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 four 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 two 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 sixth place with a typical expansion like record of 24-46-8.