Hockey and sports in general can be broken down into moments. Some moments are bigger than others and chart the course of a franchise, and even an entire league. These moments can define a team’s destiny for years to come. Last Word On Hockey’s Summer Series looks at these defining moments. For today’s installment we feature the biggest defining moment from Canada’s West Coast, the always adventurous Vancouver Canucks franchise.
The Vancouver Canucks Franchise Defining Moments
We aren’t here to talk about the drama. We aren’t here to talk about how things always seem to go wrong. This is a proud franchise, with many superstars having past through its ranks. Even today, one of the best defencemen in the world, Quinn Hughes, laces them up on the ‘Nucks blueline. As you will see, we will discuss some of the other greats that have called The Wet Coast home. However, we are here to talk about the defining moments specifically. And for that, we take you back…
The 1982 Stanley Cup Final Appearance
The top defining moment for the Vancouver Canucks comes way back in 1982. Even though the team didn’t ultimately win the franchise’s first Stanley Cup Final appearance, it was memorable. Moreover, the city celebrated with a 50,000 strong parade in recognition for the club. Wow!
The Lead Up
The Canucks ultimate defining moment occurred in 1982 in Game 2 of the Clarence Campbell Conference Final versus the Chicago Blackhawks. However, it was before that, back in the regular season of play still, when the wheels of this moment were put into motion. With six games remaining in the 1981-82 regular season, Vancouver’s head coach at the time, Harry Neale, was handed down a lengthy, ten-game suspension. Therefore, this allowed the late Roger Nielson to take over on an interim basis, just until Neale was back from suspension.
What happened next was, the Canucks got hot. The Canucks weren’t an impressive team that year, boasting a 30-33-17 record. Conversely, that was strong enough for a second-place finish in the Smythe Division standings. That was fueled by the run the Canucks went on once Nielson took over the helm. The Canucks finished that season undefeated in their last nine games, 6-0-3, with the last six of those under Nielson. The Canucks were riding high rolling into the playoffs.
The winning didn’t stop in the regular season. In fact, the Canucks only lost two games in the 1982 Stanley Cup Playoffs prior to meeting the New York Islanders in the final. Things were working for the Canucks favour, too. The cup contending Edmonton Oilers had 111 points to take home the Smythe Division crown. Then, they were stunned three-games-to-two by the Los Angeles Kings. Oddly enough, but largely backed by King Richard Brodeur, the Canucks didn’t have much trouble with LA, and beat them 4-1 in their second-round series.
Then Comes the Defining Moment of the Canucks Franchise
The third round rolled around, and the Canucks had to do battle with the Chicago Blackhawks. That really was a hard-fought series, for both sides. Game 1 was a double overtime affair, which the Canucks emerged victorious, 2-1. Then, comes Game 2, and when the defining moment for the Canucks franchise occurs. That game had 24 minor penalties called in it, eight fighting majors, and ten, ten-minute misconduct penalties.
The moment did come late in the game. After Denis Savard had scored the 4-1 power play goal, which would bring an end to the game’s goal scoring, Nielson had had enough. With both Harold Snepsts and Curt Fraser in the penalty box at the time of the goal, Nielson was fed up. After the goal there was a slight delay, at which time Nielson had placed a white towel on a stick, and started waving it around. You know, the symbol of surrender.
What Happened Next?
With the series about to be tied 1-1, but heading back to British Columbia, it must have worked. The Canucks rallied behind their coach’s gesture, and went on to win three straight games and close out the conference final. The Canucks would be outclassed in the Final to the dynasty that was the New York Islanders. However, for the city of Vancouver, the Canucks in 1982 are forever etched in history.
The biggest impact the 1982 team had on the Canucks franchise, was it brought a feeling of winning. The city believed the Canucks could do it, even if they didn’t have the biggest names. The knew something, they knew…winning. It is a tradition that is hard to establish. Even if they still haven’t captured the biggest prize some 43 years later, they have made a couple trips to the Stanley Cup Final since. Every time a home playoff game comes on Sportsnet( or ESPN) from Rogers Arena, you see the stadium filled with fans feverishly waving white flags.
The Honourable Mentions
For the runner-ups for the Canucks defining moments, we go with a chronological ordering of sorts. This follows after the 1982 team had established the winning tradition. First, it was landing Pavel Bure. Bure was controversially drafted in the sixth round of the 1989 draft. Furthermore, he came over having drawn comparisons to former Soviet sniper, Valeri Kharlamov. Bure was a true superstar of the game, and then by 1991, he was a Canuck. Bure exploded onto the scene in the NHL. Take a look at the list below of the most goals scored in a player’s first three NHL seasons.
- Gretzky 239 GP 198 Goals
- Bossy 228 GP 173 Goals
- Ovechkin 245 GP 163 Goals
- Bure 224 GP 154 Goals
- Lemieux 215 GP 145 Goals
Bure’s early success really propelled the team. Trevor Linden was already an established leader, even at his young age. They combined this with a veteran group of solid defencemen, and then the goalie, Kirk McLean. Furthermore, these were the stars that led the Canucks to their franchises second Stanley Cup Final appearance versus the New York Rangers in 1994.
The 2011 Final Timeline
The next defining moment, was the 1999 NHL Entry Draft day, and general manager Brian Burke working his magic. Landing the twins, Henrik Sedin and Daniel Sedin was another huge moment for the Canucks. The two would go onto Hall-of-Fame careers in Vancouver.
Finally, of the biggest Canuck defining moments, was the trade for Hall-of-Fame goaltender Roberto Luongo. The Canucks were moving on from the Brendan Morrison, Markus Naslund, and Todd Bertuzzi era. Bertuzzi was even involved in the June 2006 trade between Vancouver and the Florida Panthers that saw Luongo come to Vancouver. Along with the stars that the Sedins had become, Luongo and crew helped guide the Canucks to another Stanley Cup Final in 2011. Again, they came up short, but the legacy of Roger Nielson was alive and well watching the towels wave before home games. The Canucks will have more success in the future, and they can look back and give thanks to Nielson’s motivational tactics back in 1982.
Main Photo Credit: Bob Frid-USA TODAY Sports
The post Our Summer Series and the Vancouver Canucks Franchise Defining Moments appeared first on Last Word On Hockey.