The Vancouver Canucks are a professional hockey team in the National Hockey League (the NHL). The Vancouver Canucks play in the Northwest Division of the Western Conference with four other teams: the Minnesota Wild, the Colorado Avalanche, the Edmonton Oilers and the Calgary Flames.  Canucks tickets will be a hot item during the 2009-2010 NHL hockey schedule.

Vancouver Canucks 2009-2010 Outlook

The Vancouver Canucks have high hopes for the 2009-2010 NHL season.  Coming off of a 45-win, 100-point NHL season in 2008-2009, but a disappointing loss to the Chicago Blackhawks in the Conference Semifinals round, the Canucks feel like they have some unfinished business to take care of in 2009-2010.  Anything less than a trip to the Conference Finals will surely be considered a disappointment for the poised and consistent Canucks club.  Canucks GM Mike Gillis took care of some contract needs in the off-season with current players.  29-year old identical twins Henrik (Center) and Daniel (Left Wing) Sedin signed identical 5-year, $30.5 million deals with the Canucks.  Ironically, the two brothers finished with the identical points total in 2008-2009 - 82 points each.  The Canucks also signed stud goalie Roberto Luongo to a front-loaded contract - 12 years and $64 million which will pay him $10 million during the 2010-2011 NHL season.  Luongo is one of the best goaltenders in the league - when he gets hot, he can single-handedly win a game, which makes him very dangerous in a 7-game playoff series.  The Sedin brothers will lead the Canucks offense for years to come, but they will need help from Forward Alex Burrows (28 goals) and Center Ryan Kesler (26 goals) who each showed a lot of promise in 2008-2009.  Forward Mason Raymond and newly acquired forward Mikael Samuelsson could be key contributors who help the Canucks take it to the next level in 2009-2010.  Defenseman Christian Ehrhoff and Alexander Edler are both solid defenders who also create scoring chances on the offensive end to help keep up the attack.  But a few other defenders - Sami Salo and Kevin Bieksa come to mind - are going to need to step up their play if the Canucks expect to play consistent hockey all season long.      

If the Canucks can avoid any serious injuries, and if the team continues to gel under Head Coach Alain Vigneault, there is a good chance that the Blue Jackets will qualify for post-season play for a 2nd consecutive season.  How far they go in the 2009-2010 playoffs will depend on how well Luongo plays in net, how other teams try to limit the production of the Sedin brothers in the playoffs and how well the defenders limit scoring chances for the opposing team.  Get your Canucks hockey tickets at GM Place before it's too late.

History

The Vancouver Canucks franchise was originally founded in 1970 in Vancouver, British Columbia as the Vancouver Canucks.  In 1970, the NHL granted expansion franchises to the Vancouver Canucks and to the Buffalo Sabres.  During the franchise’s first 11 NHL seasons, the Vancouver Canucks advanced to the NHL playoffs 5 times but never won a playoff series.  During the 1981-1982 NHL playoffs, the Vancouver Canucks defeated the Calgary Flames 3-0 in the Division Semifinals to record the franchise’s first playoff series win.  The Vancouver Canucks went on to defeat the Los Angeles Kings 4-1 in the Division Finals and the Chicago Blackhawks 4-1 in the Conference Finals to advance to the Stanley Cup for the first time in franchise history.  The New York Islanders swept the Vancouver Canucks, however, shattering the Canucks’ hopes of a first Stanley Cup championship.  The Vancouver Canucks also advanced to the Stanley Cup in 1994.  In a memorable 7-game series with the Mark Messier-led New York Rangers, the Vancouver Canucks fell behind 3 games to 1 before winning Games 5 and 6 in order to force a decisive Game 7 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.  The Vancouver Canucks fell short once again, however, suffering a heartbreaking 3-2 loss to the home Rangers.  The Vancouver Canucks have not advanced past the western Conference Semifinals since that Stanley Cup appearance.

The Vancouver Canucks have retired the following players’ numbers:  Stan Smyl’s #12; and Wayne Gretzky's #99 (retired league-wide by the NHL on February 6, 2000).  Wayne Maki’s jersey number #11 was unofficially retired by the Vancouver Canucks following his untimely death in 1974.  Mark Messier, the Canucks Center from 1997-2000 is the only Canucks player to have worn #11 since.

Vancouver Canucks TV/Radio

All Vancouver Canucks hockey games can be seen on the Rogers Sportsnet Pacific television network in the greater Vancouver, British Columbia area.  ESPN has television rights to Vancouver Canucks hockey games based on the popularity of the game. Tune into the Vancouver Canucks flagship station TEAM 1040 on your AM dial to catch each Vancouver Canucks hockey game on the radio.

The Vancouver Canucks play their home games at the General Motors Place. General Motors Place is the main indoor arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and is also referred to as GM Place.  GM Place opened in 1995 and is sponsored by General Motors Canada.  GM Place currently hosts all of the home NHL games for the Vancouver Canucks, and previously hosted all of the professional basketball games for the Vancouver Grizzlies of the National Basketball Association and all of the professional lacrosse games for the Vancouver Ravens of the National Lacrosse League.  GM Place holds a capacity of 18,630 devoted die-hard Vancouver Canucks fans.  GM Place has played host to numerous memorable and historic games, events and concerts, including the 1996 World Cup of Hockey, the 1998 NHL All-Star Game, the 1998 NBA Draft, the 2001 World Figure Skating Championships, the 2006 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, the 2006 NHL Draft, and the World Wrestling Federation’s In Your House “International Incident” Event in 1996, the In Your House “Rock Bottom” event in 1998 and the Monday Night Raw TV show with Kid Rock in 2000.  Memorable concert performances include U2’s 2005 Vertigo world tour, The Police’s 2007 Reunion tour and the Spice Girls’ Reunion Tour in 2007.

Stadium:                GM Place
                                800 Griffiths Way
                                Vancouver, British Columbia V6B 6G1

http://canucks.nhl.com
www.generalmotorsplace.com

2008 Canucks