1992–93 Vancouver Canucks season

1992–93 Vancouver Canucks
Smythe Division Champions
Division 1st Smythe
Conference 3rd Campbell
1992–93 record 46–29–9
Home record 27–11–4
Road record 19–18–5
Goals for 346
Goals against 278
Team information
General Manager Pat Quinn
Coach Pat Quinn
Captain Trevor Linden
Alternate captains Doug Lidster
Ryan Walter
Arena Pacific Coliseum
Average attendance 15,418
Team leaders
Goals Pavel Bure (60)
Assists Cliff Ronning (56)
Points Pavel Bure (110)
Penalties in minutes Gino Odjick (370)
Wins Kirk McLean (28)
Goals against average Kay Whitmore (3.10)
<1991–92 1993–94>

The 1992–93 Vancouver Canucks season was the Canucks' 23rd NHL season.

On September 21, Jim Robson, who had called Canucks play-by-play action since their WHL days, was given the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award for excellence in hockey broadcasting and inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. The Canucks were looking to build on the successes of the previous season, but they would have to do so without their top line centre. Instead of re-signing with the Canucks and having Sovintersport (the governing sports body in the former Soviet Union) continue to draw a portion of his salary, Igor Larionov decided to play the year in Lugano, Switzerland, and then return to the NHL the following season. With the loss of Larionov, more production would be hoped for from Petr Nedved, who was entering his third NHL season.

Keeping the rest of their cast in order, for the most part, the Canucks won their first four games, outscoring the opposition 24–9. They slumped back to .500 in early November but then exploded, going 20–5–2 in 27 games. During that time, Nedved racked up a club-record point-scoring streak. He recorded 24 points in 15 games before being held pointless in a 5–2 win over Montreal on December 27. On January 19, a first-place showdown took place at Pacific Coliseum, as the Canucks (with 61 points), had a chance to overtake Pittsburgh as the league's top team. However, the Canucks lost 5–2 and would never again get a chance to jump into first overall. The game also ended the club's amazing 18-game home unbeaten streak (16–0–2). Pavel Bure was scoring goals at an unprecedented pace for a Canuck and was voted to start in the 1993 NHL All-Star Game with 246,447 fan votes. On March 1, in a neutral-site game in Hamilton against Buffalo, Bure became the first Canuck to score 50 goals in a season. Grant Fuhr was the goaltender and RW Dixon Ward and Robert Dirk drew the assists on the goal in a 5–2 win for the Canucks. Exactly a month later, Bure scored on Tampa Bay's Pat Jablonski to become the first Canuck to record 100 points in a season. He would then record his 60th goal into an empty-net in a 6–3 win over Calgary on April 11, a game in which the Canucks clinched the division title for the second straight year. It was Bure's last goal of the season to go with 50 assists for 110 points—15th in the league. The day after Bure recorded his 100th point, long-time owner Frank Griffiths was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in the Builder's Category. Griffiths had owned the Canucks for 19 years now, although his son Arthur Griffiths had gradually taken over the day-to-day running of the team over the past decade. A couple of other noteworthy accomplishments took place that spring. Ryan Walter played in his 1,000th NHL game on March 20 in a 7–2 home loss to the New York Islanders, and Kirk McLean recorded his 127th victory as a Canuck on April 7, passing Richard Brodeur as the Canucks all-time wins leader, in a 5–4 overtime victory over Edmonton. The Canucks beat Los Angeles 8–6 on April 15, the final game of the season, to record their 46th victory and 100th and 101st points of the season. It was the first time the team eclipsed the century-mark in points. It was also the first time that there were six 70-point scorers on the team. Bure, Cliff Ronning (85), Geoff Courtnall (77), C Murray Craven (77), Trevor Linden (72), and Nedved (71) all reached that mark. As well, Gino Odjick broke his own team penalty-minutes record (370). The Canucks finished 4th in the league in goals with 346, had four 30-goal scorers, and led the league in most even-strength goals scored, with 249.[1]

Once again the Canucks matched up with Winnipeg in the opening round. The Canucks rolled to victories in Games One and Two by 4–2 and 3–2 scores before being beaten almost single-handedly by Winnipeg's star rookie, Teemu Selanne. Selanne, who shattered the rookie goal-scoring record during the season with 76, scored three times in helping the Jets to a 5–4 win. Two nights later, the Canucks put a strangle hold on the series, winning 3–1 to take a series lead of the same score. It appeared that the Canucks were poised to eliminate the Jets in five, thereby avoiding the long, grinding seven-game series of a year ago which made them ill-prepared for the division finals. The Jets scrapped their way to a 3–3 tie through 60 minutes, though, and won in overtime when Selanne's centering pass hit LW Tim Hunter in the shin and re-directed past McLean. Back in Winnipeg on April 29, the rabid fans were determined to send the series to a decisive seventh game, and the teams battled to another 3–3 deadlock with 3.4 seconds to play and a faceoff deep in Winnipeg's end. The Canucks won the draw and Sergio Momesso managed a shot on goal, which sneaked through Bob Essensa and into the net as time expired. The Canucks jumped off the bench, thinking they had won the game and the series, but a lengthy video review was unable to determine if the puck had crossed the line before time expired and it was ruled no goal. Eight minutes into overtime Greg Adams drove hard to the Winnipeg net and was brought down by a Winnipeg backchecker. As he went down, the puck hit his skate and went into the net. Another replay was ordered, but this time a goal was awarded and the Canucks had won the series. There was little on-ice celebrating, though, as the incensed Winnipeg fans began littering the ice with debris, and so the teams quickly shook hands and vacated the playing surface.

The Division Final began on the afternoon of May 2 with the Canucks beating Los Angeles 5–2 to take the series lead. The Kings looked lethargic in the game, but came out gunning three nights later, as the dreaded combination of Wayne Gretzky and Jari Kurri accounted for five goals in the Kings 6–3 victory. In Game Three, the big scorers were at it again, as the Kings ran up a 7–4 win to take the series lead. The Canucks' big guns were not to be outdone, though, as they came back with an offensive onslaught have their own to win 7–2 in Game Four. Game Five was dominated by the Canucks, but Kelly Hrudey had his best outing of the series, keeping his Kings in a 3–3 tie through regulation time. Hrudey continued his theatrics in the fourth period, making several fine saves which included robbing Pavel Bure of what looked like a sure goal. But the Kings started to turn the tide in period number five and at the 6:31 mark Gary Shuchuk took a weak shot from a bad angle that found its way under Kirk McLean's arm to give the Kings the winning tally. The Canucks were now on the brink of elimination and played Game Six very cautiously. After trailing 1-0 after one period, Gerald Diduck and Jim Sandlak gave the Canucks the lead early in the second period, but Dana Murzyn picked a bad time to take two penalties on one play, one for high-sticking, the other for cross-checking. The Canucks managed to kill off the first penalty, but botched a line change as the second penalty began and were caught with too many men on the ice. The Kings scored three times, twice on the power plays, to take a 4-2 lead into the intermission. A Wayne Gretzky goal midway through the third period padded their lead, with Trevor Linden getting it back a few minutes later. With the score now 5–3, the Canucks pulled McLean to attempt the comeback, but there was no further scoring. For the second year in a row, the Canucks had been ousted in the second round after winning the division title. After over a decade of very modest post-season success, the fans of Vancouver were now hungry for something more.

Regular season

Smythe Division GP W L T GF GA PTS
Vancouver Canucks 84 46 29 9 346 278 101
Calgary Flames 84 43 30 11 322 282 97
Los Angeles Kings 84 39 35 10 338 340 88
Winnipeg Jets 84 40 37 7 322 320 87
Edmonton Oilers 84 26 50 8 242 337 60
San Jose Sharks 84 11 71 2 218 414 24

Schedule and results

October

Monthly record: 5–4–1 (home 3–2–0; road 2–2–1)

# Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts
1 October 6 Vancouver 5 – 4 Edmonton McLean 14,094 1–0–0 2
2 October 10 Edmonton 2 – 5 Vancouver McLean 14,879 2–0–0 4
3 October 12 Winnipeg 1 – 8 Vancouver McLean 13,084 3–0–0 6
4 October 16 Vancouver 6 – 2 Winnipeg Whitmore 14,785 4–0–0 8
5 October 18 Vancouver 1 – 3 Chicago McLean 17,327 4–1–0 8
6 October 20 Vancouver 1 – 5 Pittsburgh McLean 15,808 4–2–0 8
7 October 22 Vancouver 4 – 4 Philadelphia OT Whitmore 17,132 4–2–1 9
8 October 25 Boston 5 – 3 Vancouver McLean 16,084 4–3–1 9
9 October 28 Washington 3 – 4 Vancouver McLean 13,647 5–3–1 11
10 October 30 Minnesota 3 – 2 Vancouver Whitmore 14,069 5–4–1 11

November

Monthly record: 9–5–1 (home 6–0–1; road 3–5–0)

# Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts
11 November 1 Vancouver 3 – 5 Calgary McLean 18,519 5–5–1 11
12 November 4 Calgary 5 – 5 Vancouver OT McLean 13,655 5–5–2 12
13 November 6 Ottawa 1 – 4 Vancouver McLean 15,332 6–5–2 14
14 November 8 Winnipeg 1 – 6 Vancouver Whitmore 14,026 7–5–2 16
15 November 10 San Jose 2 – 6 Vancouver McLean 13,448 8–5–2 18
16 November 12 Vancouver 4 – 7 Los Angeles McLean 15,486 8–6–2 18
17 November 14 Vancouver 5 – 2 San Jose Whitmore 11,089 9–6–2 20
18 November 16 Los Angeles 3 – 6 Vancouver McLean 15,896 10–6–2 22
19 November 18 Vancouver 2 – 4 Edmonton McLean 13,476 10–7–2 22
20 November 19 Vancouver 3 – 4 Calgary Whitmore 19,169 10–8–2 22
21 November 21 Edmonton 0 – 9 Vancouver McLean 15,960 11–8–2 24
22 November 23 Chicago 2 – 5 Vancouver Whitmore 16,022 12–8–2 26
23 November 25 Vancouver 4 – 2 Minnesota Whitmore 13,117 13–8–2 28
24 November 26 Vancouver 5 – 7 St. Louis McLean 16,778 13–9–2 28
25 November 28 Vancouver 6 – 5 Montreal McLean 17,639 14–9–2 30

December

Monthly record: 9–1–1 (home 7–0–1; road 2–1–0)

# Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts
26 December 3 Edmonton 1 – 4 Vancouver McLean 15,589 15–9–2 32
27 December 7 St. Louis 3 – 4 Vancouver Whitmore 14,709 16–9–2 34
28 December 9 San Jose 3 – 8 Vancouver McLean 12,795 17–9–2 36
29 December 13 Quebec 3 – 3 Vancouver OT McLean 16,150 17–9–3 37
30 December 16 Vancouver 2 – 4 Edmonton Whitmore 14,011 17–10–3 37
31 December 18 San Jose 1 – 8 Vancouver McLean 14,511 18–10–3 39
32 December 19 Vancouver 6 – 3 San Jose Whitmore 11,089 19–10–3 41
33 December 22 Vancouver 6 – 2 Los Angeles McLean 16,005 20–10–3 43
34 December 27 Montreal 2 – 5 Vancouver McLean 16,150 21–10–3 45
35 December 29 San Jose 5 – 7 Vancouver Whitmore 16,150 22–10–3 47
36 December 31 Los Angeles 0 – 4 Vancouver McLean 16,150 23–10–3 49

January

Monthly record: 6–4–5 (home 3–1–2; road 3–3–3)

# Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts
37 January 2 Vancouver 2 – 2 San Jose OT Whitmore 11,089 23–10–4 50
38 January 4 Tampa Bay 0 – 7 Vancouver McLean 15,578 24–10–4 52
39 January 6 Vancouver 5 – 2 Toronto McLean 15,720 25–10–4 54
40 January 8 Vancouver 3 – 6 Detroit McLean 19,875 25–11–4 54
41 January 9 Vancouver 5 – 4 NY Islanders Whitmore 11,661 26–11–4 56
42 January 11 Vancouver 3 – 3 NY Rangers OT McLean 17,641 26–11–5 57
43 January 12 Vancouver 2 – 3 New Jersey Whitmore 9,125 26–12–5 57
44 January 15 Buffalo 1 – 4 Vancouver McLean 16,150 27–12–5 59
45 January 16 Hartford 3 – 8 Vancouver Whitmore 15,631 28–12–5 61
46 January 19 Pittsburgh 5 – 2 Vancouver McLean 16,150 28–13–5 61
47 January 21 Vancouver 5 – 4 Los Angeles McLean 16,005 29–13–5 63
48 January 23 Vancouver 3 – 3 Minnesota OT Whitmore 13,512 29–13–6 64
49 January 24 Vancouver 2 – 6 Chicago McLean 17,859 29–14–6 64
50 January 27 Chicago 4 – 4 Vancouver OT Whitmore 16,150 29–14–7 65
51 January 30 Detroit 4 – 4 Vancouver OT McLean 16,150 29–14–8 66

February

Monthly record: 6–5–0 (home 3–3–0; road 3–2–0)

# Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts
52 February 1 Minnesota 5 – 4 Vancouver McLean 14,830 29–15–8 66
53 February 3 Tampa Bay 2 – 4 Vancouver Whitmore 14,171 30–15–8 68
54 February 9 Vancouver 5 – 1 Quebec McLean 14,360 31–15–8 70
55 February 11 Vancouver 2 – 5 Toronto McLean 15,720 31–16–8 70
56 February 12 Vancouver 3 – 1 Buffalo Whitmore 16,325 32–16–8 72
57 February 15 Vancouver 0 – 3 Los Angeles McLean 16,005 32–17–8 72
58 February 18 Philadelphia 3 – 2 Vancouver Whitmore 16,150 32–18–8 72
59 February 20 Winnipeg 2 – 4 Vancouver McLean 16,150 33–18–8 74
60 February 22 Toronto 8 – 1 Vancouver McLean 16,150 33–19–8 74
61 February 24 NY Rangers 4 – 5 Vancouver Whitmore 16,150 34–19–8 76
62 February 26 Vancouver 7 – 4 Winnipeg McLean 15,398 35–19–8 78

March

Monthly record: 5–8–1 (home 2–5–0; road 3–3–1)

# Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts
63 March 1 Vancouver 5 – 2 Buffalo Whitmore 17,098 36–19–8 80
64 March 2 Vancouver 3 – 3 Washington OT McLean 12,263 36–19–9 81
65 March 4 Vancouver 3 – 4 Boston Whitmore 13,982 36–20–9 81
66 March 6 Vancouver 1 – 5 Hartford McLean 12,048 36–21–9 81
67 March 9 New Jersey 2 – 7 Vancouver McLean 15,822 37–21–9 83
68 March 11 Minnesota 4 – 3 Vancouver Whitmore 12,006 37–22–9 83
69 March 12 Vancouver 3 – 2 Winnipeg McLean 15,567 38–22–9 85
70 March 14 Vancouver 2 – 3 Calgary McLean 20,214 38–23–9 85
71 March 18 Winnipeg 5 – 2 Vancouver McLean 16,150 38–24–9 85
72 March 20 NY Islanders 7 – 2 Vancouver Whitmore 16,150 38–25–9 85
73 March 22 St. Louis 3 – 1 Vancouver McLean 15,871 38–26–9 85
74 March 24 Los Angeles 2 – 6 Vancouver McLean 16,150 39–26–9 87
75 March 26 Calgary 3 – 1 Vancouver McLean 16,150 39–27–9 87
76 March 30 Vancouver 6 – 3 St. Louis McLean 17,573 40–27–9 89

April

Monthly record: 6–2–0 (home 3–0–0; road 3–2–0)

# Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts
77 April 1 Vancouver 5 – 3 Tampa Bay Whitmore 10,425 41–27–9 91
78 April 3 Vancouver 1 – 5 Detroit McLean 19,875 41–28–9 91
79 April 4 Vancouver 3 – 0 Ottawa Whitmore 10,575 42–28–9 93
80 April 7 Edmonton 4 – 5 Vancouver OT McLean 15,858 43–28–9 95
81 April 9 Vancouver 1 – 8 Calgary McLean 20,214 43–29–9 95
82 April 11 Calgary 3 – 6 Vancouver McLean 16,150 44–29–9 97
83 April 13 Los Angeles 4 – 7 Vancouver Whitmore 16,150 45–29–9 99
84 April 15 Vancouver 8 – 6 Los Angeles Whitmore 16,005 46–29–9 101

Playoffs

Smythe Division Semi-finals: vs. (4) Winnipeg Jets

Vancouver wins series 4–2.

# Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Series
1 April 19 Winnipeg 2 – 4 Vancouver McLean 1 – 0
2 April 21 Winnipeg 2 – 3 Vancouver McLean 2 – 0
3 April 23 Vancouver 4 – 5 Winnipeg McLean 2 – 1
4 April 25 Vancouver 3 – 1 Winnipeg McLean 3 – 1
5 April 27 Winnipeg 4 – 3 Vancouver OT McLean 3 – 2
6 April 29 Vancouver 4 – 3 Winnipeg OT McLean 4 – 2

Smythe Division Final: vs. (3) Los Angeles Kings

Los Angeles wins series 4–2.

# Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Series
1 May 2 Los Angeles 2 – 5 Vancouver McLean 16,150 1 – 0
2 May 5 Los Angeles 6 – 3 Vancouver McLean 16,150 1 – 1
3 May 7 Vancouver 4 – 7 Los Angeles McLean 16,005 1 – 2
4 May 9 Vancouver 7 – 2 Los Angeles McLean 16,005 2 – 2
5 May 11 Los Angeles 4 – 3 Vancouver 2OT McLean 16,150 2 – 3
6 May 13 Vancouver 3 – 5 Los Angeles McLean 16,005 2 – 4

Player statistics

Scoring leaders

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = Plus/Minus; PIM = Penalty Minutes

Player GP G A Pts +/- PIM
Pavel Bure 83 60 50 110 35 69
Cliff Ronning 79 29 56 85 19 30
Geoff Courtnall 84 31 46 77 27 167
Murray Craven 77 25 52 77 -1 32
Trevor Linden 84 33 39 72 19 64

Goaltending

Note: GP = Games Played; TOI = Time On Ice (minutes); W = Wins; L = Losses; OT = Overtime Losses; GA = Goals Against; SO = Shutouts; Sv% = Save Percentage; GAA = Goals Against Average

Player GP TOI W L T GA SO Sv% GAA
Kay Whitmore 31 1817 18 8 4 94 1 .890 3.10
Kirk McLean 54 3261 28 21 5 184 3 .886 3.39

Playoffs

Scoring Leaders

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = Plus/Minus; PIM = Penalty Minutes

Player GP G A Pts PIM
Geoff Courtnall 12 4 10 14 12
Greg Adams 12 7 6 13 6
Trevor Linden 12 5 8 13 16
Pavel Bure 12 5 7 12 8
Cliff Ronning 12 2 9 11 6

Goaltending

Note: GP = Games Played; TOI = Time On Ice (minutes); W = Wins; L = Losses; GA = Goals Against; SO = Shutouts; Sv% = Save Percentage; GAA = Goals Against Average

Player GP TOI W L GA SO Sv% GAA
Kirk McLean 12 754 6 6 42 0 .886 3.34

Awards and records

1993 Canuck awards winners

Pavel Bure

Trevor Linden

Cliff Ronning

Dixon Ward

Kirk McLean

Petr Nedved

Gino Odjick

Greg Adams

Geoff Courtnall

Sergio Momesso

Dana Murzyn

Gerald Diduck

Pat Quinn

Others

Transactions

Trades

October 1, 1992 To Vancouver Canucks
Kay Whitmore
To Hartford Whalers
Corrie D'Alessio
5th round pick in 1993 (Scott Walker)
November 3, 1992 To Vancouver Canucks
Anatoli Semenov
To Tampa Bay Lightning
Dave Capuano
4th round pick in 1994 (Ryan Duthie)
December 15, 1992 To Vancouver Canucks
Rick Lessard
To San Jose Sharks
Robin Bawa
January 29, 1993 To Vancouver Canucks
Tim Taylor
To Washington Capitals
Rick Murano
March 22, 1993 To Vancouver Canucks
Murray Craven
5th round pick in 1993 (Scott Walker)
To Hartford Whalers
Robert Kron
Jim Sandlak
3rd round pick in 1993 (Marek Malik)
March 22, 1993 To Vancouver Canucks
Dan Ratushny
To Winnipeg Jets
9th round pick in 1993 (Harjis Vitolinsh).

Free agents acquired

Player Former team
C Stephane Morin Quebec Nordiques
LW Cam Danyluk Undrafted player

Free agents lost

Player New team
RW Andrew McBain Ottawa Senators
D Jim Agnew Hartford Whalers

Received from waivers

Player Former team
RW Tim Hunter Quebec Nordiques

Expansion draft

Vancouver's losses at the 1992 NHL Expansion Draft in Montreal, Quebec.

Round # Player Nationality Drafted by Drafted from
1 13 Ken Hammond (D)  Canada Ottawa Senators Vancouver Canucks
1 23 Rob Murphy (C)  Canada Ottawa Senators Vancouver Canucks

Draft picks

Vancouver's picks at the 1992 NHL Entry Draft in Montreal, Quebec.

Round # Player Nationality NHL team College/junior/club team (league)
1 21 Libor Polasek (C)  Czechoslovakia Vancouver Canucks Vitkovice SSK (CSFR)
2 40 Mike Peca (C)  Canada Vancouver Canucks (from Boston) Ottawa 67's (OHL)
2 45 Mike Fountain (G)  Canada Vancouver Canucks Oshawa Generals (OHL)
3 69 Jeff Connolly (C)  United States Vancouver Canucks St. Sebastien High School (U.S. High School)
4 93 Brent Tully (D)  Canada Vancouver Canucks Peterborough Petes (OHL)
5 110 Brian Loney (RW)  Canada Vancouver Canucks (from St. Louis) Ohio State University (NCAA)
5 117 Adrian Aucoin (D)  Canada Vancouver Canucks Boston University (NCAA)
6 141 Jason Clark (C/LW)  Canada Vancouver Canucks St. Thomas Jr. B (?)
7 165 Scott Hollis (RW)  Canada Vancouver Canucks Oshawa Generals (OHL)
9 213 Sonny Mignacca (G)  Canada Vancouver Canucks Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL)
10 237 Mark Wotton (D)  Canada Vancouver Canucks Saskatoon Blades (WHL)
11 261 Aaron Boh (D)  Canada Vancouver Canucks Spokane Chiefs (WHL)

Farm teams

Hamilton Canucks

Vancouver Canucks AHL affiliate that play in Hamilton, Ontario, and their home arena is the Copps Coliseum.

Columbus Chill

Vancouver Canucks ECHL affiliate that play in Columbus, Ohio, and their home arena is the Ohio Expo Center Coliseum.

External links

See also

References