualify
1998-99	82	23	47	12	—	58	192	258	1764	4th, Northwest	Did not qualify
1999-00	82	30	29	15	8	83	227	237	1047	3rd, Northwest	Did not qualify
2000-01	82	36	28	11	7	90	239	238	1113	3rd, Northwest	Lost in Conference Quarterfinals, 0-4 (Avalanche)
2001-02	82	42	30	7	3	94	254	211	1342	2nd, Northwest	Lost in Conference Quarterfinals, 2-4 (Red Wings)
2002-03	82	45	23	13	1	104	264	208	1178	2nd, Northwest	Won in Conference Quarterfinals, 4-3 (Blues) Lost in Conference Semifinals, 3-4 (Wild)
2003-04	82	43	24	10	5	101	235	194	1274	1st, Northwest	Lost in Conference Quarterfinals, 3-4 (Flames)
2004-052	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2005-063	82	42	32	—	8	92	256	255	1531	4th, Northwest	Did not qualify
2006-07	31	15	15	—	1	27	59	73	361
Totals	2858	1103	1326	391	37	2633	9113	9992	52910	—	—

¹ Season was shortened due to the 1994-95 NHL lockout.

² Season was cancelled due to the 2004-05 NHL lockout.

³ As of the 2005-06 NHL season, all games will have a winner; the OTL column includes SOL (Shootout losses).

Notable players

Current roster

Updated December 7, 2006. [1]

Goaltenders
#		Player	Catches	Acquired	Place of Birth
1		Roberto Luongo	L	2006	Montreal, Quebec
35		Dany Sabourin	L	2006	Val-d'Or, Quebec

Defensemen
#		Player	Shoots	Acquired	Place of Birth
2		Mattias Öhlund	L	1994	Piteå, Sweden
3		Kevin Bieksa	R	2001	Grimsby, Ontario
5		Lukas Krajicek	L	2006	Prostějov, Czechoslovakia
6		Sami Salo	R	2002	Turku, Finland
8		Willie Mitchell	L	2006	Port McNeill, British Columbia
18		Rory Fitzpatrick (Injured)	R	2006	Rochester, New York
23		Alexander Edler	L	2006	Östersund, Sweden
29		Patrick Coulombe	R	2006	St-Fabien, Quebec

Forwards
#		Player	Position	Shoots	Acquired	Place of Birth
7		Brendan Morrison - A	C	L	2000	Pitt Meadows, British Columbia
9		Taylor Pyatt	LW	L	2006	Thunder Bay, Ontario
14		Alexandre Burrows	LW	L	2003	Pincourt, Quebec
16		Trevor Linden - A	RW	R	2001	Medicine Hat, Alberta
17		Ryan Kesler	C	R	2003	Livonia, Michigan
19		Markus Näslund - C	LW	L	1996	Örnsköldsvik, Sweden
22		Daniel Sedin	LW	L	1999	Örnsköldsvik, Sweden
24		Matt Cooke	LW	L	1997	Belleville, Ontario
25		Josh Green (IR)	LW	L	2005	Camrose, Alberta
26		Tommi Santala	RW	R	2005	Helsinki, Finland
32		Marc Chouinard	C	R	2006	Charlesbourg, Quebec
33		Henrik Sedin	C	L	1999	Örnsköldsvik, Sweden
38		Jan Bulis	C	L	2006	Pardubice, Czechoslovakia

Team captains

Hall of Famers

Players

• Andy Bathgate, C, 1952-54 & 1968-70 (WHL), inducted 1978

Builders

• Frank Griffiths, Owner, 1974-94, inducted 1993
• Jake Milford, General Manager, 1977-82, inducted 1984
• Roger Neilson, Assistant/Head coach, 1981-84, inducted 2002
• Bud Poile, General Manager, 1970-73, inducted 1990

Broadcasters

• Jim Robson, Radio, 1970-94, inducted 1992

Retired numbers

• 12 Stan Smyl, RW, 1978-91, number retired November 3, 1991
• 99 Wayne Gretzky, number retired league-wide February 6, 2000

Note: The number 11 of Wayne Maki (LW, 1970-73) was unofficially retired by the team following his untimely death in May 1974. Mark Messier (C, 1997-2000) is the only Canuck player to wear it since.

First-round draft picks

Franchise scoring leaders

These are the top-ten point-scorers in franchise history. Figures are updated after each completed NHL regular season.

Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games Played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; P/G = Points per game; * = current Canucks player

Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	P/G
Trevor Linden*	C	1002	300	397	697	.70
Stan Smyl	RW	896	262	411	673	.75
Markus Näslund*	LW	725	301	346	647	.89
Thomas Gradin	C	613	197	353	550	.90
Pavel Bure	RW	428	254	224	478	1.12
Tony Tanti	RW	531	250	220	470	.89
Todd Bertuzzi	RW	518	188	261	449	.87
Don Lever	LW	593	186	221	407	.69
Andre Boudrias	LW	458	121	267	388	.85
Petri Skriko	LW	472	171	202	373	.79

NHL awards and trophies

Franchise individual records

• Most Goals in a season: Pavel Bure, 60 (1992-93 & 1993-94)
• Most Assists in a season: Andre Boudrias, 62 (1974-75)
• Most Points in a season: Pavel Bure, 110 (1992-93)
• Most Penalty Minutes in a season: Donald Brashear, 372 (1997-98)
• Most Points in a season, defenceman: Doug Lidster, 63 (1986-87)
• Most Points in a season, rookie: Ivan Hlinka; Pavel Bure, 60 (1981-82; 1991-92)
• Most Wins in a season: Kirk McLean, 38 (1991-92)
• Most Shutouts in a season: Dan Cloutier, 7 (2002-03)
• Lowest G.A.A in a season: Dan Cloutier, 2.27 (2003-04)
• Best SVP% in a season: Dan Cloutier, .914 (2003-04)

Media

After a relationship with CKNW stretching since the Canucks founding in 1970, the Canucks entered into a new radio broadcast deal in 2006 with 1040 The Team -- an AM sports/talk station. John Shorthouse continues to call the play-by-play, as he has since 2001. He is joined with color commentary by Tom Larscheid, who has been with the broadcasts since 1977. The games air on 14 stations across British Columbia.

In addition to national TV broadcasts on Hockey Night in Canada and on TSN, the Canucks also have arrangements with Rogers Sportsnet Pacific to air 45 games (as of 2006-07 season). Additional games air on pay-per-view.

References

1. ^ TSN.ca, Aquilini group buys rest of Canucks
2. ^ Hockeydb.com, Vancouver Canucks season statistics and records.

See also

• List of Vancouver Canucks players
• Head Coaches of the Vancouver Canucks
• Vancouver Canucks Records
• List of NHL players
• List of NHL seasons
• List of ice hockey teams in British Columbia
• Canuck
• 1994 Stanley Cup riot

External links

• Official website of the Vancouver Canucks
• Official fan forum of the Vancouver Canucks
• Vancouver Canucks Booster Club
• canuckscentral.com unofficial fansite
• canuckscorner.com unofficial fansite
• - TEAM 1040 Vancouver Canucks Broadcaster

Vancouver Canucks Head Coaches
Laycoe • Statsiuk • McCreary • Maloney • Kurtenbach • Neale • Laforge • Watt • McCammon • Quinn • Ley • Renney • Keenan • Crawford • Vigneault