Vancouver Canucks

The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. They are members of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). They joined the NHL as an expansion team in 1970. The Canucks play their home games in General Motors Place. The Canucks have twice made it to the Stanley Cup Finals, but lost both series to each of the New York teams: the Islanders in 1982, and the Rangers in 1994.

Franchise history

Early years (1970-1982)
Vancouver has a rich hockey tradition. Professional hockey has been played in the city almost continuously since 1911. The city's first professional team, the Vancouver Millionaires, played for the Stanley Cup five times. It was also home to one of the first artificial ice arenas in North America. After the Millionaires disbanded in 1924, Vancouver was a top minor league city for many years, most notably by the Vancouver Canucks, who played from 1945 to 1970 in the Pacific Coast Hockey League and Western Hockey League.
With the NHL's westward expansion, it was a foregone conclusion that big-league hockey would return to Vancouver. In fact, the city was so certain of success that it broke ground for a modern arena, Pacific Coliseum, in 1967. However, when a Vancouver group led by WHL Canucks owner and former Vancouver mayor Fred Hume made a bid for one of the six teams due to join the league in 1967, it was so sloppily prepared that their application was turned down.
However, three years later, another Vancouver group made a much better presentation, and was awarded an expansion franchise for the price of $6 million ($4 million more than it would have cost in 1967). The new team assumed the Canucks name, and joined the league along with the Buffalo Sabres for the 1970-71 season.
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
In defiance of all geographic reality, the Canucks were placed in the powerful East Division for their first four seasons, and although they had a few decent players such as ex-Ranger center Orland Kurtenbach, defencemen Dale Tallon and Jocelyn Guevremont and winger Dennis Ververgaert, the team failed to make the playoffs during those years. Realignment in the 1975 season placed the Canucks in the new Smythe Division, and they responded with their first winning record, finishing first in the division, though their first playoff series had them square off with the dynastic Montreal Canadiens, quickly losing. They would have a winning season and make the playoffs the season following, but slip back into losing ways the next two seasons thereafter. In that time, their best players were slick playmaker Andre Boudrias, who finished first in team scoring four out of the franchise's first five seasons (and finish second by a single point in the other), forward Don Lever, and Dennis Kearns, to this day the leading scoring defenceman in franchise history.
After the team's winning season in 1976, Vancouver would not have another winning team for another sixteen seasons, but in the notoriously weak Smythe Division would generally make the playoffs.

1982 Stanley Cup run
After a dozen years of unremarkable play, the Canucks finally made an impact in the post-season of 1982. After finishing three games under .500 over the course of the regular season, Vancouver blew through the Campbell Conference playoffs, going 11-2 in games against the Calgary Flames, Los Angeles Kings, and Chicago Blackhawks. It should be noted that despite having a losing record, Vancouver had home ice advantage in the first series, having finished second in the Smythe division that season, behind only the ultra-powerful Wayne Gretzky-led Edmonton Oilers. The Canucks also had home ice advantage during the second round series against the Los Angeles Kings after their unbelievable upset of those same Oilers during the first playoff round.
Still, the Campbell Conference champion Canucks became the Cinderella story of the 1982 playoffs as they made it all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time in franchise history. In doing so, they became the first team from western Canada to play for the Stanley Cup in 56 years. However, they were promptly swept in four games by the heavily favoured defending champion New York Islanders, disappointingly losing the final game on home ice. That season would prove to be the last one in which Vancouver won a playoff series until 1992.

Decline and resurgence (1982-1994)
After their improbable Stanley Cup run, the Canucks slipped back into mediocrity for the rest of the 1980s. Their notable players in the 1980s included two-way forward Stan Smyl, who retired the franchise leader in most scoring categories; Swedish imports Thomas Gradin and Patrik Sundstrom; penalty minute king Tiger Williams, who led the NHL in penalty minutes during two of his Canuck seasons; hardrock defenceman Harold Snepsts, one of the most popular players in franchise history; and high-scoring right winger Tony Tanti.
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 new captain Trevor Linden, goalie Kirk McLean, and high-scoring sensation Pavel Bure(the "Russian Rocket"), the Canucks won two consecutive regular season division titles in 1992 and 1993, though they would be eliminated by division rivals in the playoffs during both seasons.

1994 Stanley Cup run
In 1994 the Canucks made their second trip to the Finals, entering the 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. After trailing the series 3 games to 1, they won games five, six, and seven in overtime. During overtime of the seventh and deciding game, goaltender Kirk McLean made "The Save", a defining moment in Canucks history, stacking pads on the goal line to stop a near-perfect setup by Theoren Fleury and Robert Reichel, saving the Canucks from elimination. Pavel Bure scored the Game Seven winner on a breakaway in the second overtime, one of the franchise's greatest moments. They went on to defeat both the Dallas Stars and Toronto Maple Leafs in 5 games before meeting the New York Rangers in the Stanley Cup Finals. Vancouver won Game 1 by a score of 3-2 in OT, thanks to a 52-save performance by goaltender McLean. After losing three in a row, the Canucks won Games 5 and 6 to force a seventh game at Madison Square Garden. They lost Game Seven by a score of 3-2, a loss made more disappointing due to Nathan LaFayette hitting the Ranger goalpost in the dying minutes of the game. The Canucks' failure was followed by a riot in downtown Vancouver, many of whom had likely been drinking heavily. Following the riots, the Canucks returned to a crowd of 40,000 people at BC Place, who congratulated the team for their effort.

Return to mediocrity (1994-2001)
After the 1994 playoff run, Vancouver continued to be a force for the next two seasons. Head coach Quinn stepped down to focus on his duties as a general manager, and was replaced by assistant Rick Ley, then later on, Tom Renney. Russ Courtnall and Alexander Mogilny were acquired via trade from the Dallas Stars and Buffalo Sabres, respectively, in an effort to further improve offence; Russ was paired with his brother Geoff, and Alexander was reunited with his former CSKA Moscow linemate, Pavel Bure. However, the team was swept in the second round by the Chicago Blackhawks in 1995 and defeated in the first round by the Stanley Cup-winning Colorado Avalanche in 1996. During the 1996-97 season, star forward Bure suffered a season-ending injury, and despite strong performances by players such as Martin Gelinas and Mogilny, the Canucks missed the playoffs.
In the 1997 off-season, the Canucks made a big splash and signed Mark Messier from the Rangers to a lucrative three-year deal. Also during the off-season was a change upstairs; GM Pat Quinn was fired and replaced with a management committee. Renney was fired and Mike Keenan was hired as a replacement; when given the power to make trades, he split up the core of the 1994 team, even trading away fan-favorite and until then, career-Canuck, Trevor Linden.
Suffering their worst season of the decade in 1998-99, Keenan was fired and replaced with Marc Crawford (who had won the Stanley Cup with the 1996 Colorado Avalanche). Despite this, the Canucks missed the post-season again, but the payoff for the dreadful season was the chance to draft future stars Daniel and Henrik Sedin second and third overall in the Entry Draft that year.

"West Coast Express" years (2001-2005)
With a new general manager (Brian Burke) and coach Marc Crawford, the Canucks had become a much better club. The team held their training camp in Stockholm, and participated against Swedish and Finnish teams in the NHL Challenge. The rebuilt Canucks team returned to the playoffs in 2001 (capturing the eighth and final position on the last day of the season), appearing in the playoffs for the first time since the 1995-96 season. Led by the "West Coast Express" forward line of Markus Naslund, Brendan Morrison and Todd Bertuzzi, defenceman Ed Jovanovski and goaltender Dan Cloutier, the Canucks would achieve some success during these years, winning the Northwest Division title during the 2003-04 season. However, significant playoff success was not achieved; the team failed to advance past the second round, going as far as gaining a 3-1 series lead against the Minnesota Wild during the 2003 playoffs, but losing the advantage and the matchup in seven games.
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 contract renewed by the Canucks and was replaced by Dave Nonis, who had been assistant GM.

Post-Lockout (2005-Present)
The 2005-06 season began with much promise, with some hockey analysts picking the Canucks as Stanley Cup favourites. Under new general manager Nonis, 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, 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 Edmonton Oilers, which caused some debate about the effect of the point awarded for an overtime or shootout loss, recently instituted by the NHL. The season was characterized by under-achieving play, most notably in the first line of Naslund, Bertuzzi, and 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 Naslund, had a combined -37 in Plus/Minus Rating. Vancouver's highest-scoring line was the second line of Carter and the Sedin twins.
On April 25, 2006, the Canucks fired Crawford; he was hired by the Los Angeles Kings. Alain Vigneault, who had just coached Vancouver's AHL affiliate, the Manitoba Moose, to a 102-point season, was hired as his replacement on June 20, 2006. Netminder Dan Cloutier also went to Los Angeles.
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 Todd Bertuzzi, Bryan Allen and Alex Auld for Roberto Luongo, Lukas Krajicek and a sixth-round draft pick (Sergei Shirokov) in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft. Florida fan-favourite Luongo initially claimed to be "surprised" with being traded. Luongo later signed a long-term 4-year, $27-million deal with the Canucks which includes a "no-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 his rights. 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 was considered high for a young player with relatively low stats, and Bobby Clarke, the now ex-general manager of the Flyers, received 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.
On April 7, 2007, the Canucks won the Northwest Division title for the 2nd time in three seasons with an overtime win over the San Jose Sharks. The win also gave goalie Roberto Luongo his 47th of the season, tying him for the previous single-season win record with Bernie Parent, which had been eclipsed in the same season by New Jersey Devils netminder Martin Brodeur.
On April 11th, 2007, the Canucks set a franchise record with a quadruple-overtime win in the opening game of round one of the playoffs against the Dallas Stars. The game was the longest in Canucks history and the sixth longest in league history. Also in this game, the Canucks set a record for shots against, allowing 76. The Canucks won the series in seven games despite a lack of goal-scoring; Stars goalie Marty Turco recorded three shutouts in the series. Advancing to the second round, the team was defeated by the Stanley Cup-winning Anaheim Ducks in five games.

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