Canucks Futures Odds | The Anatomy of Losing; Can the Canucks Change Their Story?

By Jimmy The Bag May 20, 2020

The Vancouver Canucks have been the butt of most NHL jokes for 50 years. Many have contemplated why this has happened, and what needs to change. Below is my lifelong journey with the team I love so dearly. It’s time to move past this fan’s despair, and into the light of respectability. The Vancouver Canucks owe this to me, the city of Vancouver, and more importantly themselves.

A timeline of the Vancouver Canucks

When it comes to being a Vancouver Canucks fan, we’re accustomed to losing. It’s that unwanted guest who shows up without fail. The painful feeling of losing year in and year out dulls over time.  Will we ever get that Stanley Cup parade that we’ve always dreamt of?

I was born and raised in Vancouver. Watching the Vancouver Canucks lose at Pacific Coliseum with my father was a most cherished past time. Our franchise started losing before we even played our first game. The Canucks entered the league with the Buffalo Sabres in 1970. That summer the two new teams took part in a roulette wheel spin to determine who would get the first pick in the NHL entry draft. The Canucks lost the lottery and the Sabres selected Gilbert Perrault with the first pick. He finished his Hall of Fame career with 512 goals, 1326 points and played his entire career with the Sabres. With the 2nd pick the Canucks drafted defensemen Dale Tallon. He played for the Canucks for 3 years, and in the end scored 44 goals, had 93 assists, and finished a combined -82.

The First Twenty Years –

In their first two decades in the National Hockey League, Vancouver had two winning seasons. In 1982, the sub .500 Canucks were on the road at the La Colisée in Quebec City. Following an on-ice dustup between Dave ‘Tiger’ Williams and Nordique star Peter Stastny, a fan leaned over the glass and punched Williams. Punching a man who would finish his career with 3966 penalty minutes was not a wise move. Tiger went into the stands and destroyed the fan. However, he was not alone. Several players went into the stands to attack the fan, including Canucks coach Harry Neale. By the time the brouhaha ended, Neale was suspended for the rest of the season. The late Roger Neilson took over as coach and the team began their ascent. They were a special group that captured the imagination of the entire city. They were led up front by Tomas Gradin and Stan ‘The Steamer’ Smyl. They had future head coaches Marc Crawford and Collin Campbell on the roster and had ‘King’ Richard Brodeur between the pipes.

Despite having a losing record in the regular season they swept the Flames in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. After dispatching the Flames, they beat the Kings in 5 games. It was at that point they faced the Chicago Blackhawks in the Western Conference Finals. Unfortunately for the Blackhawks they would suffer the same result the Kings did a round earlier, a loss in 5 games. A birth in the Stanley Cup Final was huge for the City, that was until they realized they ran into a juggernaut in the form of the New York Islanders. The Islanders were on their way to winning their 3rd Stanley Cup in a row and swept the Canucks 4-0, outscoring the Canucks 6-1 in the two games played at the Pacific Coliseum to end the series.

The Canucks went right back to losing. The Oilers 80’s dynasty would routinely come in and destroy us. In 1986, then general manager Jack Gordon traded away our 1983 1st round draft pick Cam Neely. Also in the trade with Neely was the Canucks first pick, and third overall pick in the 1987 NHL Entry Draft (used to take Glen Wesley) to the Bruins for Barry Pederson. It will forever be known as the worst trade in Vancouver Canucks history. Pederson collected back-to-back 70-point seasons with the Canucks but was eventually traded to the Penguins in 1989. Neely went on to have a Hall of Fame career with the Bruins, and Wesley would have a solid 20-year career.

In the summer of 1987 a resurgence began when the Canucks brought in beloved former defensemen Pat Quinn as general manager. The following year we drafted Trevor Linden with the 2nd overall pick. The 18-year-old would finish 2nd in rookie of the year voting, losing to Brian Leetch. We finished the regular season 43 points behind the Presidents Cup winning Calgary Flames. General manager Cliff Fletcher had assembled the best Flames team of all time. They had Mike Vernon between the pipes, and Al MacInnis, Gary Suter, and Brad McCrimmon on the blue line. Finally, upfront they had Doug Gilmour, Joe Nieuwendyk, Joe Mullen, Hakan Loob, Joel Otto, and Gary Roberts. They had assembled a solid leadership core in Tim Hunter, Jim Peplinski, and Lanny McDonald, and capped it off when they called up 20-year-old rookie Theoren Fleury.

The Canucks should have been swept. Jim Taylor of  ‘The Province’ predicted it would be the first best-of-seven series to be settled in three. The  Calgary Flames were 3/1 to hoist the Stanley Cup, while the Canucks were 100/1. The Canucks took the Flames to overtime in game 7. Stan Smyl had two breakaways to end it, and Petri Skriko missed a wide-open net. After 19 overtime minutes, Jim Peplinski sent a harmless shot towards our net that was deflected in off Joel Otto’s skate, and it was Game over. The Flames bench emptied and the celebration started in the Saddledome. The Calgary Flames would eventually win the Stanley Cup that season.

Years later referee Bill McCreary would say, “Had we had video review, I think we would have disallowed the winning goal. I think [Otto] directed the puck in the net with his skate. But the goal was allowed. I probably wish I had a better angle on the play, a better sightline. I just didn’t react well enough at the time and made the call. Of course, you don’t reverse them in those days, so it’s probably one I wished I could do-over.”

It’s all good Bill, we were used to losing.

The 1990’s through Today –

In 1992 we won our first division title in 17 years and had our first winning season since 1975-76.

Vancouver Canucks betting

In 1994, we forced game 7 in the Stanley Cup Finals. It was Madison Square Garden against the New York Rangers. Down 3-1 early in the 3rd period, Trevor Linden scored his 2nd goal of the game to get us within one. With 5 minutes left in the game, Nathan Lafayette hit the post of an empty cage. I can still hear the clang. We were that close. The Rangers won their first Stanley Cup since 1940. No worries, we were used to losing. Following the game the city exploded into mayhem. That night I was tear-gassed for the only time in my life, I was 14 years old.

In 2011, we had another Stanley Cup Finals game 7, but this time it was in our backyard. The Sedin brothers were going to do for Vancouver what so many others could not. Well… The Boston Bruins had other plans. We didn’t score a single goal and the Bruins won 4-0. Again, police cars were torched and storefronts were smashed.

A New Age –

Now it’s 2020.  Before Covid-19 disrupted the season, Vancouver was marching towards the playoffs. The Canucks were 4th in the Pacific Divsion and tied for the final Wild Card spot. This was indeed a team on the rise. I had no future bets on the Canucks and found myself rooting for them to lose. I wanted in on the action at long odds, and the only way that would happen was them not making the playoffs. I needed the world to not know how good this team was about to become.

The Canucks finally have something that has eluded this franchise for 50 years: a game changing, home grown, power play quarterback. Quinn Hughes is a  legitimate force. Not only did he make the all-star team, Quinn will win rookie of the year at some point this summer. He had 53 points in 68 games. He was spectacular offensively and much stronger than we expected defensively.

The Offensive Outlook –