1991–92 Vancouver Canucks season explained

League:	NHL
Season:	1991–92
Year:	1991
Team:	Vancouver Canucks
Conferencerank:	2nd
Divisionrank:	1st
Record:	42–26–12
Homerecord:	23–10–7
Roadrecord:	19–16–5
Goalsfor:	285
Goalsagainst:	250
Coach:	Pat Quinn
Attendance:	15,768
Goalsleader:	Pavel Bure (34)
Assistsleader:	Cliff Ronning (47)
Pointsleader:	Trevor Linden (75)
Pimleader:	Gino Odjick (348)
Plusminusleader:	Jyrki Lumme (+25)
Winsleader:	Kirk McLean (38)
Gaaleader:	Kirk McLean (2.74)
Divisionwin:	yes

The 1991–92 Vancouver Canucks season was the Canucks' 22nd NHL season.

Off-season

In the off-season, the Canucks fourth round draft pick in 1989 was finally validated and the Canucks now officially held the NHL rights to Pavel Bure. There was still a problem, though. His release from the Central Red Army still needed to be negotiated and there was no guarantee that he would play for the Canucks in the upcoming season. Director of Hockey Operations Brian Burke accepted the job as general manager of the Hartford Whalers and took Milwaukee Admirals Head Coach, Rick Ley to coach his team. George McPhee filled the vacant front-office post and Jack McIlhargey became the new coach on the farm. Ron Wilson became an assistant coach, as did Stan Smyl, who tearfully resigned from active playing. "The Steamer" retired as the team's all-time leader in games (896), goals (262), assists (411), and points (673). Pat Quinn elected to retain all three titles (President, General Manager, and Head Coach) instead of hiring a new coach. Craig Coxe was chosen by the San Jose Sharks in the expansion draft, and Steve Bozek signed with the same club as a free agent. To fill the void, 13-year veteran and Burnaby-native C Ryan Walter was signed away from Montreal.

Forward Trevor Linden is named sole team captain. Defenceman Doug Lidster (who shared the captaincy last season with Linden) is returned to his previous role of an alternate captain. Newly signed forward Ryan Walter, is named the other alternate captain.

Regular season

The team season opened with a home-and-home series against the expansion San Jose Sharks and the Canucks swept. Pavel Bure, staying in California with his father and brother, watched the game at the Cow Palace from the press box. They managed to roll up a 7–1–1 record, the last being a 3–1 victory over the Washington Capitals on October 24 which leap-frogged the Canucks past Washington into first place in the NHL standings. On November 3, the Canucks paid tribute to their long-time captain and all-time leading scorer turned assistant coach (Smyl) with a special pre-game ceremony. He was presented with a Harley Davidson motorcycle, among other gifts, and had his number 12 raised to the rafters at Pacific Coliseum. In the game to follow, Igor Larionov broke out of a long drought by scoring his first three goals of the season in a 7–2 rout of Edmonton. The Pavel Bure debacle was being settled during that time and two nights later he made his NHL debut before a packed Coliseum against the Winnipeg Jets. The "Russian Rocket", as he became known, dazzled the crowd with three spectacular rushes but failed to score in a 3–3 tie. Three games later, Bure scored his first two NHL goals in an 8–2 romp of the Los Angeles Kings. Playing with Larionov and Greg Adams, Bure completed the "BIG Line", which became, arguably, the most dangerous offensive unit in Canucks history. Though all of the experts were predicting otherwise, the Canucks remained among the NHL's elite throughout the season, hitting a high point with an 11–0 shellacking of the Calgary Flames on March 1. Bure rolled to 34 goals, many of the highlight-reel variety, breaking Ivan Hlinka's club rookie record in only 65 games. His 60 points equaled Hlinka's total from 1981 to 1982. Trevor Linden's 75 points led the team in scoring for the second straight year, Cliff Ronning was second with 71 points and Larionov finished third with 65. Kirk McLean rebounded to have a terrific season in goal, winning a club-record 38 games and recording a 2.74 goals-against average with five shutouts earning him team MVP honors. Gino Odjick broke Dave Williams' 11-year-old single-season penalty minutes record with 348 and, what's more, he did it in only 65 games. Overall, the team racked up club record totals of 42 wins and 96 points and won the Smythe Division by 12 points over Los Angeles. The only threat to their division crown was a 10-day strike in early April that threatened to wipe out the playoffs. Finally, the streak of losing seasons had been halted at 16 years and, for the first time since 1982, the Canucks would open up a playoff series at home.

Playoffs

The Canucks would eventually win the first round against the Winnipeg Jets, in seven games, after trailing the series 3–1 for the first playoff series victory since reaching the Stanley Cup Finals in 1982. However, the Canucks would not get past the Edmonton Oilers and lost the series in six games.

Awards

If it was any consolation, the Canucks were pretty successful in post-season hardware. They didn't win the Stanley Cup, but Pavel Bure won the Calder Memorial Trophy as Rookie of the year, Pat Quinn won the Jack Adams Award as Coach of the Year, and Ryan Walter won the Bud Light NHL Man of the Year for his work in the community. As well, Kirk McLean is runner-up for the Vezina Trophy (top goaltender) and is named to the NHL's Second All-Star Team.

Schedule and results

October

Monthly Record: 9–3–1 (Home 5–1–1; Road 4–2–0)

	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts
1	October 4		3 – 4	Vancouver		McLean	16,123	1–0–0	2
2	October 5	Vancouver	5 – 2			McLean	10,888	2–0–0	4
3	October 8	Vancouver	3 – 2		OT	McLean	8,689	3–0–0	6
4	October 10	Vancouver	6 – 7			Gamble	17,322	3–1–0	6
5	October 12	Vancouver	2 – 1			McLean	15,759	4–1–0	8
6	October 13	Vancouver	3 – 1			McLean	14,403	5–1–0	10
7	October 17		3 – 3	Vancouver	OT	McLean	15,986	5–1–1	11
8	October 19		2 – 5	Vancouver		McLean	15,226	6–1–1	13
9	October 21		1 – 4	Vancouver		McLean	13,108	7–1–1	15
10	October 24		1 – 3	Vancouver		McLean	16,104	8–1–1	17
11	October 26	Vancouver	4 – 5			McLean	16,446	8–2–1	17
12	October 27		6 – 3	Vancouver		McLean	14,646	8–3–1	17
13	October 29		3 – 4	Vancouver		McLean	12,196	9–3–1	19

November

Monthly Record: 7–4–2 (Home 6–2–1; Road 1–2–1)

	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts
14	November 1		3 – 2	Vancouver		McLean	16,123	9–4–1	19
15	November 3		2 – 7	Vancouver		McLean	15,651	10–4–1	21
16	November 5		2 – 2	Vancouver	OT	McLean	16,123	10–4–2	22
17	November 7	Vancouver	4 – 3			McLean	16,005	11–4–2	24
18	November 10		0 – 6	Vancouver		McLean	16,123	12–4–2	26
19	November 12		2 – 8	Vancouver		McLean	16,123	13–4–2	28
20	November 14	Vancouver	2 – 2		OT	McLean	19,688	13–4–3	29
21	November 16		0 – 1	Vancouver		McLean	15,950	14–4–3	31
22	November 19		4 – 3	Vancouver		McLean	16,077	14–5–3	31
23	November 21	Vancouver	2 – 3			McLean	20,055	14–6–3	31
24	November 22		5 – 6	Vancouver	OT	McLean	16,123	15–6–3	33
25	November 26	Vancouver	1 – 4			Gamble	10,888	15–7–3	33
26	November 29		2 – 5	Vancouver		McLean	16,123	16–7–3	35

December

Monthly Record: 6–4–3 (Home 3–1–2; Road 3–3–1)

	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts
27	December 1	Vancouver	0 – 7			McLean	15,502	16–8–3	35
28	December 3	Vancouver	0 – 3			McLean	13,033	16–9–3	35
29	December 4	Vancouver	3 – 0			McLean	16,573	17–9–3	37
30	December 7	Vancouver	3 – 6			Gamble	15,781	17–10–3	37
31	December 10		7 – 4	Vancouver		McLean	14,974	17–11–3	37
32	December 12		5 – 7	Vancouver		Gamble	14,803	18–11–3	39
33	December 14	Vancouver	4 – 4		OT	McLean	16,005	18–11–4	40
34	December 17		1 – 2	Vancouver		McLean	15,609	19–11–4	42
35	December 19		1 – 3	Vancouver		McLean	16,123	20–11–4	44
36	December 22		6 – 6	Vancouver	OT	McLean	16,123	20–11–5	45
37	December 27		1 – 1	Vancouver	OT	McLean	16,123	20–11–6	46
38	December 28	Vancouver	3 – 2			McLean	10,888	21–11–6	48
39	December 31	Vancouver	5 – 3			McLean	16,005	22–11–6	50

January

Monthly Record: 7–3–1 (Home 2–2–0; Road 5–1–1)

	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts
40	January 3	Vancouver	3 – 3		OT	McLean	16,789	22–11–7	51
41	January 4	Vancouver	3 – 4			Gamble	15,204	22–12–7	51
42	January 7		1 – 4	Vancouver		McLean	15,816	23–12–7	53
43	January 12		4 – 3	Vancouver		McLean	16,123	23–13–7	53
44	January 14	Vancouver	4 – 2			McLean	14,737	24–13–7	55
45	January 15	Vancouver	5 – 3			McLean	15,176	25–13–7	57
46	January 21	Vancouver	5 – 3			Gamble	13,634	26–13–7	59
47	January 23	Vancouver	3 – 1			McLean	19,816	27–13–7	61
48	January 25	Vancouver	1 – 0		OT	McLean	18,215	28–13–7	63
49	January 28		5 – 3	Vancouver		McLean	16,123	28–14–7	63
50	January 30		1 – 4	Vancouver		McLean	16,123	29–14–7	65

February

Monthly Record: 5–6–2 (Home 3–2–1; Road 2–4–1)

	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts
51	February 1		4 – 4	Vancouver	OT	McLean	16,123	29–14–8	66
52	February 4		3 – 5	Vancouver		McLean	16,123	30–14–8	68
53	February 6		5 – 4	Vancouver	OT	Gamble	15,689	30–15–8	68
54	February 10	Vancouver	3 – 8			McLean	16,838	30–16–8	68
55	February 12	Vancouver	2 – 5			McLean	16,002	30–17–8	68
56	February 13	Vancouver	3 – 5			Gamble	12,702	30–18–8	68
57	February 15	Vancouver	1 – 3			McLean	9,911	30–19–8	68
58	February 17	Vancouver	3 – 3		OT	McLean	18,200	30–19–9	69
59	February 19		5 – 6	Vancouver		McLean	16,123	31–19–9	71
60	February 21	Vancouver	5 – 3			McLean	10,888	32–19–9	73
61	February 23		1 – 2	Vancouver	OT	McLean	16,123	33–19–9	75
62	February 25		4 – 3	Vancouver		McLean	16,123	33–20–9	75
63	February 28		3 – 5	Vancouver		McLean	16,123	34–20–9	77

March

Monthly Record: 7–5–2 (Home 3–1–1; Road 4–4–1)

	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Record	Pts
64	March 1		0 – 11	Vancouver		McLean	35–20–9	79
65	March 2		5 – 3	Vancouver		McLean	35–21–9	79
66	March 5	Vancouver	2 – 2		OT	Gamble	35–21–10	80
67	March 7	Vancouver	5 – 1			Gamble	36–21–10	82
68	March 8	Vancouver	7 – 3			McLean	37–21–10	84
69	March 12		1 – 2	Vancouver		McLean	38–21–10	86
70	March 14	Vancouver	6 – 4			McLean	39–21–10	88
71	March 18		1 – 3	Vancouver		Gamble	40–21–10	90
72	March 20		2 – 2	Vancouver	OT	Gamble	40–21–11	91
73	March 22	Vancouver	1 – 5			Gamble	40–22–11	91
74	March 24	Vancouver	4 – 2			McLean	41–22–11	93
75	March 26	Vancouver	3 – 7			Gamble	41–23–11	93
76	March 28	Vancouver	1 – 3			McLean	41–24–11	93
77	March 29	Vancouver	4 – 7			McLean	41–25–11	93

April

Monthly Record: 1–1–1 (Home 1–0–1; Road 1–0–0)

	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts
78	April 12		6 – 1	Vancouver		Gamble	16,123	41–26–11	93
79	April 14	Vancouver	3 – 2			McLean	16,005	42–26–11	95
80	April 16		4 – 4	Vancouver	OT	Gamble	15,843	42–26–12	96

• Green background indicates win.
• Red background indicates regulation loss.
• White background indicates tie.

Playoffs

Smythe Division Semi-finals: vs. (4) Winnipeg Jets

Vancouver wins series 4–3

	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Series
1	April 18		3 – 2	Vancouver				0 – 1
2	April 20	Winnipeg	2 – 3	Vancouver		McLean		1 – 1
3	April 22	Vancouver	2 – 4	Winnipeg		McLean		1 – 2
4	April 24	Vancouver	1 – 3	Winnipeg		McLean		1 – 3
5	April 26	Winnipeg	2 – 8	Vancouver		McLean		2 – 3
6	April 28	Vancouver	8 – 3	Winnipeg		McLean		3 – 3
7	April 30	Winnipeg	0 – 5	Vancouver		McLean		4 – 3

Smythe Division Final: vs. (3) Edmonton Oilers

Edmonton wins series 4–2

	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Series
1	May 3		4 – 3	Vancouver	OT			0 – 1
2	May 4	Edmonton	0 – 4	Vancouver		McLean		1 – 1
3	May 6	Vancouver	2 – 5	Edmonton		McLean		1 – 2
4	May 8	Vancouver	2 – 3	Edmonton		McLean		1 – 3
5	May 10	Edmonton	3 – 4	Vancouver		McLean		2 – 3
6	May 12	Vancouver	0 – 3	Edmonton		McLean		2 – 4

Player statistics

Scoring leaders

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = Plus/minus; PIM = Penalty minutes

Player	GP	G	A	Pts
	80	31	44	75
	80	24	47	71
	72	21	44	65
	65	34	26	60
	76	30	27	57

Goaltending

Note: GP = Games played; TOI = Time on ice (minutes); W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; Sv% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average

Player	GP	TOI	W	L	T	GA	SO	Sv%	GAA
	65	3,852	38	17	9	176	5	.901	2.74
	19	1,009	4	9	3	73	0	.859	4.34

Playoffs

Scoring leaders

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = Plus/minus; PIM = Penalty minutes

Player	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
	12	6	8	14	20
	13	8	5	13	6
	12	7	6	13	6
	13	4	8	12	6
	13	6	4	10	14
	13	4	6	10	22

Goaltending

Note: GP = Games played; TOI = Time on ice (minutes); W = Wins; L = Losses; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; Sv% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average

Player	GP	TOI	W	L	GA	SO	Sv%	GAA
	13	785	6	7	33	2	.909	2.52

Awards and records

1992 Canuck Awards Winners

• Molson Cup - Pavel Bure
• President's Trophy - Kirk McLean
• Ram Tough Award - Gerald Diduck
• Cyclone Taylor Trophy - Kirk McLean
• Cyrus H. McLean Trophy - Trevor Linden
• Babe Pratt Trophy - Jyrki Lumme
• Fred J. Hume Award - Garry Valk
• Most Exciting Player - Pavel Bure

Kirk McLean

• Named NHL Player-of-the-Month for October after posting a 9–2–1 record and a 2.37 GAA. He became the first Canuck to achieve the honor on November 1, 1991.
• Records his 20th victory in a 3–2 win at San Jose on December 22, 1991. Becoming the fastest Canuck goaltender to reach the 20-win mark.
• Selected to represent the Campbell Conference at the 43rd NHL All-Star Game in Philadelphia on January 18, 1992.
• Played in his 250th career NHL game on March 8, 1992, at Philadelphia and recorded his 33rd win of the season to set a single season franchise record for most wins.
• Recorded 100th career NHL win on March 14, 1992, at Calgary.
• Tied for NHL lead with most wins in the 1991–92 NHL season with 38.
• Tied for the NHL lead for most shutouts in the 1991–92 NHL season with 5.
• Named on the NHL Second All-Star Team on June 16, 1992.
• Named on the Sporting News All-Star Second Team on June 16, 1992.
• Nominated for the Vezina Trophy, but lost to Patrick Roy on June 16, 1992.

Pavel Bure

• Scored his first two NHL goals in an 8–2 victory vs. Los Angeles on November 12, 1991.
• Scored 34 goals to break Ivan Hlinka's franchise rookie goal-scoring record from the 1981–82 season.
• Tied with Ivan Hlinka for the franchise rookie points record with 60.
• Named NHL Rookie-of-the-Month for March/April on April 18, 1992.
• Won the Calder Memorial Trophy as Rookie of the Year on June 16, 1992.

Geoff Courtnall

• Recorded his 200th career NHL assist on November 1, 1991, vs. St. Louis.
• Recorded his 400th career NHL point on November 3, 1991, vs. Edmonton.
• Scored his 200th career NHL goal on November 5, 1991, vs. Winnipeg.
• Had a 9-game point streak scoring 7 goals and recorded 7 assists for 14 points from October 27-November 16.
• Scored 2 goals and recorded 3 assists for 5 points on December 22, 1991, at Quebec.
• Set a club record with 281 shots on goal.

Trevor Linden

• Recorded his 200th career NHL and Canuck point on November 5 vs. Winnipeg.
• Selected to represent the Campbell Conference at the 43rd NHL All-Star Game in Philadelphia on January 18, 1992. Linden recorded a goal and an assist at the game.
• Played in his 300th career NHL and Canuck game on March 7, 1992, at Hartford.
• Led the team in scoring for the second-straight season.
• Had an 8-game point streak scoring 2 goals and recorded 11 assists for 13 points.

Cliff Ronning

• Played 200th career NHL game on October 21, 1991, vs. Toronto.
• Had a 9-game point streak scoring 5 goals and recorded 8 assists for 13 points from October 17-November 5.
• Recorded his 100th career NHL assist on December 7, 1991, at Toronto.
• Recorded his 200th career NHL point on March 8, 1992, at Philadelphia.
• Molson Cup Player of the Month for October and December.

Pat Quinn

• Sets club record with 42 wins in a single-season.
• Sets club record with 96 points in a single-season.
• Won the Jack Adams Award for Coach of the Year on June 16, 1992.
• Received Coach of the Year honors by the Sporting News on June 16, 1992.

Petr Nedved

• Scored first multiple goal game on January 7, 1992, vs. San Jose.
• Played in his 100th career NHL and Canuck game on January 7, 1992, vs. San Jose.
• Had 6 multiple point games.

Jyrki Lumme

• Scored career high 4 points (1–3–4) vs. Minnesota on December 12, 1991.
• Three game goal streak and 3 game point streak (3–4–7) from December 7–12.
• Played in his 200th career NHL game on December 31, 1991, vs. Los Angeles.

Greg Adams

• Played in his 500th career NHL game on February 13, 1992, at New Jersey.
• Recorded his 400th career NHL point on March 14, 1992, at Calgary.

Igor Larionov

• Played in his 200th career NHL and Canuck game.
• Recorded his 100th career NHL and Canuck point.

Dave Babych

• Scored his 1st career hat-trick including the game winner on November 22, 1991, vs. Calgary.
• Played in his 800th career NHL game on March 5, 1992, at Boston.

Gerald Diduck

• Played his 400th career NHL game on November 21, 1991, at Calgary.
• Recorded his 100th career NHL assist on February 28, 1992, vs. Winnipeg.

Gino Odjick]

• Broke Dave "Tiger" Williams single-season penalty minutes record with 348 doing it in only 65 games on March 2, 1992, vs. St. Louis.
• Played in his 100th career NHL game on March 14, 1992, at Calgary.

Others

• Ryan Walter won the Bud Light NHL Man of the Year for his work in the community on May 27, 1992.
• Sergio Momesso had a 5-game point streak scoring 2 goals and recorded 3 assists for 5 points.
• Dana Murzyn played his 400th career NHL game on October 19, 1991, vs Calgary.

Transactions

Trades

June 22, 1991	To Vancouver Canucks Dave Babych	To Minnesota North Stars Tom Kurvers
- bgcolor="#eeeeee"	August 1, 1991	To Vancouver Canucks Robin Bawa	To Washington Capitals Cash
December 19, 1991	To Vancouver Canucks Tom Fergus	To Toronto Maple Leafs Cash
March 9, 1992		To San Jose Sharks 8th round pick in 1992 (C.J. Denomme)

Free agents acquired

Player	Former Team
	Montreal Canadiens
	Edmonton Oilers

Free agents lost

Player	New Team
	San Jose Sharks
	Boston Bruins

Expansion draft

Vancouver's losses at the 1991 NHL Dispersal and Expansion Drafts in Buffalo, New York.

Draft picks

Vancouver's picks at the 1991 NHL Entry Draft in Buffalo, New York.

Round		Player	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team (League)
1	7	Alek Stojanov (RW)		Hamilton Dukes (OHL)
2	29	Jassen Cullimore (D)		Peterborough Petes (OHL)
3	51	Sean Pronger (C)		Bowling Green State University (NCAA)
5	95	Dan Kesa (RW)		Prince Albert Raiders (WHL)
6	117	Evgeny Namestnikov (D)		Nizhny Novgorod Torpedo (USSR)
7	139	Brent Thurston (LW)		Spokane Chiefs (WHL)
8	161	Eric Johnson (RW)		St. Cloud State University (NCAA)
9	183	David Neilson (LW)		Prince Albert Raiders (WHL)
10	205	Brad Barton (RW)		Kitchener Rangers (OHL)
11	227	Jason Fitzsimmons (G)		Moose Jaw Warriors (WHL)
12	249	Xavier Majic (C)		Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (NCAA)
S	13	Scott Meehan (D)		University of Massachusetts Lowell (Hockey East)

Farm teams

Milwaukee Admirals

Vancouver Canucks IHL affiliate that play in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and their home arena is the Bradley Center.

Columbus Chill

Vancouver Canucks ECHL affiliate that play in Columbus, Ohio and their home arena is the Ohio State Fairgrounds Coliseum.

External links

• Official website of the Vancouver Canucks

See also

• 1991–92 NHL Season