It only makes sense, given that the Blogspot version of the Lifeline is being launched today, on Halloween no less, to take a somewhat historical look at Canucks greatness (fleeting though it may have been at times) and this, of course, extends back through the Canucks' "trick or treat" uniforms that characterized the team's fashion through the 1980s.
With the relatively recent retirement of Trevor Linden, there has been some discussion about who the greatest Canuck of all time has been. Well, in a related but different approach, we recognize that sometimes an affair between a player and a team is all-too-brief (or in at least one case, not brief enough). Here, we look not at who had the greatest achievements
AS A CANUCK but rather who had the greatest achievements
IN HOCKEY and happened to pass through the Canucks organization, whether it was for a day, a season, or two decades.
HONORABLE MENTION
A few names warrant mentioning, as they merited consideration and would surely have made an extended list...
Mike Ridley (over 750 points),
Doug Lidster (2 Stanley Cups),
Mike Keane (3 cups), Glen Hanlon, Thomas Gradin, Petr Nedved (700 career points), Harold Snepsts (1000 game club), Gary Smith and Cesare Maniago (long and productive goaltending careers), Tony Tanti (five straight years with 39+ goals), Jimmy Carson (55 and 49 goal seasons),
Peter Zezel (face-off master), Vladimir Krutov (Russian star with a sputtering NHL career), Ivan Boldirev (over 1000 games and 800 points), Ryan Walter (1000 games and a Stanley Cup) and Paul Reinhart (amazing career points per game for a defenseman).
23. RUSS COURTNALL
With 1029 career games and 744 points, Russ Courtnall finishes in the final spot on this prestigious list (which has been extended to the top 23 in honor of Thomas Gradin and Paul Reinhart). He enjoyed a career high 80 points in 1993-94 for Dallas, following which he squared off against the Canucks in the playoffs on their road to the Stanley Cup finals. Midway through the following season, he was a Canuck himself. He was drafted in the first round (7th overall) by the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1983. With 129 games and 83 points, he also had strong career playoff numbers.
22. BARRY PEDERSON
The fact that the Vancouver Canucks traded Cam Neely to get him has made him something of Vancouver's Bill Buckner, but the fact remains that he broke the 100-point barrier twice in the NHL, including a career high of 116 with Boston in 1983-84. He was a junior hockey phenomenon, scoring 153 points in 63 games with Nanaimo in 1977-78 and 147 points in 55 games for Victoria in 1980-81, leading to his first round selection in the 1981 NHL entry draft. He only played 701 NHL games but finished his career with 654 points, an impressive points-per-game ratio.
21. MEL BRIDGMAN
He was the #1 overall selection in the 1975 NHL entry draft, and though he never became a true superstar, he went on to a long and impressive career. He scored 701 points in 977 career games and was known as a strong leader. He also enjoyed 67 playoff points in 125 career games. He finished his NHL run in Vancouver, with his final 15 games.
20. STAN SMYL
It made him #1 in the hearts of Canucks fans and the first man to have his jersey officially retired by the organization, but 673 points in 896 career NHL games (all in Vancouver) nets
Stan Smyl 20th on this list. His totals are significantly lower than some players who missed the cut entirely but the fact is, he was one of those players whose numbers didn't tell the whole story of his contributions to his team. He took the helm of the Vancouver Canucks from injured captain Kevin McCarthy and led the team to its first Stanley Cup final. He enjoyed a career high 88 points in 1982-83, and he retired as the career Canucks leader in...everything.
19. GEOFF COURTNALL
A member of the NHL's 1000-game club, Geoff Courtnall finished one point shy of 800 with 799, a career total that places him in relatively exclusive company. He enjoyed an 80 point season in 1988-89 and also had 109 career playoff points in 156 career games, an even more impressive career statistic. He was, of course, an integral part of the Canucks' 1994 Stanley Cup finals run and also enjoyed a Stanley Cup victory in 1988 with the Edmonton Oilers.
18. TODD BERTUZZI
It will be a shame if Bertuzzi's career is ultimately defined by one fateful night against the Avalanche, as prior to the incident, Bertuzzi appeared to be on his way to a potential Hall of Fame career. That appears to be a pipe dream now, but his accomplishments at the NHL level remain undeniable. Selected in the first round (23rd overall) by the New York Islanders in 1993, Bertuzzi blossomed when he arrived in Vancouver and began playing alongside Markus Naslund and Brendan Morrison on the "West Coast Express" line.
To date, he has played in two All Star Games and was a 1st Team post-season All Star in 2003, when he notched 46 goals and 97 points. He was arguably the best player in the NHL that year. He presently stands with over 800 games and almost 600 points in his career, and while it appears that his best years are behind him, he has nonetheless achieved a level of success matched by few Canucks.
17. TIGER WILLIAMS
The NHL's all-time penalty minute leader with a mind-boggling 3966 minutes, what makes
Tiger Williams an all-time great and not just an all-time great tough guy was his skill with the puck. He played in All-Star games and he was a force in the 1982 Canucks' run to the final. In 961 career games, he scored 241 goals and 513 points, numbers that clearly separate him from the likes of one-dimensional goons. In 1980-81 with Vancouver, he scored a career-high 35 goals and from 1975 through 1982, he never scored less than 17 in a season (nor did he notch less than 278 penalty minutes).
16. SEAN BURKE
With 820 career NHL games (and 324 wins), Sean Burke was one of the most active goalies in NHL history, passing through Vancouver for 16 games in a career that spanned from 1987 to 2007. During the 1980s, he was a mainstay on the Canadian National Team. Unfortunately, he was fated to play almost exclusively for bad teams and played in only 38 career playoff games. He left the Carolina Hurricanes as the franchise record holder in games played (goaltender) and had an amazing year in 2001-2002 when he was a finalist for both the Vezina and Lester B. Pearson trophies. He also played in two All-Star Games and was a Masterton Trophy finalist in 1995. With 310 career penalty minutes, he was also one of the NHL's feistier goaltenders.
15. PIT MARTIN
Pit Martin played in 1101 NHL games, scoring a total of 809 points, including a career high of 90 in 1972-73 with the Chicago Black Hawks. To these totals he added 58 points in 100 playoff games. He played his final 131 games for Vancouver, ending a career that saw him play in four All-Star Games and win the Bill Masterton Trophy in 1970. He also served as president of the NHL Player's Association from 1974-75.
14. RICK VAIVE
There aren't a lot of players in NHL history who can say they scored 50 goals in three back-to-back seasons, yet oft-overlooked Rick Vaive accomplished this with the Toronto Maple Leafs from 1981-1984, not long after his 47-game initiation to the NHL with the Canucks. He had 441 goals and 788 points in 876 career games, and played a tough brand of hockey as well, spending 1445 minutes in the box. As of today, he stands 57th on the all-time NHL list for goals scored.
13. CLIFF RONNING
Cliff Ronning's phenomenal run began in junior. In his final year with the New Westminster Bruins (1984-85) he scored 89 goals and 197 points in 70 games. He followed this up with 118 points in 71 games for the Canadian National Team the following year. After a brief stint with the St. Louis Blues, he put up more mind staggering numbers in Europe before returning to the NHL and joining the Vancouver Canucks in the famed Dan Quinn trade. He peaked with 85 points in 1992-93 and finished his career with 306 goals and 869 points in 1137 games. His playoff numbers were also impressive (86 points in 126 games). In addition to ending his career in the top 100 in all-time NHL scoring, Cliff Ronning finished his tenure with the Nashville Predators as their career scoring leader.
12. ESA TIKKANEN
With 630 career points in 877 games, "The Grate One" didn't really have the numbers to warrant Hall of Fame consideration. The playoff numbers, however, paint a different picture. With 72 goals and 132 points in 186 career playoff games, to go with 5 Stanley Cups, we are looking at one of the league's greatest postseason performers. He played in the NHL from 1984-1999, gracing the Canucks with 100 games between 1995 and 1997, where he tallied 64 points. He is also credited as being the creator and only known speaker of
TIkkanese, which he employed during a career of unintelligible interviews.
11. DAVE BABYCH
In addition to being a 100-point player in junior, which led to his #2 overall selection by the Winnipeg Jets in 1980,
Dave Babych followed up his youthful prowess with a long and productive career as an NHL defenseman. Playing 1195 career NHL regular season games, he also notched 723 career points, an astounding total for a defenseman which places him well up on the all-time list. He set his high water mark in 1982-83 with 74 points in one season and still stands as the only Canuck defenseman ever to register a hat trick. He also added 114 career NHL playoff games with 62 points.
10. RICHARD BRODEUR
His career NHL goals against average and wins are not amazing figures, but such is the reality when you faced Wayne Gretzky every other day in the Smythe division. The numbers didn't paint the full picture when it came to Brodeur. The other four teams in the Smythe division featured a steady diet of Marcel Dionne (Los Angeles), Dale Hawerchuk (Winnipeg), Lanny McDonald (Calgary) and **insert Hall of Famer of choice** (Edmonton).
Prior to his NHL career,
Richard Brodeur had a stellar career in the WHA, a competitor league of comparable quality, where he was one of the best all-time goalies in the league when it finally was absorbed by the NHL in 1979. His 165 wins rank 2nd all time in the WHA, where he was a star for the Quebec Nordiques. In 1975-76, he set the WHA record for wins with 44, a total that would have put him in a very small club in the NHL and likely made him a topic in Hall of Fame discussions. The Nordiques also won the Avco cup that season (the WHA's equivalent to the Stanley Cup). Combining his NHL and WHA totals, Brodeur finished with 690 career games. His almost-singlehanded run to the Stanley Cup finals in 1982, however, still makes him the stuff of legend and (at the very least) a notation in any and all NHL history books whose span includes that year.
9. ROBERTO LUONGO
Roberto Luongo, already a two-time Vezina finalist, will almost surely surpass Kirk McLean in terms of career greatness one day, but it has not quite happened yet. He has, however, already made his mark with four consecutive 70-game seasons, one of them including a Canuck record 47 wins (the second most ever in an NHL season). He has also represented Team Canada, played in All Star games, and been a post-season All-Star. This season he became the first goaltender since the Jurassic period to be named captain of an NHL team. All that's left is a good playoff run and some longevity, and he may well end up in discussions that (regarding the recent era) currently involve only Patrick Roy and Martin Brodeur.
8. KIRK MCLEAN
"Captain Cool" was known for nerves of steel when under fire and amassed some impressive career numbers, with 245 wins in 612 career games (in the era before starting goaltenders routinely played 70 games per season).
Kirk McLean led the NHL in that category in 1989-90 with 63, and in 1991-92, flirted with the 40-win club when he achieved 38 victories. He will likely be best remembered for his record-setting (minutes) playoff run in 1994, where the Canucks went to game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals, including a legendary 52-save game 1 performance. He was a Vezina trophy finalist twice, a 2nd team All-Star, and also played in All-Star games. He is generally regarded as the NHL's last great stand-up goalie.
7. MARKUS NASLUND
Already a member of the 1000-game and 800-point clubs, the potential remains for Markus Naslund to move up this list if he can regain his form from a few years ago and maintain it for any length of time. A first round selection (16th overall) by the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1991, he set the World Junior Championships record for goals in a tournament (13) in 1993. He reached top form as a Vancouver Canuck, peaking in 2002-03 with 48 goals and 104 points. He finished the season as a finalist for the Hart Trophy and won the Lester B. Pearson award. He is the Canucks all-time leader in goals and points and spent many years as the team captain. He has played in five All Star Games and three times was named to the year end 1st All Star Team.
6. ALEXANDER MOGILNY
You can count on two hands the number of players who have scored 70 goals in an NHL season and Alexander Mogilny is among them. He finished his career in New Jersey with a salary-motivated minor league whimper and Canucks fans even lamented that they had given up Michael Peca to get him. However, Mogilny's 76-goal and 127-point campaign in 1992-93 stands as one of the greatest seasons in NHL history. He added a 107-point season later with the Canucks and stands as one of the
very few NHL players ever to both wear a Canucks uniform and score 1000 career points. After 990 career games, Mogilny retired in 2006 with 473 goals and 1032 points, also adding 86 playoff points in 124 playoff games.
5. PAVEL BURE
Boasting a career goals-per-game ratio with which only a couple players in NHL history can compete, Pavel Bure was one of the most electrifying goal scorers in hockey. He holds the team records for goals and points in a season, for both the Vancouver Canucks and the Florida Panthers. He had five 50-goal seasons, including the amazingly rare achievement of back-to-back 60 goal campaigns. He won the Calder trophy as rookie of the year, played in six All Star Games, was twice a 2nd Team post-season All Star and was named once to the 1st All Star Team. He led the NHL in goals three times and amassed 437 goals and 779 points before his career was cut short at 702 games. He had 35 goals and 70 points in 64 career playoff games.
4. TREVOR LINDEN
As of this writing, his 1382 games played place him 32nd in NHL history, two behind the great Larry Robinson. As well, he stands 99th in career NHL points with 867, fittingly one spot behind his longtime linemate and fellow Canucks hero Cliff Ronning. Despite these impressive figures, which include a string of five 30-goal seasons interrupted only by the lockout-shortened 1994-95 campaign,
Trevor Linden, perhaps more than any other on this list, is one where the numbers alone don't tell the full story.
A junior star, he was drafted 2nd overall in 1988 and became one of the youngest captains in NHL history following a rookie year that made him a Calder Trophy finalist. He captained the Canucks to a game 7 Stanley Cup final run that still stands as the high point in the team's history and included a legendary two-goal performance in the final game. With 99 points in 124 career playoff games, Linden also added to his legacy by serving as the president of the NHL Player's Association and being, at one time, the NHL's iron man for consecutive games played. The fact that his legacy extended beyond the confines of British Columbia and its hockey-rabid hometown fans was testified to by the impromptu team handshake and tribute initiated by opposing captain Jarome Iginla at the close of Linden's final NHL game.
3. CAM NEELY
Two Stanley Cup finals with the Boston Bruins in 1988 and 1990, a former Canucks prospect turned NHL Hall-of-Famer, and perhaps most impressively, a member of the
incredibly exclusive 50-goals-in-50-games club. Cam Neely played with a lion's heart and was so rewarded at the end of his NHL career with the accolades he was due. In only 726 career games he managed 395 goals and 694 points. Along with players like Bobby Orr and Mike Bossy, his name is one of the first off the tongues of hockey fans when thinking about careers regrettably cut short.
2. IGOR LARIONOV
He made his name with North American hockey fans as a Detroit Red Wing, but it was the Vancouver Canucks who pulled him over to the NHL from Russia. Though he lifted the Stanley Cup three times, he had already acquired legendary status in Russia as part of the famed "KLM" line with Vladimir Krutov and Sergei Makarov. Despite not joining the NHL until his late twenties, Larionov went on to play in 921 NHL games (scoring 644 points) before retiring as the NHL's oldest player. He also had 97 points in 150 career playoff games. When considering that he also had 434 points in 457 games in his Russian career in the competitive RSL, his career achievements are quite astounding and have earned him a place in the Hockey Hall of Fame.
1. MARK MESSIER
In some ways it is almost blasphemy to say anything good about Mark Messier 'round these parts. But I have no choice but to grudgingly bestow upon the title of the greatest player ever to wear a Canucks uniform. And he holds the title by a pretty wide margin. Six Stanley Cups, two Hart trophies, a Conn Smythe trophy. Second all-time on the NHL scoring list behind only Wayne Gretzky (yes, he passed Gordie Howe as well). The man is easily one of the ten greatest players in NHL history on anyone's list. He may have been a jerk in Vancouver. You might not like Lay's potato chips. But you have to give the man his due. Just don't expect to see a Messier #11 in the GM Place rafters any time soon.
