The 1990–91 Vancouver Canucks season was the team's 21st in the National Hockey League (NHL).

Offseason

Entering his last season as a player, Stan Smyl resigns the team captaincy. The position is rotated between defenceman

Doug Lidster John Douglas Andrew Lidster (born October 18, 1960) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played in the National Hockey League (NHL). He was an assistant coach for the Vancouver Canucks until the end of the 2016-2017 season. ...

, forwards

Trevor Linden Trevor John Linden (born April 11, 1970) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former president of hockey operations and alternate governor of the Vancouver Canucks. He spent 19 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL), play ...

and Dan Quinn.

Regular season

Coaching change and USAir Flight 1493

The Canucks who were slumping in the first half of the regular season fired head coach

Bob McCammon Robert McCammon (April 14, 1941 – December 23, 2021) was a Canadian professional ice hockey centre and a National Hockey League (NHL) and American Hockey League (AHL) head coach and general manager. He was a pro scout with the Detroit Red Wing ...

on January 31, 1991. He was fired immediately after a home game against the New York Rangers that ended in a 3–3 tie. The game was noted for a spectacular goal tending performance by Rangers goal tender

Mike Richter Michael Thomas Richter (born September 22, 1966) is an American former professional ice hockey goaltender. He played his entire career with the New York Rangers organization, and led the team to the Stanley Cup in 1994. He also represented the Un ...

who made 59 saves. The next day McCammon was replaced by Pat Quinn who would fly down with the team to Los Angeles on board the Canadian Airlines charter to coach his first game for the club against the Los Angeles Kings. Upon landing at

Los Angeles International Airport Los Angeles International Airport , commonly referred to as LAX (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary international airport serving Los Angeles, California and its surrounding metropolitan area. LAX is located in the W ...

the team charter witnessed the fatal collision of USAir Flight 1493 and SkyWest Flight 5569 as the aircraft landed on a parallel runway approximately from the collision. The pilot of the plane carrying the team even turned on the engines to move away from the accident, fearing that the plane would be involved in the accident. Quinn and the team were badly shaken by the incident, the team was unable to cope with the disaster when they faced the Kings on February 2. The team suffered its worst defeat of the season 9–1. The crash was still bothering the team when they flew out of Los Angeles to another road game in Washington, D.C. to face the Washington Capitals. The Canucks would be held winless for their seventh straight game as hall of famer Dino Ciccarelli netted his 400th career regular season NHL goal.

Final standings

Schedule and results

Playoffs

Smythe Division Semi-Finals: vs. (1) Los Angeles Kings

Los Angeles wins series 4-2

Player statistics

''Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = Plus/Minus; PIM = Penalty Minutes''

Awards and records

Transactions

Trades

Draft picks

Vancouver's picks at the

1990 NHL Entry Draft The 1990 NHL Entry Draft was the 28th NHL Entry Draft. It was hosted by the Vancouver Canucks at BC Place in Vancouver, British Columbia, on June 16, 1990. It is remembered as one of the deeper drafts in NHL history, with fourteen of the twenty- ...

in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Farm teams

Milwaukee Admirals ( IHL)

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:1990-91 Vancouver Canucks season Vancouver Canucks seasons Vancouver C Vancouver