The 1984–85

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference, and play their home games at Rogers Arena. Bruce B ...

season was the team's 15th in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL).

Offseason

On May 18,

Bill LaForge Bill LaForge (September 2, 1951 – June 19, 2005) was a Canadian ice hockey head coach. LaForge briefly coached the Vancouver Canucks in National Hockey League, but enjoyed more success in junior ice hockey with Western Hockey League and the O ...

was announced as the new head coach. At 32 years of age, LaForge would be the youngest coach in the NHL at the time. LaForge signed a two-year contract and promised tough practices, while emphasizing his Ph.D. philosophy – pride, hustle, and desire. Having played the majority of the previous season with the team's minor-league affiliate, centre

Gerry Minor Gerald Minor (born October 27, 1958) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who spent his entire NHL career with the Vancouver Canucks. Selected by the Canucks in the 1978 NHL Amateur Draft, Minor made his professional debut that yea ...

was not offered a new contract. On May 30, the team announced it had signed its first

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

player,

Petri Skriko Petri Kalevi Skriko (born March 13, 1962) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey player, best remembered for his seasons starring in the NHL for the Vancouver Canucks in the 1980s. He is currently a scout for the Calgary Flames. Playing ca ...

. The 8th round selection in the 1981 Draft had most recently been a member of

SaiPa SAIPA ( fa, سایپا, ''SAIPA'') is an Iranian automaker headquartered in Tehran. The SAIPAC (an acronym for the French ''Société anonyme iranienne de production des automobiles Citroën'') was established in 1965 as with 75% Iranian ownersh ...

in the

Finnish Elite League The SM-liiga (marketed as just Liiga from 2013 on), (Finnish for ''League'') colloquially called the Finnish Elite League in English or FM-ligan in Swedish, is the top professional ice hockey league in Finland. It is one of the six founding leagu ...

. After three seasons with the club, Lars Molin turned down a

two-way contract A two-way contract is a professional sports contract that stipulates that an athlete's salary is dependent upon the league in which the athlete is assigned to play. This is opposed to a one-way contract that would pay the same salary regardless of ...

and returned to his native Sweden to play with his former club,

MoDo AIK Modo Hockey (or MoDo with uppercase letters) is a professional ice hockey club in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden. The team plays in Sweden's second-tier league HockeyAllsvenskan. The club was founded in 1987 and has won one SHL championships; in 2007. ...

. In the Entry Draft, the Canucks took 5'11" defenceman

J. J. Daigneault Jean-Jacques Daigneault (born October 12, 1965) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played in the National Hockey League from 1984 to 2000. He was the head coach of the Halifax Mooseheads of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey ...

with the tenth overall pick. He would have a solid rookie campaign, playing 67 games and collecting 27 points. On June 22, the club announced that veteran forward

Al MacAdam Reginald Alan MacAdam (born March 16, 1952) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who spent 12 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) between 1973 and 1985, and was twice selected to play in the NHL All-Star Game. He is best kn ...

had been acquired from the

North Stars The Minnesota North Stars were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League (NHL) for 26 seasons, from 1967 to 1993. The North Stars played their home games at the Met Center in Bloomington, Minnesota, and the team's colors for m ...

for future considerations. The following day, it was revealed that fan favourite

Harold Snepsts Harold John Snepsts (born October 24, 1954) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who spent 17 seasons in the National Hockey League between 1975 and 1991. He is one of the most popular players in the history of the Vancouver Canuc ...

would be heading to

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

after playing his entire ten-year career in a Canucks uniform. After neck problems had plagued him during the previous season,

Darcy Rota Darcy Irwin Rota (born February 16, 1953) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who spent eleven seasons in the National Hockey League. Playing career Born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Darcy's formative years including Bantam ...

underwent

spinal fusion Spinal fusion, also called spondylodesis or spondylosyndesis, is a neurosurgical or orthopedic surgical technique that joins two or more vertebrae. This procedure can be performed at any level in the spine (cervical, thoracic, or lumbar) and pre ...

surgery on June 29. Entering the option year of his contract and unable to agree to terms for a new one, enforcer

Tiger Williams David James "Tiger" Williams (born February 3, 1954) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) from the 1974–75 NHL season to the 1987–88 NHL season. He is the NHL's career leader in ...

was dealt to the

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...

for

Rob McClanahan Robert Bruce McClanahan (born January 9, 1958) is an American former professional ice hockey player who played 224 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Buffalo Sabres, Hartford Whalers and New York Rangers between 1980 and 1983. McC ...

Training camp

The Canucks held their training camp at the Cowichan Community Centre in

Duncan Duncan may refer to: People * Duncan (given name), various people * Duncan (surname), various people * Clan Duncan * Justice Duncan (disambiguation) Places * Duncan Creek (disambiguation) * Duncan River (disambiguation) * Duncan Lake (d ...

, from September 18–21. 49 players took part in the training camp. Notable absences included

Thomas Gradin Thomas Kjell Gradin (born February 18, 1956) is a Swedish associate head scout for the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League (NHL) and a former professional ice hockey centre who played in the NHL and the Swedish Elite League (SEL) fro ...

and

Patrik Sundström Olof Patric Waldemar Sundström (born 14 December 1961) is a Swedish former professional ice hockey player. He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for 10 seasons. Playing career Sundström was drafted 175th overall by the Va ...

, who were representing Team Sweden in the

Canada Cup The Canada Cup (french: Coupe Canada) was an invitational international ice hockey tournament held on five occasions between 1976 and 1991. The brainchild of Toronto lawyer Alan Eagleson, the tournament was created to meet demand for a true world ...

tournament, as well as

and

Stu Kulak Stuart Alan Kulak (born March 10, 1963) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey right wing who spent parts of four seasons in the National Hockey League between 1982 and 1989. Selected by the Vancouver Canucks in the 1981 NHL Entry Draft, h ...

who were both recovering from injuries. Players were divided into three scrimmage teams, around which the training camp revolved. Aligning closely to coach LaForge's pride, hustle, and desire philosophy, the teams were named accordingly: Team Pride (captained by

Ron Delorme Ronald Elmer "Chief" Delorme (born September 3, 1955) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and the chief amateur scout for the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League (NHL). Delorme played in the NHL for the Colorado Rockies ...

); Team Hustle (captained by

Doug Halward Douglas Robert Halward (born November 1, 1955) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played 663 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Boston Bruins, Los Angeles Kings, Vancouver Canucks, Detroit Red Wings and Ed ...

); Team Desire (captained by

Stan Smyl Stan or STAN may refer to: People * Stan (given name), a list of people with the given name ** Stan Laurel (1890–1965), English comic actor, part of duo Laurel and Hardy * Stan (surname), a Romanian surname * Stan! (born 1964), American author, ...

). These scrimmage teams competed in a

round-robin tournament A round-robin tournament (or all-go-away-tournament) is a competition Competition is a rivalry where two or more parties strive for a common goal which cannot be shared: where one's gain is the other's loss (an example of which is a zero ...

, with the winning team claiming the Ph.D (Pride, Hustle, Desire) Cup. At the conclusion of each game, all players of the losing team were made to run a mile in full hockey gear. Those with bad knees were permitted to pedal five miles on a stationary bike in full hockey gear.

Regular season

The team continued to travel aboard their private jet, Air Canuck, for all road trips until late in the season when the plane was sold.

Final standings

Record vs. opponents

Schedule and results

Pre-season

The Canucks released their pre-season schedule on June 20, 1984.

Regular season

The Canucks released their regular season schedule on June 27, 1984.

Playoffs

The Canucks did not qualify the playoffs for the first time since the 1977–78 season.

Player statistics

Awards and records

Transactions

Draft picks

Vancouver's draft picks at the

1984 NHL Entry Draft The 1984 NHL Entry Draft was the 22nd NHL Entry Draft. It took place on June 9, 1984, at the Montreal Forum in Montreal, Quebec. The 1984 Entry Draft is noted for the unusually high number of future Hall of Famers picked, particularly in lower ...

held at the

Montreal Forum Montreal Forum (french: Le Forum de Montréal) is a historic building located facing Cabot Square in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Called "the most storied building in hockey history" by ''Sporting News'', it was an indoor arena which served as the h ...

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

Farm teams

Fredericton Express The Fredericton Express were a professional ice hockey team based in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada. They played in the American Hockey League between 1981 and 1988. The Express were affiliated with the Quebec Nordiques and Vancouver Canucks o ...

( AHL)

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:1984-85 Vancouver Canucks season Vancouver Canucks seasons Vancouver C

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...