Vancouver Canucks

The Vancouver Canucks are a professional National Hockey League (NHL) ice hockey team based in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Facts

:Founded: 1945
:Joined the NHL: 1970-1971
:Arena: General Motors Place
::Former Home Arena: Pacific Coliseum (1970-1995)
:Uniform colours: Home: Royal blue, maroon, and silver on dark blue. Away: Royal blue, maroon, and silver on white. Alternate (3rd): Maroon, dark blue, and silver.
:Logo design: A stylized "C", consisting of an orca breaking out of ice.
:Vintage Sweater: A stylized "C", consisting of a hockey rink and hockey stick. Home: Green and white on royal blue. Away: Royal blue and green on white.
:Stanley Cup final appearances: 2 (1981-82 (lost), 1993-94 (lost))
:Mascot: Fin the Orca

Franchise History

In 1945 the Pacific Coast Hockey League established an ice hockey franchise in the city of Vancouver. Known as the Canucks, they immediately enjoyed success by winning PCHL championships in their first (1946) and third (1948) year of existence. In 1952, the PCHL merged with the Western Canada Senior Hockey League to form the professional Western Hockey League. With numerous star players coming through the ranks like Johnny Bower, Andy Bathgate, Tony Esposito, and Phil Maloney, the Canucks would again win the President's/Lester Patrick Cup in 1958, 1960, 1969, and 1970.

In 1965, when the NHL announced plans to expand to six additional markets, the owner of the WHL's Canucks (and former Vancouver mayor), Fred Hume, announced that the city of Vancouver would apply. However, the presentation to the NHL's Board of Governors was sloppily prepared. Because of this, and the fact that the Vancouver ownership group was disliked by Detroit Red Wings' owner James Norris and Toronto Maple Leafs' owner Stafford Smythe (who hated Vancouver in general because of a failed arena plan), the application did not succeed. Nevertheless, the Pacific Coliseum, which was to be the first home for a prospective Vancouver NHL team, was built on the grounds of the Pacific National Exhibition (PNE).

In 1970, another Vancouver ownership group bought the Canucks and, after much negotiating, joined the NHL for the price of $6 million ($4 million more than it would have cost in 1967).

:First NHL Captain: Orland Kurtenbach
:First NHL Game: 9 October, 1970 vs. Los Angeles Kings
:First NHL Victory: 11 October, 1970 5 - 3 vs. Toronto Maple Leafs
:First NHL Goal Scored: Barry Wilkins vs. Los Angeles Kings

The Canucks were generally mediocre for the first decade of their existence, missing the playoffs 6 times in their first 8 years. After a decent regular season, the Canucks became the Cinderella story of the 1982 playoffs and made it all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time in franchise history. They were promptly swept 4 games to none by the heavily favoured New York Islanders. After their improbable Stanley Cup run, the Canucks slipped back into mediocrity for the rest of the 1980's.

Under the guidance of new general manager Pat Quinn, the Canucks rose to prominence in the early 1990's. Led by players such as Trevor Linden, Kirk McLean, and Pavel Bure, the Canucks won two consecutive division titles in 1992 and 1993. However, they did not go far in the playoffs.

In 1994, the Canucks made another trip to the finals, entering that year's 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 Calgary in the first round in an incredible seven game series. They won games five, six, and seven in overtime; Pavel Bure scored the game 7 winner on a breakaway, which many consider the biggest goal in franchise history. They went on to defeat the Dallas Stars and Toronto Maple Leafs before meeting the New York Rangers in the Finals. The Canucks lost game seven in the finals by a score of 3-2 in what many hockey analysts consider one of the closest and most exciting Stanley Cup finals in NHL history. Oddly enough, they lost to teams from New York during both of their Stanley Cup Final appearances.

After the Canucks incredible 1994 run, Vancouver continued to be a force for the next two seasons, acquiring Alexander Mogilny via trade to further improve their offence. In the 1997 off-season, the Canucks made a big splash and signed Mark Messier to a lucrative deal. This was thought to be the final piece of the puzzle in getting the Canucks back to the finals. However this was not the case, and the Canucks missed the playoffs for the rest of the decade.

With a new general manager, Brian Burke, and coach Marc Crawford, Vancouver rebuilt their team and returned to the playoffs in 2001. This season however started in Sweden, when the team held their training camp in Stockholm, and participated in the NHL Challenge. Led by Markus Naslund, Todd Bertuzzi, Ed Jovanovski, and Dan Cloutier, the Canucks would become a league powerhouse in the first five years of the 21st century. However to date, the 21st century Canucks have not yet achieved success in the playoffs, so far unable to make it past the second round.

Before the NHL lockout of 2004-2005, Brian Burke did not have his contract renewed by the Vancouver Canucks to be replaced by Dave Nonis, who had been the assistant GM. Free agent activity in the summer prior to the 2005-2006 season saw players such as Anson Carter and Richard Park arrive in Vancouver. However, the activity of Nonis was rather meek compared to other active clubs.

Logo and sweater history

The team has gone through several different logo and sweater changes in its history. One of their first sweaters is now worn on the occasional "vintage night"; a blue rink-shaped rectangle with a hockey stick in it designed by Joe Borovich of North Vancouver. A version of this logo is still in use, as a shoulder patch on the team's current jerseys, with the modern team's colours. One of the more controversial sweaters worn consisted of a huge yellow, orange, and black striped "V" coming down from the shoulders which, depending on whom you ask, is usually considered to be either their best or (more commonly) worst sweater. The logo used before the current one was the word "Canucks" in a diagonal slant and is part of the blade of a skate. The current sweater is an orca, in the shape of a "C".

The name "Canuck" has nothing to do with the current logo of the Canucks. Canuck is a slang word for a Canadian person in the way "Yankee" is for an American. However, the team name is actually derived from Johnny Canuck, a 19th century Canadian Cartoon that has had several reincarnations during the 20th century. Johnny Canuck was also on the very first Vancouver Canucks logo, back in their Pacific Coast Hockey League days.

Ownership

Francesco Aquilini, head of the Aquilini Investment Group in Vancouver, purchased a 50% share in the franchise and General Motors Place sports arena on the 17th of November, 2004. Aquilini purchased his share of the franchise and General Motors Place from American billionaire John McCaw, who still owns the remaining 50%. However, in January 2005, Aquilini's former business partners, Tom Gagliardi and Ryan Beedie, have filed a lawsuit against Aquilini and OrcaBay, the group that currently owns the Canucks. Gagliardi and Beedie claimed that Aquilini and OrcaBay had acted in bad faith and went behind their backs when Aquilini and Orca Bay brokered their deal, despite Aquilini having had to pull out of his partnership with Gagliardi and Beedie to purchase the team due to financial concerns.

Franchise Statistics

Career Leaders (1970-current)

* Games: Trevor Linden, 972
* Goals: Trevor Linden, 297
* Assists: Stan Smyl, 411
* Points: Trevor Linden, 691
* Penalty Minutes: Gino Odjick, 2,127
* Goaltender Games: Kirk McLean, 516
* Goaltender Wins: Kirk McLean, 211
* Shutouts: Kirk McLean, 20

Season-by-season record

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime losses/Shootout losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes
| Logo | Season | GP | W | L | T | OTL | Pts | GF | GA | PIM | Finish | Playoffs |
| 1970-71 | 78 | 24 | 46 | 8 | -- | 56 | 229 | 296 | 1371 | 6th in East | Out of playoffs |
| 1971-72 | 78 | 20 | 50 | 8 | -- | 48 | 203 | 297 | 1092 | 7th (last) in East | Out of playoffs |
| 1972-73 | 78 | 22 | 47 | 9 | -- | 53 | 233 | 339 | 943 | 7th in East | Out of playoffs |
| 1973-74 | 78 | 24 | 43 | 11 | -- | 59 | 224 | 296 | 952 | 7th in East | Out of playoffs |
| 1974-75 | 80 | 38 | 32 | 10 | -- | 86 | 271 | 254 | 965 | 1st in Smythe | Lost in 1st round |
| 1975-76 | 80 | 33 | 32 | 15 | -- | 81 | 271 | 272 | 1122 | 2nd in Smythe | Lost in 1st round |
| 1976-77 | 80 | 25 | 42 | 13 | -- | 63 | 235 | 294 | 1078 | 4th in Smythe | Out of playoffs |
| 1977-78 | 80 | 20 | 43 | 17 | -- | 57 | 239 | 320 | 962 | 3rd in Smythe | Out of playoffs |
| 1978-79 | 80 | 25 | 42 | 13 | -- | 63 | 217 | 291 | 1134 | 2nd in Smythe | Lost in 1st round |
| 1979-80 | 80 | 27 | 37 | 16 | -- | 70 | 256 | 281 | 1808 | 3rd in Smythe | Lost in 1st round |
| 1980-81 | 80 | 28 | 32 | 20 | -- | 76 | 289 | 301 | 1892 | 2nd in Smythe | Lost in 1st round |
| 1981-82 | 80 | 30 | 33 | 17 | -- | 77 | 290 | 286 | 1840 | 2nd in Smythe | Lost in Stanley Cup finals |
| 1982-83 | 80 | 30 | 35 | 15 | -- | 75 | 303 | 309 | 1639 | 3rd in Smythe | Lost in 1st round |
| 1983-84 | 80 | 32 | 39 | 9 | -- | 73 | 306 | 328 | 1474 | 3rd in Smythe | Lost in 1st round |
| 1984-85 | 80 | 25 | 46 | 9 | -- | 59 | 284 | 401 | 1451 | 5th (last) in Smythe | Out of playoffs |
| 1985-86 | 80 | 23 | 44 | 13 | -- | 59 | 282 | 333 | 1813 | 4th in Smythe | Lost in 1st round |
| 1986-87 | 80 | 29 | 43 | 8 | -- | 66 | 282 | 314 | 1917 | 5th (last) in Smythe | Out of playoffs |
| 1987-88 | 80 | 25 | 46 | 9 | -- | 59 | 272 | 320 | 2196 | 5th (last) in Smythe | Out of playoffs |
| 1988-89 | 80 | 33 | 39 | 8 | -- | 74 | 251 | 253 | 1569 | 4th in Smythe | Lost in 1st round |
| 1989-90 | 80 | 25 | 41 | 14 | -- | 64 | 245 | 306 | 1644 | 5th (last) in Smythe | Out of playoffs |
| 1990-91 | 80 | 28 | 43 | 9 | -- | 65 | 243 | 315 | 2063 | 4th in Smythe | Lost in 1st round |
| 1991-92 | 80 | 42 | 26 | 12 | -- | 96 | 285 | 250 | 2075 | 1st in Smythe | Lost in 2nd round |
| 1992-93 | 84 | 46 | 29 | 9 | -- | 101 | 346 | 278 | 2326 | 1st in Smythe | Lost in 2nd round |
| 1993-94 | 84 | 41 | 40 | 3 | -- | 85 | 279 | 276 | 1923 | 2nd in Smythe | Lost in Stanley Cup finals |
| 1994-951 | 48 | 18 | 18 | 12 | -- | 48 | 153 | 148 | 1093 | 2nd in Pacific | Lost in 2nd round |
| 1995-96 | 82 | 32 | 35 | 15 | -- | 79 | 278 | 278 | 1546 | 3rd in Pacific | Lost in 1st round |
| 1996-97 | 82 | 35 | 40 | 7 | -- | 77 | 257 | 273 | 1607 | 4th in Pacific | Out of playoffs |
| 1997-98 | 82 | 25 | 43 | 14 | -- | 64 | 224 | 273 | 2166 | 7th (last) in Pacific | Out of playoffs |
| 1998-99 | 82 | 23 | 47 | 12 | -- | 58 | 192 | 258 | 1764 | 4th (last) in Northwest | Out of playoffs |
| 1999-00 | 82 | 30 | 29 | 15 | 8 | 83 | 227 | 237 | 1047 | 3rd in Northwest | Out of playoffs |
| 2000-01 | 82 | 36 | 28 | 11 | 7 | 90 | 239 | 238 | 1113 | 3rd in Northwest | Lost in 1st round |
| 2001-02 | 82 | 42 | 30 | 7 | 3 | 94 | 254 | 211 | 1342 | 2nd in Northwest | Lost in 1st round |
| 2002-03 | 82 | 45 | 23 | 13 | 1 | 104 | 264 | 208 | 1178 | 2nd in Northwest | Lost in 2nd round |
| 2003-04 | 82 | 43 | 24 | 10 | 5 | 101 | 235 | 194 | 1274 | 1st in Northwest | Lost in 1st round |
| 2004-052 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 2005-06 | 56 | 32 | 19 | -- | 5 | 69 | 192 | 171 | 844 |
| Grand Totals | 2759 | 1054 | 1285 | 391 | 29 | 2528 | 8827 | 9682 | 52223 |
|

:1 Season was shortened due to the 1994-95 NHL lockout.
:2 Season was cancelled due to the 2004-05 NHL lockout.

Notable Players

Current Squad

As of February 28, 2006 1
| colspan=6 |Goaltenders |
| width=5%|Number | width=5%| | !width=15%|Player | width=16%|Catches | width=9%|Acquired | width=37%|Place of Birth |
|
| align=center|1 | align=center| | Maxime Ouellet | align=center|L | align=center|2006 | Beauport, Quebec |
| align=center|35 | align=center| | Alexander Auld | align=center|L | align=center|2001 | Cold Lake, Alberta |
| align=center|39 | align=center| | Dan Cloutier (Injured Reserve) | align=center|L | align=center|2001 | Mont-Laurier, Quebec |
|

| colspan=6 |Defencemen |
| width=5%|Number | width=5%| | !width=15%|Player | width=16%|Shoots | width=9%|Acquired | width=37%|Place of Birth |
|
| align=center|2 | align=center| | Mattias Ohlund - A (Injured Reserve) | align=center|L | align=center|1994 | Piteå, Sweden |
| align=center|4 | align=center| | Nolan Baumgartner | align=center|R | align=center|2003 | Calgary, Alberta |
| align=center|5 | align=center| | Bryan Allen | align=center|L | align=center|1998 | Kingston, Ontario |
| align=center|6 | align=center| | Sami Salo (Injured Reserve) | align=center|R | align=center|2002 | Turku, Finland |
| align=center|25 | align=center| | Kevin Bieksa | align=center|R | align=center|2001 | Grimsby, Ontario |
| align=center|26 | align=center| | Steve McCarthy | align=center|L | align=center|2005 | Trail, British Columbia |
| align=center|28 | align=center| | Wade Brookbank (Injured Reserve) | align=center|L | align=center|2004 | Lanigan, Saskatchewan |
| align=center|52 | align=center| | Sven Butenschon | align=center|L | align=center|2005 | Itzehoe, West Germany |
| align=center|45 | align=center| | Tomas Mojzis | align=center|L | align=center|2002 | Kolin, Czechoslovakia |
| align=center|55 | align=center| | Ed Jovanovski - A (Injured Reserve) | align=center|L | align=center|1999 | Windsor, Ontario |
|

| colspan=7 |Forwards |
| width=5%|Number | width=5%| | !width=15%|Player | width=8%|Shoots | width=8%|Position | width=9%|Acquired | width=37%|Place of Birth |
|
| align=center|7 | align=center| | Brendan Morrison - A | align=center|L | align=center|C | align=center|2000 | Pitt Meadows, British Columbia |
| align=center|14 | align=center| | Alexandre Burrows | align=center|L | align=center|LW | align=center|2003 | Pincourt, Quebec |
| align=center|15 | align=center| | Rick Rypien (Injured Reserve) | align=center|R | align=center|C | align=center|2005 | Coleman, Alberta |
| align=center|16 | align=center| | Trevor Linden - A | align=center|R | align=center|C/RW | align=center|2001 | Medicine Hat, Alberta |
| align=center|18 | align=center| | Richard Park | align=center|R | align=center|RW | align=center|2005 | Seoul, South Korea |
| align=center|19 | align=center| | Markus Naslund - C | align=center|L | align=center|LW | align=center|1996 | Ornskoldsvik, Sweden |
| align=center|20 | align=center| | Ryan Kesler | align=center|R | align=center|C | align=center|2003 | Livonia, Michigan |
| align=center|21 | align=center| | Tyler Bouck | align=center|L | align=center|RW/LW | align=center|2001 | Camrose, Alberta |
| align=center|22 | align=center| | Daniel Sedin | align=center|L | align=center|LW | align=center|1999 | Ornskoldsvik, Sweden |
| align=center|24 | align=center| | Matt Cooke | align=center|L | align=center|LW/RW | align=center|1997 | Belleville, Ontario |
| align=center|33 | align=center| | Henrik Sedin | align=center|L | align=center|C | align=center|1999 | Ornskoldsvik, Sweden |
| align=center|36 | align=center| | Josh Green | align=center|L | align=center|LW | align=center|2005 | Camrose, Alberta |
| align=center|37 | align=center| | Jarkko Ruutu | align=center|L | align=center|RW/LW | align=center|1998 | Vantaa, Finland |
| align=center|44 | align=center| | Todd Bertuzzi - A | align=center|L | align=center|RW | align=center|1998 | Sudbury, Ontario |
| align=center|77 | align=center| | Anson Carter | align=center|R | align=center|RW | align=center|2005 | Toronto, Ontario |
|

Hall of Famers

* Andrew James "Andy" Bathgate
* Frank A. Griffiths (Owner)
* John Calverley "Jake" Milford (General Manager)
* Roger Paul Neilson (Coach)
* Norman "Bud" Poile (General Manager)
* Jim Robson (Radio Broadcaster)

Team captains

*Orland Kurtenbach (1970 - 1974)
*Andre Boudrias (1975 - 1976)
*Chris Oddleifson (1976 - 1977)
*Don Lever (1977 - 1979)
*Kevin McCarthy (1979 - 1982)
*Stan Smyl (1982 - 1990)
*Dan Quinn (1990 - 1991)
*Doug Lidster (1990 - 1991)
*Trevor Linden (1990 - 1997)
*Mark Messier (1997 - 2000)
*Markus Näslund (2000 - present)

Retired Numbers

* 12 Stan Smyl, F, 1978-91
* 99 Wayne Gretzky (retired league-wide by the NHL)

Note: Wayne Maki's number 11 was unofficially retired by the Canucks organization following his untimely death in May 1974. However, it has been worn by one other Canucks player since then, Mark Messier.

Franchise scoring leaders

These are the top-ten point-scorers in the history of the Canucks. Figures are updated after each completed NHL regular season.
Note: GP = Games Played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points
| Player | POS | GP | G | A | Pts |
| Trevor Linden | RW | 919 | 292 | 388 | 680 |
| Stan Smyl | RW | 896 | 262 | 411 | 673 |
| Markus Naslund | LW | 639 | 265 | 297 | 562 |
| Thomas Gradin | C | 613 | 197 | 353 | 550 |
| Pavel Bure | RW | 428 | 254 | 224 | 478 |
| Tony Tanti | RW | 531 | 250 | 220 | 470 |
| Don Lever | LW | 593 | 186 | 221 | 407 |
| Andre Boudrias | LW | 458 | 121 | 267 | 388 |
| Todd Bertuzzi | RW | 436 | 163 | 215 | 378 |
| Petri Skriko | LW | 472 | 171 | 202 | 373 |
|
|


See also

*Canuck
*List of NHL seasons
*List of NHL players
*List of Vancouver Canucks players
*Head Coaches of the Vancouver Canucks
*Vancouver Canucks Records

External links

* Vancouver Canucks' Official Website
* HockeyDB


Category:Vancouver Canucks
Category:1970 establishments

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The Wikipedia article is licensed under http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html and uses material from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vancouver_Canucks. A preview of this article is available at http://www.blinkbits.com/en_wikifeeds/Vancouver_Canucks.