Vancouver Canucks

Team information

• Inaugural season: 1945 (PCHL); 1970 (NHL)
• Home arena: Rogers Arena, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
• Owner: Canucks Sports & Entertainment
• Team colors: Blue, green, and white

Overview

The Vancouver Canucks is a Canadian hockey team in the Western Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). The team originated as part of the Pacific Coast Hockey League (PCHL) and was part of the World Hockey League (WHL) as well. The Canucks joined the NHL as part of a two-team expansion in 1970 along with the Buffalo Sabres. The team played in the brand-new Pacific Coliseum, built for the sole purpose of bringing NHL hockey to Vancouver. Construction on the Coliseum began several years before the franchise was awarded because the franchise proposal met resistance and was delayed. Once they were finally established as an NHL franchise, the team struggled for on-ice success, missing the playoffs in its first four seasons. The Canucks posted their first winning season in 1974–1975 and made the playoffs for the first time the following year when they also won their first division championship. Since then, the Canucks have amassed ten division championships, three conference championships, and two President’s Trophies for the best record in the regular season; however, they have yet to win the Stanley Cup.

History

Professional hockey has a long history in Vancouver, beginning with the Vancouver Millionaires in the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA) in 1911–1912. It was during this time that the Stanley Cup moved from being an award for winning an amateur challenge series to being presented to the winner of a professional hockey tournament. That tournament was a best-of-five series between the PCHA and the National Hockey Association (NHA), the forerunner of the NHL. A Vancouver team won that tournament and the Stanley Cup once in five attempts.

In 1922–1923, the Millionaires became the Maroons. They moved to the Western Canada Hockey League in 1924 and then the Western Hockey League the following year. By 1926, both leagues and the team disbanded.

The year 1945 brought minor league professional hockey back to Vancouver when the Vancouver Canucks joined the PCHL. Between 1945 and 1952, the team won the league championship twice. Then, the league was renamed the Western Hockey League (WHL). The Canucks were WHL champions four times during the next eighteen years, including 1969 and 1970, the final years before they became part of the NHL.

Meanwhile, plans were underway to create an NHL franchise in the city. The effort began when it became known that the NHL was planning its first significant expansion since 1942. The expansion would double the league in size from six teams to twelve. The city broke ground on a new arena, the Pacific Coliseum, in anticipation of winning an NHL franchise for 1967. The effort failed, in part due to resistance from existing Canadian teams reluctant to share the television market.

Another attempt was made in 1968 when Vancouver made a bid to buy the Oakland Seals—one of the new franchises the NHL added in 1967—and move the team to Vancouver. The NHL was reluctant to give up on a new expansion team so easily, and the offer was again rejected. As a consolation, the league agreed that Vancouver would get a team in the next wave of expansion. This became official on May 22, 1970, when the Vancouver Canucks formally became part of the NHL.

The “Canucks” nickname comes from a cartoon character named Johnny Canuck, who was created in the 1860s to represent Canada in the same way Uncle Sam represents the United States. The name was also used for a 1941 comic book character who was both a member of the military and a spy keeping Canada safe during World War II, similar to Captain America. Johnny Canuck has been represented in a patch worn on the shoulder of the Canucks jerseys. The team mascot is an orca whale, a nod to the presence of whales off the British Columbia coast.

The new franchise recorded its first winning season in 1974 when they also won the division championship. Several less than stellar years followed until 1982. In that year, the team’s postseason play exceeded the caliber of its regular season performance. A series of unlikely matchups in the early rounds resulted in the Canucks advancing to the Stanley Cup Finals, where they faced off against the New York Islanders. The Islanders were a powerhouse franchise at the time and the Canucks were no match, falling in four straight games. The next ten seasons produced disappointing results. The team made the playoffs a few times without advancing past the first round. Things began to look up in 1989 after Vancouver drafted Pavel Bure. During his first season with the Canucks in 1991–1992, Bure—nicknamed the “Russian Rocket”—was rookie of the year. That same season, the team won its first division title. That season and the next, Vancouver advanced as far as the division finals before falling out of Stanley Cup contention. In 1994, the Canucks advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals for the second time in franchise history. They pushed the New York Rangers to seven games before losing 4–3. Vancouver fans responded by rioting in the streets, resulting in two hundred injuries and millions of dollars in damages.

The Canucks advanced as far as the conference semi-finals several times over the next decade and a half, but failed to make it to the conference finals again until 2010–2011. As they celebrated their fortieth year in the NHL, the team recorded one of its most successful seasons. The Canucks won the Presidents’ Trophy, awarded to the top team in the regular season, and beat the defending Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks in the first round. They defeated the Nashville Predators and San Jose Sharks in the next two rounds to reach the Stanley Cup Finals. After winning the first two games at home, the Canucks eventually lost to the Boston Bruins in seven games. Once again, disappointed Vancouver fans rioted in their city, causing millions of dollars in damage to outdoor viewing screens, windows, vehicles, and other property.

Another Presidents’ Trophy followed in 2011–2012, but the team did not make it out of the first round of the playoffs. The Canucks made it to the playoffs again in 2014–2015, but lost in the opening round. The team failed to make the playoffs for the remainder of the 2010s.

Notable players

Bure and Igor Larionov are among the five former Canucks who have been inducted into the NHL Hall of Fame. The others are Mark Messier, Mats Sundin, and Cam Neely. Of these players, Bure spent the most years in a Canucks uniform; the others spent the majority of their careers playing for other teams. Bure’s jersey number 10 is one of six retired by the Canucks. The others belong to Stan Smyl, Trevor Linden, Markus Naslund, and twin brothers Daniel and Henrik Sedin.

Henrik Sedin holds the team record for career points and assists with 1,070 and 830, respectively. Daniel Sedin leads the team in career goals with 393. Henrik holds the team lead for career games played with 1,330. The brothers received a number of other honors during their eighteen year careers. After expressing a desire to play together, the Sedins entered the draft in 1999, knowing it was likely they would end up on different teams. However, the Canucks held both the first and third picks in the first round that year and negotiated to trade the third pick for the second. This allowed the Canucks to select both brothers with back-to-back picks. Henrik won the Art Ross Trophy as the league’s top point scorer in 2009–2010; the next year, that award went to Daniel. Henrik also won the Hart Memorial Trophy as most valuable player in 2009–2010 and the King Clancy Trophy for leadership on the ice and humanitarian efforts off the ice in 2015–2016. The following year, the brothers shared the King Clancy award.

Goaltender Roberto Luongo played eight seasons with the Canucks between 2006 and 2014. He holds the team record for most career wins with 252, and career shutouts with 38. Luongo also leads the team in wins in a season with 47 in 2006–2007, and shutouts in a season with 9 in 2008–2009. Luongo also won the Scotiabank Fan Favorite Award in 2008–2009. In addition, he was selected as the team captain from 2008 through 2010. However, since NHL rules prevent a goalie from serving as a captain on the ice, the team designated three assistant captains to take care of the captain’s on-ice responsibilities.

Bibliography

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Simpson, Hayley. “A Brief History of the Vancouver Canucks.” Culture Trip, 6 Mar. 2017, theculturetrip.com/north-america/canada/articles/a-brief-history-of-the-vancouver-canucks/. Accessed 31 Mar. 2020.

Stainkamp, Michael. “A Brief History of the Vancouver Canucks.” NHL.com, 30 Aug. 2010, www.nhl.com/news/a-brief-history-of-the-vancouver-canucks/c-536474. Accessed 31 Mar. 2020.

Stewart, J.D.M., and Derek C. Drager. “Vancouver Canucks.” Canadian Encyclopedia, 31 July 2018, www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/vancouver-canucks. Accessed 31 Mar. 2020.

“Vancouver Canucks.” Hockey Reference, 2020, www.hockey-reference.com/teams/index.html. Accessed 31 Mar. 2020.

“Vancouver Canucks Team History.” Simon Fraser University, 2020, www.sfu.ca/geog351fall03/groups-webpages/gp2/VANCOUVER/history.htm. Accessed 31 Mar. 2020.

“Vancouver Canucks Team History.” Sports Team History, 2020, sportsteamhistory.com/vancouver-canucks. Accessed 31 Mar. 2020.