The 2008–09 Vancouver Canucks season was the 39th season in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

Season events

Off-season

On June 17, 2008, the Canucks named Ryan Walter as an

assistant coach An athletic coach is a person coaching in sport, involved in the direction, instruction, and training of a sports team or athlete. History The original sense of the word ''Coach'' is that of a Coach (carriage), horse-drawn carriage, deriving ul ...

. He joined head coach Alain Vigneault and assistant coach Rick Bowness on the Canucks' coaching staff. Walter, 50, played in 1,003 NHL games over 15 seasons with Washington, Montreal, and Vancouver, scoring 264 goals and 382 assists. He won the

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup () is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, and the International Ic ...

with Montreal in 1986. A native of

New Westminster, British Columbia New Westminster (colloquially known as New West) is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada, and a member municipality of the Metro Vancouver Regional District. It was founded by Major-General Richard Moody as the capita ...

, Walter was the second overall pick by the

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The Capitals compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NH ...

in the 1978 NHL amateur draft. The Canucks lost two key veterans to free agency. Markus Naslund, the Canucks' captain for the previous seven seasons, signed a two-year, $8 million contract with the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in New York City. The Rangers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team plays ...

, while Pitt Meadows native Brendan Morrison signed a one-year, $2.75 million contract with the

Anaheim Ducks The Anaheim Ducks are a professional ice hockey team based in Anaheim, California. The Ducks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Confere ...

. The Canucks also lost a promising young defenceman in Luc Bourdon, who died in a motorcycle accident in his hometown of Shippagan, New Brunswick. The Canucks honoured Bourdon with a tribute in the season opener, October 9, against the

Calgary Flames The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary. The Flames compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. The ...

. Among the Canucks' roster additions was Steve Bernier, who was acquired from the

Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Con ...

for a second- and third-round draft pick, and

Pavol Demitra Pavol Demitra (; 29 November 1974 – 7 September 2011) was a Slovakia, Slovak professional ice hockey player. He played nineteen seasons of professional hockey, for teams in the Czechoslovak First Ice Hockey League (CSL), National Hockey League ...

, who signed a two-year, $8 million contract. The Canucks announced on September 4, 2008, that they would honour Trevor Linden in a pre-game ceremony on December 17, 2008 before a game against the Edmonton Oilers. His jersey number, 16, was retired by the team, joining former captain Stan Smyl as the second Canuck to have his number retired.

Pre-season

The Canucks' 2008

pre-season In an organized sports league, a typical season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session: for example, in Major League Baseball the season lasts approximately from the last week of March to the last week of S ...

began on September 12 with the opening of their annual prospects training camp. The camp consisted of 22 players and was held in

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 cit ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

at both General Motors Place and the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Public university, public research university with campuses near University of British Columbia Vancouver, Vancouver and University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada ...

campus, as well as in

Camrose, Alberta Camrose ( ) is a city in central Alberta, Canada that is surrounded by Camrose County. Located along Alberta Highway 13, Highway 13 it had its beginnings as a railroad hub. History The area around Camrose was first settled by Europeans around ...

. The prospect camp was then followed by the main training camp, held over two days beginning September 20 in

Whistler, British Columbia Whistler (, ; , ) is a resort municipality in Squamish-Lillooet Regional District, British Columbia, Canada. It is located in the southern Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains, approximately north of Vancouver and south of Pemberton, Britis ...

. On September 30, 2008, the Canucks named Roberto Luongo as the twelfth

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

in team history, with Luongo becoming only the seventh

goaltender In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as goalie or netminder) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their own team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays ...

in NHL history to be named team captain. NHL rules prevent goaltenders from physically wearing the captain's letter "C", however, they do not prevent goaltenders from being named captain. The Canucks also named Willie Mitchell, Mattias Ohlund, and Ryan Kesler as alternate captains. Mitchell assumed the duties of dealing with

officials An official is someone who holds an office (function or mandate, regardless of whether it carries an actual working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority (either their own or that of the ...

during games, while Ohlund took

faceoff A face-off is the method used to begin and restart play after goals in some sports using sticks, primarily ice hockey, bandy, floorball, broomball, rinkball, and lacrosse. During a face-off, two teams line up in opposition to each other, and the ...

s and performed other ceremonial duties.

Standings

Divisional standings

Conference standings

Schedule and results

Regular season

Playoffs

Player statistics

Skaters

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

Goaltenders

^†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Vancouver. Stats reflect time with the Canucks only.
^‡Denotes player no longer with the team. Stats reflect time with Canucks only.

Awards and records

Awards

Daniel Sedin Daniel Hans Sedin (born 26 September 1980) is a Swedish ice hockey executive and former winger who played his entire 17-season National Hockey League (NHL) career with the Vancouver Canucks from 2000 to 2018. Born and raised in Örnsköldsvik ...

was named the NHL's first star of the week for the week ending October 12, 2008. * Roberto Luongo was named the NHL's first star of the week for the week ending November 9, 2008. *

Henrik Sedin Henrik Lars Sedin (born 26 September 1980) is a Swedish ice hockey executive and former centre who played his entire 17-season National Hockey League (NHL) career with the Vancouver Canucks from 2000 to 2018. He additionally served as the Canuc ...

was named the NHL's second star of the week for the week ending November 23, 2008. * Roberto Luongo was named to the Western Conference roster for the 57th National Hockey League All-Star Game in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

. * Daniel Sedin was named the NHL's second star of the week for the week ending March 29, 2009. * Henrik Sedin was named the NHL's second star of the month for March. * Roberto Luongo was named the NHL's first star of the week for the week ending April 12, 2009.

Records

* Roberto Luongo set a franchise record for consecutive shutout minutes with 242:36 on November 12, 2008 versus the

Colorado Avalanche The Colorado Avalanche (colloquially known as the Avs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver. The Avalanche compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Con ...

. * The Canucks set a franchise record for consecutive home losses with 7 on January 18, 2009 versus the

Columbus Blue Jackets The Columbus Blue Jackets (often simply referred to as the Jackets) are a professional ice hockey team based in Columbus, Ohio. The Blue Jackets compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern C ...

. * Mattias Ohlund set a franchise record for the most points scored by a

defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the l ...

with 322 points on March 15, 2009 versus the

. * The Canucks set a franchise record for consecutive home wins with 11 on March 19, 2009 versus the

St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. Th ...

. * Roberto Luongo set a franchise record for most shutouts in a season with 8 on April 9, 2009 versus the

Los Angeles Kings The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The Kings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. ...

, and ended the season with one more, for a total of 9 shutouts and tying Kirk McLean for the all-time franchise lead in shutouts.

Milestones

Transactions

Trades

Free agents acquired

Free agents lost

Received from waivers

Lost on waivers

Draft picks

Vancouver's picks at the 2008 NHL entry draft in

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

7th Canuck

On October 25, 2008, the Canucks retired the jersey number '7' in honour of the fans, the "seventh Canuck". Originally, the plan was to have a randomly selected season ticket holder unveil the banner before every home game and have it raised to the rafters, but after the first game it was abandoned.

Farm teams

Manitoba Moose

The Canucks' AHL affiliate based in

Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

. The Moose' home arena is the MTS Centre. The team has been affiliated with the Vancouver Canucks since the

2000–01 AHL season The 2000–01 AHL season was the 65th season of the American Hockey League. The league realigned its divisions again. The Atlantic division was renamed as the Canadian division. The Empire State division was replaced by the South division, with ...

Victoria Salmon Kings

The Canucks'

ECHL The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a minor professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams across the United States and Canada. Competitively, it is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The ...

affiliate based in

Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Gre ...

. The Salmon Kings' home arena is the Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre. The team has been affiliated with the Vancouver Canucks since the 2006–07 ECHL season.

References

External links

Vancouver Canucks official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:2008-09 Vancouver Canucks season Vancouver Canucks seasons Vancouver Canucks season, 2008-09

Vancouver Canucks, 2008-09 Vancouver Canucks, 2008-09 Canucks Season Canucks Season