If you like
All-Time Teams, check out Let's
Make a Deal.
Standout:
Henrik Sedin was the first Canuck to be named
the most valuable player in the NHL.
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All-Time Teams
Just as the NHL honours
it's All-Stars each season, we have decided to delve into
the Canuck archives to come up with some dream teams of
our own.
The All-Century Team (First Team)
Okay, so the
Canucks have only been around half a century. Over the
next fifty years, I'll update these teams. Check back now
and again to see the changes.
Left Wing
Markus Naslund |
Centre
Phil Maloney |
Right Wing
Stan Smyl |
| Naslund
played 12 seasons with the Canucks, recording 346
goals and 410 assists. He was named to the NHL's
First All-Star team three times and served as
team captain from 2000-01 to 2007-08. |
"The
Silver Fox" played a total of fourteen
seasons with the Canucks. He was named league MVP
three times, placed on the All-Star team five
times, led the Canucks to two WHL championships
and recorded 923 points in 818 games. |
The
"Steamer" was the heart and soul of the
Vancouver Canucks for most of his thirteen
seasons. He served as captain longer than any
other Canuck and is in the top three in career
NHL games, goals, assists, points and penalty
minutes. |
Defense
Harold Snepsts |
Defense
Mattias Ohlund |
Goaltender
Kirk McLean |
| Harold
Snepsts played more games on the defense than any
other Canuck. During his two stops in Vancouver,
he played 781 over 12 seasons. He also holds the
team record for most years in the playoffs by a
defenseman (8). |
Ohlund
is one of the busiest blueliners each game. He
has been named the Canucks' best defenseman four
times in his 11 years. He has recorded 325 points
in 770 games and has scored 6 overtime goals. |
"Captain
Kirk" played 11 seasons for the Canucks. He
recorded 20 shutouts and a record of 211-228-62
in 516 games. He also had six shutouts in the
playoffs and won 34 of his 68 playoff games. |
The All-Century Team (Second Team)
Left
Wing
Don Lever |
Centre
Trevor Linden |
Right
Wing
Pavel Bure |
| Lever
played eight seasons for the Canucks and
currently ranks sixth in career points. One of
three left wingers to have been selected as the
team's MVP. Lever also served as captain for two
seasons. |
Trevor
Linden served as team captain for six complete
seasons and led the Canucks to the 1994 Stanley
Cup Finals. He holds Canuck records for playoff
games played and points and is second on the NHL
Canucks' all-time points list. |
Pavel
Bure was named NHL rookie of the year in his
first season and became the first Canuck to
record 50 (and 60) goals in a season. Bure played
seven seasons in Vancouver, recording 478 points
in 428 games. |
Defense
Doug Lidster |
Defense
Jyrki Lumme |
Goaltender
Roberto Luongo |
| Doug
Lidster was named the Canucks' best defenseman as
a rookie and three more times during his ten
years in Vancouver. He recorded 307 points in 666
games while with the team. |
Jyrki
Lumme was named the Canucks' best defenseman four
times during his nine year stay with the club. He
is tied with Dennis Kearns for career points
(321) and added 40 in the playoffs. |
Roberto
has recorded 155 wins and 23 shutouts in his
first four seasons with the Canucks. He was named
team MVP twice, an NHL All-star in 2006-07 and
served as "captain" since 2008-09. |
The All-2000's Team
The best players
at each position based on their performance between
2000-01 and 2009-10.
Left Wing
Markus Naslund |
Centre
Henrik Sedin |
Right Wing
Todd Bertuzzi |
| Recorded
547 points over seven seasons. Named to First NHL
All-star team three times. Voted team MVP four
times this decade. |
Recorded
572 points over nine seasons. Recorded 44 points
in the playoffs this decade. Won the Hart Trophy
as NHL MVP in 2009-10. |
Recorded
368 points over five seasons. Named to First NHL
All-Star team in 2002-03. |
Defense
Ed Jovanovski |
Defense
Mattias Ohlund |
Goaltender
Roberto Luongo |
| Gifted
playmaker. Recorded 197 points in 328 games over
5 seasons. Named team's best defenseman three
times this decade. |
One
of the busiest blueliners each game. Recorded 240
points over 8 seasons. Named team's best
defenseman twice this decade. |
Recorded
155 wins and 23 shutouts in his four seasons this
decade. Team MVP twice and NHL All-star in
2006-07. |
The All-1990's Team
The best
players at each position based on their performance
between 1990-91 and 1999-2000.
Left
Wing
Geoff Courtnall |
Centre
Trevor Linden |
Right
Wing
Pavel Bure |
| Courtnall's
five year career took place during this decade.
Geoff recorded 246 points in 292 games. The
Canucks never missed the playoffs while he was in
town and Courtnall contributed 61 points in 65
playoff games. |
Linden
became sole captain of the Canucks at the start
of the 1991-92 season and remained in that role
for six seasons. He recorded 459 points in 549
games during the decade plus 73 points in 72
playoff games. |
Pavel
Bure burst onto the Vancouver hockey scene as the
NHL's rookie of the year in 1991-92. Bure played
seven seasons in Vancouver, recording 478 points
in 428 games. |
Defense
Jyrki Lumme |
Defense
Dana Murzyn |
Goaltender
Kirk McLean |
| Jyrki
Lumme played more games this decade than any
other Canuck. In his eight seasons, he recorded
311 points in 568 games. |
Dana
Murzyn played in nine of the Canuck seasons this
decade. As a defensive defenseman, he has a
career plus/ minus of +78 in 452 games, the best
of any Canuck. |
"Captain
Kirk" played 8 of his 11 seasons during the
1990's. He recorded 15 shutouts and a record of
159-154-46 in 370 games. His best year was
1991-92 when he was named to the NHL's second
all-star team. |
The All-1980's Team
The best players
at each position based on their performance between
1980-81 and 1989-90.
Left
Wing
Petri Skriko |
Centre
Thomas Gradin |
Right
Wing
Stan Smyl |
| "Streak"
played his best six seasons during the 1980's,
recording 365 points in 452 games. He led the
team in points twice and was named NHL player of
the week in November, 1986. |
Gradin
played six seasons during the 1980's, recording
424 points in 457 games. He led the team in
points twice and became the first Canuck to reach
the 500 point mark during the decade. |
The
"Steamer" was the only player to play
in all ten seasons of the decade, recording 543
points in 712 games. Smyl served as the Canuck
captain for eight seasons. |
Defense
Garth Butcher |
Defense
Doug Lidster |
Goaltender
Richard Brodeur |
| "Strangler"
played nine seasons during the 1980's, recording
122 points in 541 games. Butcher led the team in
penalty minutes five of those seasons. |
Lidster
played his first seven NHL seasons during the
1980's. He was named the Canucks' best defenseman
in three of those seasons and recorded 215 points
in 451 games. |
Brodeur
earned the title "King Richard" during
the Canuck Stanley Cup run in 1982. Brodeur
finished the decade holding the team records for
most games (377), goals against (1389), wins
(126), losses (172) and ties (62). |
The All-1970's Team
The best players
at each position based on their performance between
1970-71 and 1979-80.
Left Wing
Don Lever |
Centre
Andre Boudrias |
Right Wing
Dennis Ververgaert |
| Lever
played in 8 of the team's first ten seasons. At
the end of the decade, Lever led the team in
career goals and points. He was captain two
seasons. |
The
"super pest" led the Canucks in points
four of their first five seasons. He played six
seasons in Vancouver and finished with 388 career
points in 458 games. |
Ververgaert
burst on the Vancouver hockey scene in 1973-74,
setting a team record for goals by a rookie with
26. He went on to record 304 points in 409 games. |
Defense
Dennis Kearns |
Defense
Harold Snepsts |
Goaltender
Gary Smith |
| Kearns
played in nine of the Canucks' first ten seasons
in the NHL. At the end of the decade, he held the
team record for career games played (631) and
assists (276). |
By
the end of 1979-80, Harold Snepsts had already
been named the team's most valuable defenseman
three times in his six seasons. He also held the
team record for career penalty minutes (754). |
In
the three seasons he played in Vancouver, Gary
Smith set team records for career games played
(208), goals against (572), shutouts (11), wins
(72) and ties (23). He almost single-handedly led
the Canucks to their first .500 season and first
playoff berth in 1974-75. |
The All-1960's Team
The best
players at each position based on their performance
between 1960-61 and 1969-70.
Left Wing
Jim Baird |
Centre
Phil Maloney |
Right Wing
Billy McNeill |
| Jim
Baird was named WHL Rookie of the Year in
1961-62. He went on to play a total of four
seasons with the Canucks. |
Well
into his 30's at the start of the 1960's, Maloney
played nine more seasons for the Canucks. He
recorded 576 points in 558 games, was named
league MVP twice and was the WHL's most
gentlemanly player three times in the decade. |
McNeill
played six seasons for the Canucks in the decade,
being named the league's MVP twice (in 1964-65
and 1965-66). He played over 200 games for
Vancouver. |
Defense
Larry Cahan |
Defense
Les Hunt |
Goaltender
Gilles Villemure |
| Larry
Cahan played four seasons for the Canucks in the
decade and was named to the WHL All-Star team in
three of those seasons (second team once and
first team twice). |
Les
Hunt played five seasons on the blueline for the
Canucks during the 1960's. He played in a total
of 333 games. |
Gilles
played three seasons in net, posting a combined
record of 88-91-13, with 12 shutouts. He was
named the WHL rookie of the year in 1962-63 and
appeared on the WHL All-Star Teams twice. |
The All-1950's Team
The Best
players at each position based on their performance prior
to and including 1959-60.
Left Wing
Jim Powers |
Centre
Phil Maloney |
Right Wing
Fred Brown |
| Jim
Powers wins by default. Apparently, most of the
left wingers didn't last more than one season
with the Canucks. Jim played two and a half
seasons in Vancouver. |
The
"silver fox" led the Canucks to a
championship, was named WHL MVP once and played
five seasons during the 1950's. |
Fred
played five seasons for the Canucks between
1952-53 and 1956-57. He accumulated 192 points in
247 games. |
Defense
Hugh Currie |
Defense
Carl Kaiser |
Goaltender
Marcel Pelletier |
| Currie
played five seasons for the Canucks in the
1950's. He was named to the WHL All-Star team
twice. |
Carl
played five seasons with the Canucks, although
his exact records are unknown as he played parts
of two seasons with Saskatoon. |
Marcel
only played one season (1957-58), but played
every minute of every game, posting a record of
44-21-5. He was named the league's best goalie
and led his team to regular season and playoff
championships. |
The All-Name Team
The
players with the most unique, hard to spell or impossible
to pronounce names.
Left Wing
Raimo Summanen (NHL)
Steve Brklacich (WHL) |
Centre
Christian Ruuttu (NHL)
Gordon Vejprava (WHL) |
Right Wing
Alek Stojanov (NHL)
Rudolph Panagabko (WHL) |
Defense
Sheldon Kannegiesser (NHL)
Victor Lofvendahl (WHL) |
Defense
Zenith Komarniski (NHL)
Harry Dick (WHL) |
Goaltender
Cesare Maniago (NHL)
Nick Pidsodny (WHL) |
The
If-we-only-knew-then-what-we-know-now Team
These are
the guys that we should have kept. To be included in the
list, they must have played for the Canucks early in
their careers (we won't even talk about those we drafted
and let get away).
Another
Right Wing
Cam Neely |
Centre
Mike Peca |
Right
Wing
Rick Vaive |
| Cam
Neely was a promising young player when the
Canucks sent him to Boston. There he spent ten
seasons, scoring 50 goals in a season three times
and being named to the NHL All-Star team four
times. |
The
Canucks put this hard-hitting centre into the
lineup 37 times before sending him to Buffalo.
Since then, he's become captain and has played
over 350 games with the Sabres. |
Rick
Vaive was a veteran of 47 NHL games when the
Canucks sent him to Toronto. There, he scored 50
goals in a season three times and eventually
recorded 767 points in 829 games. |
Defense
J.J. Daigneault |
Defense
Michel Petit |
Goaltender
Murray Bannerman |
| Daigneault
played his first two seasons in Vancouver before
being dealt to the Philadelphia Flyers. His
career has seen him move around, but he has
managed to play another 714 games over 13
seasons. |
Petit
actually spent six seasons with the Canucks, so
it's not like they gave up on him too soon. After
he left, he played for nine more NHL teams and is
still out there somewhere. |
Bannerman
had one period of action as a Canuck before being
dealt to the Chicago Blackhawks. There he played
289 regular season games plus 40 in the playoffs
over seven seasons. He also played in two NHL
All-Star Games. |
The All-Goon Team
You want
tough guys? We've had some tough guys on the Canucks.
Left
Wing
Gino Odjick |
Centre
Craig Coxe |
Right
Wing
Ronnie Stern |
| All
the good fighters are left wingers (Williams,
Brashear, Fraser), but nobody enjoyed a
toe-to-toe battle more than Gino. |
Craig
Coxe was famous for his battles with Red Wing Bob
Probert, but he took on all comers. |
Ronnie
Stern wasn't a heavyweight, but he never backed
down from a good scrap. |
Defense
Garth Butcher |
Defense
Barry Wilkins |
Goaltender
Garth Snow |
| He
wasn't nicknamed "strangler" for
nothing. Although he was better known as an
agitator, he dropped the gloves from time to
time. |
Back
then, they weren't "goons", they were
"policemen". Wilkins provided some
toughness on a team that had plenty of small
players. |
It's
rare to see a goalie get into an altercation.
It's rarer still to see two goalies go at it.
Snow has had a few legendary bouts with the
opposition netminder and usually wins the battle. |
The All-Rookie Team
The
Canucks have had some players that excelled right from
the start (this team is based on what they did during
their rookie year with the Canucks -- not during their
career).
Left
Wing
Pavel Bure |
Centre
Ivan Hlinka |
Right
Wing
Trevor Linden |
| I
know, he wasn't a left winger. But that's what he
was listed as when he arrived for the 1991-92
season. He is the only Canuck to win the Calder
trophy as the NHL rookie of the year. |
When
Hlinka joined the Canucks at age 32, he was
already a veteran of many years of international
hockey. Still, he was classed as a rookie during
the 1981-82 season when he recorded 60 points. |
As a
second overall draft pick, Linden was labelled
"the franchise" right from the start.
At age 18, he was one of the best players on the
team and was named to the NHL's All-Rookie team. |
Defense
Dale Tallon |
Defense
Mattias Ohlund |
Goaltender
Corey Hirsch |
| No
matter what Dale Tallon accomplished, he would
always be treated as "the guy we got instead
of Gilbert Perreault". During his fine
rookie campaign, he recorded 42 assists and 56
points. |
It
took awhile to get him in a Canuck uniform, but
it was worth the wait. He recorded 30 points and
was a +3 during the 1997-98 season. He was named
to the NHL's All-Rookie team that year. |
Hirsch
burst out of the starting gates during the
1995-96 season, playing in 41 games and posting a
2.93 goals against average. He posted a record of
17-14-6 and had one shut-out. He was also named
to the NHL's All-Rookie team. |
The All-Girl Team
Players
whose first names could be mistaken as belonging to their
wives or girlfriends (okay, so this isn't politically
correct, it's still kind of funny). NHL and WHL Canucks
included.
Left
Wing
Leslie Duff |
Centre
Angie Defelice* |
Right
Wing
Jackie McLeod |
Defense
Dana Murzyn |
Defense
Tracy Pratt |
Goaltender
Beverley Bentley |
*Actually, I don't know what position Angie
played, but I couldn't find anyone else to be the centre
on this line.
The All-Dave Team
Since
we're making fun of people's names, let's make fun of all
those David's out there.
Left
Wing
David Saunders |
Centre
Dave Scatchard |
Right
Wing
David Bruce |
Defense
Dave Babych |
Defense
Dave Richter |
Goaltender
Dave McLelland |
Notes
In some cases, players from the WHL Canucks have been
included in this report, depending on their contributions
to the team.
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