Vancouver Canucks (1970-Present)

Historical Moments:
1970/71: Vancouver's hockey roots go deep, one of the strongest teams in the old Pacific Coast Hockey Association was the Vancouver Millionaires who the Stanley Cup in 1915, and lost in the finals to the NHL Champions 4 other times before the PCHA disbanded. With the NHL's westward expansion it was inevitable that Vancouver would get a team. After failing to land one of the first expansion slots in 1967, Vancouver was awarded an NHL team in 1970. The Canucks would play their first game on October 9th losing to the Los Angeles Kings at the Pacific Coliseum 3-1 in a National Televised game. The Canucks would beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 2 nights later for their first win. The Canucks would go on to finish their first season which they played in the Eastern Division by finishing in 6th place with a typical expansion like record of 24-46-8.

1971/72: The Canucks continue to struggle in their second season as they finish dead last with a NHL worst record of 20-58-8. Leading the 2nd year Canucks in scoring is Andre Boudrias for the 2nd year in a row as he notches 27 goals and 34 assists.

1972/73: Bobby Schmautz and Andre Boudrias each top 70-points providing a 1-2 scoring punch. However, the Canucks continue to struggle finishing in 7th place in the Eastern Division, with an awful record of 22-47-9.

1973/74: The Canucks continue to struggle in the Eastern Division finishing in 7th place again with a horrid record of 24-43-11.

1974/75: The NHL would finally rectify the problem of the Canucks playing in the Eastern Division by realigning into 4 divisions, which would be named after the founding fathers of the NHL. Playing in the Smythe Division the Canucks would finally get a taste of success winning the division title with a solid record of 38-32-10 to edge the St. Louis Blues out by 2 points. However, in the playoffs the Canucks would be overwhelmed by the Montreal Canadiens in 5 games.

1975/76: Despite a mediocre record of 33-32-15 the Canucks battle all season for the Smythe Division title falling just 1 point short. The Canucks would still make the playoffs, but once again they would make a quick exit, as they are swept in 2 straight games by the New York Islanders in the preliminary round.

1976/77: After 2 straight trips to the playoffs the Canucks would take a step backward finishing in 3rd place with a disappointing record of 25-42-13, missing the final playoff spot by a tiebreaker.

1977/78: The Canucks continue to struggle missing the playoffs for the 2nd straight season with an awful record of 20-43-17, as nobody on the Canucks even manages to score 30 goals.

1978/79: Ron Sedlbauer becomes the first Canuck to notch 40 goals, as the team ends a 2-yar playoff drought by grabbing the final playoff spot with a record of 25-42-13. In the playoffs the Canucks would throw a scare into the Philadelphia Flyers by taking Game 1 on the road. However, the Flyers would rebound to take the next 2 and win the preliminary round series in 3 games.

1979/80: Stan Smyl has a breakout season scoring a team best 31 goals while adding 47 assists as the Canucks make the playoffs for the second straight season despite a less then stellar record of 27-37-16. In the layoffs the Canucks would be one and done again as they are beaten by the Buffalo Sabres in 4 games.

1980/81: The Canucks would make the playoffs by finishing in 3rd place with a record of 28-32-10. Along the way Tiger Williams in his first full season with the Canucks becomes a fan favorite by notching a team high 35 goals. However, in the playoffs the Canucks would fall in the first round again as they are swept in 3 straight games by the Buffalo Sabres.

1981/82: The Canucks were playing mediocre hockey again, however, by sitting in 2nd place in the Smythe Division they were heading for their 4th straight playoff appearance, when their season took a strange turn on March 20th. Facing the Quebec Nordiques on the road Canucks Coach Harry Neale gets involved in an ugly brawl with Nordiques fans behind the bench. The NHL would suspend Neale for the playoffs forcing assistant Coach Roger Neilson to take over. Under Neilson the Canucks would suddenly play their best hockey of the season as they swept the Calgary Flames in 3 straight for their first ever playoffs series victory. In the Smythe Division Finals the Canucks would stay hot as they beat the Los Angeles Kings in 5 games to reach the Campbell Conference Finals. The Canucks magic rider under Roger Neilson would continue as they knocked off the Chicago Black Hawks in 5 games. Facing the 2-time defending Champion New York Islanders the Canucks had a chance to steal Game 1 on the road, as they went into overtime tied at 5. However, just a little over a minute into overtime the clock struck midnight on the Canucks Cinderella season, as Mike Bossy scored to give the Islanders a 6-5 win. The Islanders would go on to sweep the series in 4 games to win their third straight Stanley Cup.

1982/83: Roger Nielson is named head coach, as the Canucks hoped they could carry over the momentum of their stunning run to the Stanley Cup Finals. However, the Canucks would continue to play below .500 hockey as they finished in 3rd place with a mediocre record of 30-35-15. In the playoffs the Canucks would bow out quickly as they are scorched by the Calgary Flames in 4 games.

1983/84: Harry Neale who was suspended two years earlier, before the Canucks magical run to the finals returns to the bench replacing Neilson in the middle of the season as the Canucks continue to play mediocre hockey finishing in 3rd place. In the playoffs the Canucks would make another quick exit as they are beaten in 4 games.

1984/85: The Canucks struggle all season as their run of 5 straight playoff appearances comes to an end as they finish in last place with a horrible record of 25-46-9, as Tony Tanti is the only Canucks to score more then 30 goals.

1985/86: Despite a horrendous record of 23-44-13, the Canucks are able to make the playoffs as the beat out the Los Angeles Kings by 5 points for 4th place in the Smythe Division. In the playoffs the Canucks would naturally be eliminated in the first round, as they are swept by the Edmonton Oilers in 3 straight games, while being outscored 17-5.

1986/87: The Canucks continue to play miserable hockey as they miss the playoffs for the 2nd time in 3 years by finishing in last place with an awful record of 29-43-8. Tony Tanti would provide the only bright spot by leading the team with 41 goals.

1987/88: The Canucks would miss the playoffs for the 2nd straight season by finishing in last place with a terrible record of 25-46-9. However, Tony Tanti continues to play solid hockey scoring 40 goals for the second year in a row.

1988/89: The Canucks end a 2-year playoff drought ends but the Canucks post their 13th consecutive losing record by finishing in 4th place with a record of 33-39-8. However, in the playoffs the Canucks would give the Calgary Flames all they could handle as they forced overtime in Game 7 against the Flames who had the best record in the NHL all season. However, as the first overtime period wound down Joel Otto would eliminate the Canucks, as the Flames went on to win the Stanley Cup.

1989/90: After the Canucks surprisingly strong playoff performance the Canucks fall back into last place missing the playoffs for the 4th time in 6 years by posting a horrendous record of 25-41-4. Illustrating the struggles would be Greg Adams, who sores a team high 30 goals.

1990/91: The Canucks continue to play awful hockey as they beat out the Winnipeg Jets for 4th place and a spot in the playoffs by 2 points despite a wretched record of 28-43-9. In the playoffs the Canucks would be bounced out in the first round again as they are crowned by the Los Angeles Kings in 6 games. Following the season Stan Smyl, the Canucks all time leader in games played (896), goals (262), assists (411) and points (673), would announce his retirement.

1991/92: With the retirement of Stan Smyl the Canucks need a young player to attach their hopes to. That player would end up being Russian star Pavel Bure. Nicknamed the Russian Rocket Bure would have a spectacular rookie season scoring 34 goals on the way to winning the Calder Trophy was the Canucks post their first winning season in 15 years by finishing in first place with a solid record of 42-26-12. However, in the playoffs the Canucks would dig themselves a deep hole as they fell behind 3 games to 1 in their opening round series against the Winnipeg Jets. However, the Canucks would come roaring back winning the next 3 games to take the series in 7 games. However, in the Smythe Division Finals the Canucks would be beaten by the Edmonton Oilers in 6 games.

1992/93: In his second season Pavel Bure continues to take the Canucks to new heights as he becomes the first Canucks to score 50 goals and top 100 points in a season scoring 60 goals, while adding 50 assists as the Canucks top 100 points for the first time in franchise history by winning their second straight division title with a record of 46-29-9. Along the way the Canucks are nearly unbeatable at home establishing a franchise record 18-game unbeaten streak at the Pacific Coliseum. In the playoffs the Canucks would knock off the Winnipeg Jets in 6 games to reach the Division Finals for the 2nd straight season. However, the Canucks would suffer another let down in the Smythe Finals as they are beaten by the Los Angeles Kings in 6 games.

1993/94: Amidst the cloud of Petr Nedved's season long holdout the Canucks would play mediocre hockey all season. Eventually Nedved would be traded to the St. Louis Blues for Jeff Brown, Martin Gellinas, and Nathan LaFayette at the trade deadline. The Canucks would enter the playoffs as the 7th seed in the Western Conference after finishing 2nd in the newly rechristened Pacific Division with a record of 41-40-43. The Canucks appeared to be heading for another quick exit as they fell behind the Calgary Flames 3 games to 1. However, the Canucks would make a stunning comeback winning the next 3 games in overtime on goals by Geoff Courtnall, Trevor Linden, and Pavel Bure to extinguish the Flames in 7 games. Buoyed by 3 straight overtime wins the Canucks cruised past the Dallas Stars in 5 games to reach the Western Conference Finals. In the Conference Finals the Canucks would get off to a shaky start as they dropped Game 1 on the road to the Toronto Maple Leafs in overtime. However, the Canucks would bounce back to take Game 2 on the road before establishing a 3-1 series lead with back-to-back shutouts by Goalie Kirk McLean. Game 5 would also be in Vancouver as the game went into overtime tied at 3. After a scoreless first overtime the Pacific Coliseum would be thrown into a frenzy 14 seconds into double overtime when Greg Adams beat Leafs goalie Felix Potvin to send the Canucks to the Stanley Cup Finals for the 2nd time in franchise history. In the Stanley Cup Finals the Canucks were a heavy underdog facing the New York Rangers. However, the Canucks would steal Game 1 on the road by scoring late in the 3rd prior to tie the game, and send it to overtime where Kirk McLean would keep the game tied before Greg Adams delivered the game winner with 34 seconds left in the first overtime. After the Rangers rebounded to take Game 2 the Canucks got off to a fast start in font of a loud Pacific Coliseum as Pavel Bure got the Canucks on the board early. However, Bure would take a bad penalty and would be given a game misconduct as the Rangers roared back to win 5-1. The Canucks would rebound to a take and early 2-0 lead in Game 4. After the Rangers got within 2-1 the Canucks continued to control the game, however, they could not get anything else past Rangers goalie Mike Richter, including a failed penalty shot by Bure late in the 3rd period. The Penalty Shot would end up being the turning point as the Rangers tied the game and won 4-2 to take a 3-1 series lead. However, the Canucks would not go down without a fight jumping out to a 3-0 lead in Game 5 in New York. The Rangers would battle back to tie the game at 3. . However the Canucks would reestablish their 3-goal lead by with 3 quick goals of their own to win 6-3. Back at the Pacific Coliseum for Game 6 the Canucks had all the momentum as the Rangers looked tired. The Canucks would win easily 4-1 to force a 7th game as Vancouver partied like they won the Stanley Cup. Mocking the Rangers as they went home shaken tied at 3 games apiece. However, back in New York for Game 7 the Rangers would take a 3-1 lead into the 3rd period. Trevor Linden would quickly cut the lead to 1 with his second goal of the game. For the last 15 minutes the Canucks threw everything they could at Rangers Goalie Mike Richter however, they would be unable to get the tying goal as the Rangers barely hung on to win the Cup with a 3-2 win. Sadly fans in Vancouver who partied like they won the Cup a few days earlier would riot giving the city an unneeded black eye, and tarnishing a great Canucks run.

1994/95: After falling 1 game short of the Stanley Cup, the Canucks had to wait 4 extra months to try and get back to the finals as a lockout wiped out half of the season. When the season began the Canucks only played mediocre hockey finishing in 2nd place with a 18-18-12 record. However, in the playoffs the Canucks would get a slight measure of revenge beating the St. Louis Blues, led by Mike Keenan who had coached the New York Rangers in the finals a year earlier in 7 games. However, their would be no return to the conference finals as they were swept by the Chicago Blackhawks in 4 games losing 3 games in overtime, including Game 4 which ended up being the final game at the Pacific Coliseum.

1995/96: Vancouver was all-abuzz as the Canucks acquired another Russian sharp shooter Alexander Mogilny from the Buffalo Sabres. After splitting the first 2 games of the season against the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in Tokyo the Canucks had their inaugural game at the state of the art General Motors Place on October 9th spoiled by the Detroit Red Wings 5-3. However, the Canucks season would be ruined early as Pavel Bure suffered a knee injury just 15 games into the season. Without their leading scorer the Canucks would struggle the rest of the way finishing in 3rd place with a record of 32-35-15. In the playoffs the Canucks would be buried by the Colorado Avalanche in 6 games.

1996/97: Coming off a server knee injury Pavel Bure is limited to just 63 games as he struggles to score just 23 goals. With Bure struggling the Canucks would go on to miss the playoffs for the first time in 7 years with a disappointing record of 35-40-

1997/98: Seeking veteran leadership the Canucks would sign free agent Mark Messier away for the New York Rangers. However, it would be clear early that the move would not work out as the Canucks struggled. In hopes of sparking the time to a second half comeback Coach Tom Renney is fired and replaced by Mike Keenan. However, not even a 50-goal season from Pavel Bure would save the Canucks season as they finished in last place with an awful 25-43-14 record. 7.

1998/99: Under realignment the Canucks are placed in the Northwest Division where they would continue to struggle as Pavel Bure held out. Eventually they would be forced to trade Bure to the Florida Panthers along with Bret Hedican for Ed Jovanovski, Dave Gagner, Kevin Weekes and Mike Brown. The Canucks would also change coaches again firing Mike Keenan in the middle of the season. Under his replacement Marc Crawford the Canucks would go on to finish in last place with a record of 23-47-12.

1999/00: The Canucks begin the process of rebuilding by drafting Daniel and Henrick Sedin a pair of twins form Sweden labeled with can't miss potential with the 2nd and 3rd overall picks. The Canucks continued to reshape their team during the season by trading Alexander Mogilny to the New Jersey Devils for Brendan Morrison, Denis Pederson, and Vadim Sharifijanov, as they finished in 3rd place with a record of 30-37-15-8. Following the season the Canucks would allow Mark Messier to return to the New York Rangers after 3 disappointing seasons without the playoffs.

2000/01: The youth movement of the Canucks began to pay off as they ended a 4-year playoff drought by finishing in 3rd place with a solid 36-28-11-7 record, beating out the Phoenix Coyotes for the final playoff spot. However, in the playoffs the young Canucks would be buried by the Colorado Avalanche in 4 straight games.

2001/02: The continued to improve as they finished in 22nd place with a42-30-7-3 record as Markus Naslund and Todd Bertuzzi established themselves a potent 1-2 scoring punch. Facing the heavily favored Detroit Red Wings in the playoffs most expected the Canucks to be swept again. However, the Canucks would stun all experts by taking the first 2 games in Detroit. However, in Game 3 at GM Place the Canucks would unravel after a Niklas Lidstrom's shot from center ice handcuffed Canucks Goalie Dan Cloutier. The Canucks would not recover losing the series in 6 games.

2002/03: Markus Naslund and Todd Bertuzzi are among the league leaders in scoring all year as the Canucks enjoy their best season in franchise history with a solid record of 45-23-13-1. However, on the final day of the season Naslund would be past by Petr Forsberg for the scoring title as his Colorado Avalanche knock the Canucks out of first place after being in the top spot for most of the season. In the playoffs things would look bleak for the Canucks as they fell behind the St. Louis Blues 3 games to 1. However, the Canucks would rally to win the series in 7 games. The Canucks would stay hot in the second round as they jumped out to a 3-1 series lead against the Minnesota Wild. However, the Canucks would have the tables turned on them as they lost the next 2 games by combined score of 12-3. In Game 7 at GM Place the Canucks appeared to have right their shop as they led 2-0 in the second period. However, the Wild would rally to win 4-2 on 4 unanswered goals including 3 goals in the final 12 minutes, to become the first team to rally from a 3-1 deficit twice in the same playoff year.

2003/04: With some of the top scorers in the NHL the Canucks were one of the top teams in the Western Conference all season as they got off to a solid 7-2-2-0 start through the first month. With Marcus Naslund and Todd Bertuzzi leading the way the Canucks were battling the Colorado Avalanche all season for first place in the Northwest Division. The battles with the Avalanche would lead to some bad blood. During a February 16th game in Colorado which the Canucks lost 1-0 Marcus Naslund suffered a concussion on a hit by Steve Moore that would force him to miss 3 games. This prompted calls for revenge and even a bounty on Moore by the Canucks. In their next meeting the Canucks and Avalanche skated to a 5-5 tie without incident. However during the final moments of an ugly 9-2 loss at GM Place on February 16th to the Avalanche Todd Bertuzzi decided to take justice in his own hand and skated up from behind to punch Moore then rode him to the ice, the hit would cause Moore to suffer a serious neck injury and would forever tarnish the image of Bertuzzi who would be suspended the rest of the season, while facing criminal charges for assault. The suspension of Bertuzzi, who had 60 points in 69 games threatened to sink the Canucks. However with a 7-3-2-1 record down the stretch the Canucks would end up finishing 1 point ahead of the Avalanche for the division title with a 43-24-10-5 record. In the playoffs the Canucks would face the Calgary Flames, after splitting the first 2 games at home the Canucks took Game 3 in Calgary 2-1. However along the way goalie Dan Cloutier suffered a knee injury. After backup goalie Johan Hedberg struggled in a 4-0 loss that evened the series at 2 the Canucks turned to minor league goalie Alexander Auld for the remainder of the series. After a 2-1 loss at home in Game 5, the Canucks staved off elimination with a 5-4 overtime win in Game 6 after letting an early 4-0 lead go by the boards. In Game 7 at home the Canucks were down again 2-1 in the final seconds as they desperately tried to send the game to overtime. With 6 seconds left the Canucks found some magic as Matt Cooke tied the game at 2. However before the tying goal Ed Jovanowski took a penalty and was in the penalty box as overtime began. The Canucks would not be able to kill the penalty as Martin Gelinas scored the game winner for the Flames just 1:25 into the extra session, as Jovonowski's penalty was just about to expire.

2004/05: Season Cancelled Due to Lock Out

2005/06: Coming off the Lock Out the Canucks were expected to be one of the top teams in the Western Conference as Todd Bertuzzi was allowed to return from his suspension. The Canucks would start the season playing as well as expected as they won 8 of their first 10 games. However, the Canucks would play just mediocre hockey the rest of the way as Bertuzzi, who was booed on the road struggled with a disappointing 25-goal season. March would see the Canucks go from bad to worse as they won just 2 of their first 8 games following the Olympic break. After ending March with a 40-28-7 record the Canucks needed a strong April just to make the playoffs, instead they played horrible hockey losing 6 of their last 8 as they missed the playoffs by 3 points with a record of 42-32-8. The late season crash would lead to massive changes in Vancouver as Coach Marc Crawford was fired and replaced by Alain Vigneault. The Canucks then began to remake the roster trading Todd Bertuzzi along with Bryan Allen and Goalie Alex Auld to the Florida Panthers for Goalie Roberto Luongo, Lukas Krajicek and a draft pick. The Canucks would also let go longtime fan favorites Ed Jovanovski, Jarkko Ruutu and Dan Cloutier.

2006/07: The Canucks began the season after a summer of wholesale changes with new hope, as Goalie Roberto Luongo gave them the reliable backstop they had been looking for. However, goal scoring became an issue as the Canucks struggled at times to put the puck in the net as they were below .500 on Christmas at 17-18-1. After the Holidays the Canucks began to see results from the Luongo acquisition as they won six straight and 9 games in a 10 games span, many of which were won in overtime or shootouts. In the second half the Canucks were among the best teams in the NHL posting a 21-7-3 record after February 1st. The strong finish enabled the Canucks to win the Northwest Division Title with all-time franchise best record of 49-26-7. A major reason for the Canucks strong season was Goalie Roberto Luongo who was a finalist for both the Vezina and Hart Trophies, with 47 wins, tying the former single season record held by Bernie Parent. While Luongo fell short in his quest for individual awards, he hoped to bring the Stanley Cup to Vancouver, as the Canucks faced the Dallas Stars in the first round. The first game of the series was a battle in of itself as Luongo allowed four goals during regulation as the game went into overtime tied 4-4. In OT Luongo would stand on his head, facing a playoff record 76 shots, as the game went into quadruple overtime, before Henrik Sedin ended the sixth longest playoff game in NHL history at 78:06. After losing 2-0 in Game 2 the Canucks won another dramatic overtime thriller 2-1 as Taylor Pyatt netted the game winning goal 7:47 into the first OT. The Canucks would take a commanding 3-1 series lead after beating the Dallas Stars 2-1 in Game 4, giving them a chance to close the series in Vancouver. Luongo was strong again in Game 5 not allowing any goals during the games first 60 minutes, however the Stars were blanked too as the game went to overtime for the third time in the series. This time there would be no heroics for the Canucks as Brendan Morrow scored a power play goal after the Canucks were caught with too many men on the ice. The Canucks would struggle again in Game 6, as the Stars forced a seventh game with a 2-0 win in Dallas. Back in Vancouver for Game 7 the Canucks goal scoring drought continued until late in the second period when Henrik Sedin scored on a power play with a beautiful setup from his twin brother Daniel to tie the score 1-1. The game would remain tied until the seven minute mark of the 3rd Period when Trevor Linden gave the Canucks a 2-1 lead on the power play. The Canucks would pull away in the final minutes scoring two empty net goals to win the game 4-1 and advance to the second round, where they would face the Anaheim Ducks. Game 1 would see Luongo struggle allowing five goals as the Canucks lost 5-1. However, Luongo and the Canucks would rebound in Game 2 evening the series with a 2-1 win in overtime on a goal by Jeff Cowan. As the series shifted to Vancouver the battle really heated up as the Canucks lost a heartbreaker in Game 3, as Roberto Luongo allowed a power play goal on a screen midway through the 3rd Period. The Canucks got off to fast start in Game 4 leading 2-0 entering the 3rd Period. However, the Ducks would rally to force overtime, where they would win the game and take a 3-1 series lead on a goal by Travis Moen. In Game 5 the Canucks would not go down without a fight as the game was tied 1-1 after four periods. However, they would be no match for the Neidermayer brothers as Rob Niedermayer made a big hit to jar the puck loose, which was picked up by Scott, who beat Roberto Luongo to win the game and the series.