1997–98 Vancouver Canucks season

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1997–98 Vancouver Canucks
Division7th Pacific
Conference13th Western
1997–98 record25–43–14
Home record15–22–4
Road record10–21–10
Goals for224
Goals against273
Team information
General managerPat Quinn (16 games)
CoachTom Renney (19 games)
Mike Keenan (63 games)
CaptainMark Messier
Alternate captainsDave Babych (Oct-Mar)
Pavel Bure
Trevor Linden (Oct-Jan)
Bryan McCabe (Mar-Apr)
Dana Murzyn (Jan-Apr)
ArenaGeneral Motors Place
Average attendance17,120
Minor league affiliate(s)Syracuse Crunch
Team leaders
GoalsPavel Bure (51)
AssistsPavel Bure (39)
PointsPavel Bure (90)
Penalty minutesDonald Brashear (372)
Plus/minusPeter Zezel (+13)
WinsArturs Irbe (14)
Goals against averageArturs Irbe (2.73)

The 1997–98 Vancouver Canucks season was the team's 28th season in the National Hockey League (NHL). After missing the playoffs the season before, the team responded by signing Mark Messier to a three-year contract. The signing of Messier did little to improve the team, however, as they finished even worse than the year before, costing Head Coach Tom Renney and General Manager Pat Quinn their jobs. For the first time in NHL history, regular season games were played outside of North America, with the Canucks playing the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in Tokyo, Japan, to open up the regular season. Pavel Bure became the last Canuck to score 50 or more goals in a season. On April 9, 1998, the Canucks scored three short-handed goals in a 6–3 road win over the Calgary Flames.[1]

In addition, the team introduced a new logo that would stay in use since its debut, with minor colour alterations.

The team was the last in NHL history to record over 2,000 penalty minutes, with 2,148.[2]

Off-season[edit]

Forward Trevor Linden resigned the team captaincy, in favour of new arrival Mark Messier.

Regular season[edit]

The Canucks finished the regular season with the most power-play opportunities against, with 432. Although the Canucks allowed the most goals in the League, with 273, they scored the most short-handed goals, with 19.[3]

All-Star Game[edit]

The 48th National Hockey League All-Star Game took place at General Motors Place in Vancouver, British Columbia, home to the Vancouver Canucks, on January 18, 1998.

The International Showdown[edit]

The 48th game was held in the very same year as the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, providing the NHL to show its players from all over the world. To this extent, the NHL had the All-Star teams consist of a team of North Americans playing against a team of stars from the rest of the world. The format change also helped to intensify the game, as national pride would also become a factor. These provisions only applied to the players — coaches would still be selected based on which teams were the best from each conference at the time of the break.

Final standings[edit]

Pacific Division
No. CR GP W L T GF GA Pts
1 2 Colorado Avalanche 82 39 26 17 231 205 95
2 5 Los Angeles Kings 82 38 33 11 227 225 87
3 7 Edmonton Oilers 82 35 37 10 215 224 80
4 8 San Jose Sharks 82 34 38 10 210 216 78
5 11 Calgary Flames 82 26 41 15 217 252 67
6 12 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim 82 26 43 13 205 261 65
7 13 Vancouver Canucks 82 25 43 14 224 273 64

Note: CR = Conference rank; GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; Pts = Points
         Bolded teams qualified for the playoffs.

Western Conference[4]
R Div GP W L T GF GA Pts
1 p – Dallas Stars CEN 82 49 22 11 242 167 109
2 x – Colorado Avalanche PAC 82 39 26 17 231 205 95
3 Detroit Red Wings CEN 82 44 23 15 250 196 103
4 St. Louis Blues CEN 82 45 29 8 256 204 98
5 Los Angeles Kings PAC 82 38 33 11 227 225 87
6 Phoenix Coyotes CEN 82 35 35 12 224 227 82
7 Edmonton Oilers PAC 82 35 37 10 215 224 80
8 San Jose Sharks PAC 82 34 38 10 210 216 78
9 Chicago Blackhawks CEN 82 30 39 13 192 199 73
10 Toronto Maple Leafs CEN 82 30 43 9 194 237 69
11 Calgary Flames PAC 82 26 41 15 217 252 67
12 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim PAC 82 26 43 13 205 261 65
13 Vancouver Canucks PAC 82 25 43 14 224 273 64

Divisions: CEN – Central, PAC – Pacific

bold – Qualified for playoffs; x – Won Division; p – Won Presidents' Trophy


Schedule and results[edit]

1997–98 regular season[5]
October: 3–8–2 (home: 2–4–2; road: 1–4–0)
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap
1[a] W October 3, 1997 3–2 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1997–98) 1–0–0 Recap
2[a] L October 4, 1997 2–3 @ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1997–98) 1–1–0 Recap
3 T October 9, 1997 2–2 OT Toronto Maple Leafs (1997–98) 1–1–1 Recap
4 L October 11, 1997 3–6 New York Rangers (1997–98) 1–2–1 Recap
5 W October 13, 1997 3–0 Edmonton Oilers (1997–98) 2–2–1 Recap
6 L October 17, 1997 0–2 Boston Bruins (1997–98) 2–3–1 Recap
7 T October 19, 1997 4–4 OT Colorado Avalanche (1997–98) 2–3–2 Recap
8 W October 21, 1997 5–1 @ Dallas Stars (1997–98) 3–3–2 Recap
9 L October 23, 1997 1–4 @ St. Louis Blues (1997–98) 3–4–2 Recap
10 L October 25, 1997 2–3 OT Pittsburgh Penguins (1997–98) 3–5–2 Recap
11 L October 26, 1997 1–5 Detroit Red Wings (1997–98) 3–6–2 Recap
12 L October 29, 1997 0–3 @ Chicago Blackhawks (1997–98) 3–7–2 Recap
13 L October 30, 1997 1–8 @ New Jersey Devils (1997–98) 3–8–2 Recap

Notes:
a At Yoyogi National Gymnasium in Tokyo, Japan

November: 6–6–1 (home: 2–2–0; road: 4–4–1)
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap
14 L November 1, 1997 6–7 OT @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1997–98) 3–9–2 Recap
15 L November 3, 1997 3–5 @ Carolina Hurricanes (1997–98) 3–10–2 Recap
16 L November 4, 1997 1–2 @ Washington Capitals (1997–98) 3–11–2 Recap
17 L November 8, 1997 2–3 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1997–98) 3–12–2 Recap
18 L November 11, 1997 2–8 @ Los Angeles Kings (1997–98) 3–13–2 Recap
19 W November 12, 1997 5–2 @ San Jose Sharks (1997–98) 4–13–2 Recap
20 T November 14, 1997 3–3 OT @ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1997–98) 4–13–3 Recap
21 W November 16, 1997 4–1 Carolina Hurricanes (1997–98) 5–13–3 Recap
22 W November 20, 1997 4–2 Phoenix Coyotes (1997–98) 6–13–3 Recap
23 L November 22, 1997 4–5 OT Chicago Blackhawks (1997–98) 6–14–3 Recap
24 W November 25, 1997 4–2 @ New York Rangers (1997–98) 7–14–3 Recap
25 W November 28, 1997 5–2 @ Boston Bruins (1997–98) 8–14–3 Recap
26 W November 29, 1997 4–2 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1997–98) 9–14–3 Recap
December: 2–9–3 (home: 1–5–1; road: 1–4–2)
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap
27 T December 1, 1997 3–3 OT Detroit Red Wings (1997–98) 9–14–4 Recap
28 L December 4, 1997 2–3 San Jose Sharks (1997–98) 9–15–4 Recap
29 L December 6, 1997 4–6 @ Colorado Avalanche (1997–98) 9–16–4 Recap
30 L December 8, 1997 1–5 @ St. Louis Blues (1997–98) 9–17–4 Recap
31 L December 9, 1997 5–7 @ Detroit Red Wings (1997–98) 9–18–4 Recap
32 L December 13, 1997 2–5 Colorado Avalanche (1997–98) 9–19–4 Recap
33 W December 15, 1997 7–0 Los Angeles Kings (1997–98) 10–19–4 Recap
34 W December 17, 1997 5–1 @ Phoenix Coyotes (1997–98) 11–19–4 Recap
35 T December 18, 1997 0–0 OT @ San Jose Sharks (1997–98) 11–19–5 Recap
36 L December 20, 1997 0–5 Chicago Blackhawks (1997–98) 11–20–5 Recap
37 L December 23, 1997 1–3 Dallas Stars (1997–98) 11–21–5 Recap
38 T December 27, 1997 3–3 OT @ Dallas Stars (1997–98) 11–21–6 Recap
39 L December 29, 1997 2–5 @ Los Angeles Kings (1997–98) 11–22–6 Recap
40 L December 31, 1997 0–8 Philadelphia Flyers (1997–98) 11–23–6 Recap
January: 3–9–2 (home: 2–3–1; road: 1–6–1)
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap
41 L January 3, 1998 2–4 Montreal Canadiens (1997–98) 11–24–6 Recap
42 W January 5, 1998 3–2 Los Angeles Kings (1997–98) 12–24–6 Recap
43 L January 7, 1998 2–3 St. Louis Blues (1997–98) 12–25–6 Recap
44 T January 8, 1998 4–4 OT @ Colorado Avalanche (1997–98) 12–25–7 Recap
45 T January 10, 1998 2–2 OT Florida Panthers (1997–98) 12–25–8 Recap
46 L January 12, 1998 2–3 @ Chicago Blackhawks (1997–98) 12–26–8 Recap
47 L January 14, 1998 0–4 @ Detroit Red Wings (1997–98) 12–27–8 Recap
48 L January 15, 1998 2–6 @ Buffalo Sabres (1997–98) 12–28–8 Recap
49 L January 21, 1998 1–6 Phoenix Coyotes (1997–98) 12–29–8 Recap
50 L January 24, 1998 2–5 @ Calgary Flames (1997–98) 12–30–8 Recap
51 L January 26, 1998 2–4 @ Phoenix Coyotes (1997–98) 12–31–8 Recap
52 L January 28, 1998 1–6 @ Colorado Avalanche (1997–98) 12–32–8 Recap
53 W January 30, 1998 3–1 New Jersey Devils (1997–98) 13–32–8 Recap
54 W January 31, 1998 6–3 @ Edmonton Oilers (1997–98) 14–32–8 Recap
February: 4–1–1 (home: 4–1–0; road: 0–0–1)
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap
55 L February 2, 1998 1–2 Colorado Avalanche (1997–98) 14–33–8 Recap
56 W February 6, 1998 5–4 Edmonton Oilers (1997–98) 15–33–8 Recap
57 W February 7, 1998 6–3 San Jose Sharks (1997–98) 16–33–8 Recap
58 W February 25, 1998 5–2 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1997–98) 17–33–8 Recap
59 T February 27, 1998 4–4 OT @ Calgary Flames (1997–98) 17–33–9 Recap
60 W February 28, 1998 6–4 Ottawa Senators (1997–98) 18–33–9 Recap
March: 4–6–4 (home: 2–4–0; road: 2–2–4)
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap
61 T March 2, 1998 2–2 OT @ Los Angeles Kings (1997–98) 18–33–10 Recap
62 L March 5, 1998 2–6 Calgary Flames (1997–98) 18–34–10 Recap
63 W March 7, 1998 5–2 Tampa Bay Lightning (1997–98) 19–34–10 Recap
64 L March 9, 1998 0–4 St. Louis Blues (1997–98) 19–35–10 Recap
65 T March 11, 1998 2–2 OT @ Montreal Canadiens (1997–98) 19–35–11 Recap
66 L March 12, 1998 2–3 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1997–98) 19–36–11 Recap
67 W March 14, 1998 6–2 @ New York Islanders (1997–98) 20–36–11 Recap
68 W March 17, 1998 4–2 @ Florida Panthers (1997–98) 21–36–11 Recap
69 L March 18, 1998 2–4 @ Tampa Bay Lightning (1997–98) 21–37–11 Recap
70 T March 20, 1998 1–1 OT @ Ottawa Senators (1997–98) 21–37–12 Recap
71 T March 21, 1998 1–1 OT @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1997–98) 21–37–13 Recap
72 W March 24, 1998 4–3 New York Islanders (1997–98) 22–37–13 Recap
73 L March 26, 1998 2–5 Buffalo Sabres (1997–98) 22–38–13 Recap
74 L March 28, 1998 2–3 Washington Capitals (1997–98) 22–39–13 Recap
April: 3–4–1 (home: 2–3–0; road: 1–1–1)
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap
75 W April 1, 1998 4–2 Edmonton Oilers (1997–98) 23–39–13 Recap
76 W April 4, 1998 5–3 Dallas Stars (1997–98) 24–39–13 Recap
77 L April 6, 1998 2–3 @ Edmonton Oilers (1997–98) 24–40–13 Recap
78 W April 9, 1998 6–3 @ Calgary Flames (1997–98) 25–40–13 Recap
79 T April 11, 1998 1–1 OT @ San Jose Sharks (1997–98) 25–40–14 Recap
80 L April 15, 1998 0–2 Los Angeles Kings (1997–98) 25–41–14 Recap
81 L April 17, 1998 2–4 Calgary Flames (1997–98) 25–42–14 Recap
82 L April 19, 1998 1–2 Toronto Maple Leafs (1997–98) 25–43–14 Recap
Legend:

  Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Tie (1 point)

Player statistics[edit]

Scoring[edit]

  • Position abbreviations: C = Centre; D = Defence; G = Goaltender; LW = Left Wing; RW = Right Wing
  • † = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Canucks only.
  • ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Canucks only.
Regular season
No. Player Pos GP G A Pts +/- PIM
10 Pavel Bure RW 82 51 39 90 5 48
11 Mark Messier C 82 22 38 60 −10 58
89 Alexander Mogilny RW 51 18 27 45 −6 36
19 Markus Naslund LW 76 14 20 34 5 56
21 Jyrki Lumme D 74 9 21 30 −25 34
2 Mattias Ohlund D 77 7 23 30 3 76
3 Bret Hedican D 71 3 24 27 3 79
28 Brian Noonan RW 82 10 15 25 −19 62
20 Dave Scatchard C 76 13 11 24 −4 165
16 Trevor Linden‡ RW 42 7 14 21 −13 49
26 Mike Sillinger‡ C 48 10 9 19 −14 34
8 Donald Brashear LW 77 9 9 18 −9 372
22 Peter Zezel† C 25 5 12 17 13 2
27 Todd Bertuzzi† LW 22 6 9 15 2 63
4 Grant Ledyard‡ D 39 2 13 15 −2 14
24 Scott Walker C 59 3 10 13 −8 164
9 Brad May† LW 27 9 3 12 0 41
23 Bryan McCabe† D 26 1 11 12 10 64
44 Dave Babych‡ D 47 0 9 9 −11 37
23 Martin Gelinas‡ LW 24 4 4 8 −6 10
5 Dana Murzyn D 31 5 2 7 −3 42
25 Steve Staios RW 77 3 4 7 −3 134
6 Adrian Aucoin D 35 3 3 6 −4 21
48 Bert Robertsson LW 30 2 4 6 2 24
29 Gino Odjick‡ LW 35 3 2 5 −3 181
14 Lonny Bohonos‡ RW 31 2 1 3 −9 4
36 Chris McAllister D 36 1 2 3 −12 106
18 Geoff Sanderson†‡ LW 9 0 3 3 −1 4
7 David Roberts LW 13 1 1 2 −1 4
9 Lubomir Vaic C 5 1 1 2 −2 2
26 Brandon Convery† C 7 0 2 2 0 0
1 Sean Burke†‡ G 16 0 1 1 14
39 Enrico Ciccone†‡ D 13 0 1 1 −2 47
7 Jamie Huscroft† D 7 0 1 1 2 0
34 Jason Strudwick† D 11 0 1 1 −3 29
22 Larry Courville LW 11 0 0 0 −7 5
31 Corey Hirsch G 1 0 0 0 0
32 Arturs Irbe G 41 0 0 0 2
1 Kirk McLean‡ G 29 0 0 0 0
30 Garth Snow† G 12 0 0 0 4
27 Mark Wotton D 5 0 0 0 −2 6

Goaltending[edit]

  • † = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Canucks only.
  • ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Canucks only.
Regular season
No. Player GP W L T SA GA GAA SV% SO TOI
32 Arturs Irbe 41 14 11 6 982 91 2.73 .907 2 1999
1 Kirk McLean‡ 29 6 17 4 800 97 3.68 .879 1 1583
30 Garth Snow† 12 3 6 0 262 26 3.09 .901 0 504
1 Sean Burke†‡ 16 2 9 4 396 49 3.51 .876 0 838
31 Corey Hirsch 1 0 0 0 34 5 6.05 .853 0 50

Awards and records[edit]

Awards[edit]

Type Award/honour Recipient Ref
League
(annual) 		NHL All-Rookie Team Mattias Ohlund (Defence) [6]
League
(in-season) 		NHL All-Star Game selection Pavel Bure [7]
Mark Messier[a]
Team Babe Pratt Trophy Mattias Ohlund [8]
Cyclone Taylor Trophy Pavel Bure [8]
Cyrus H. McLean Trophy Pavel Bure [8]
Fred J. Hume Award Brian Noonan [9]
Molson Cup Pavel Bure [10]
Most Exciting Player Award Pavel Bure [9]

Milestones[edit]

Milestone Player Date Ref
500th game played Kirk McLean October 19, 1997 [11]

Transactions[edit]

Trades[edit]

January 2, 1998 To Vancouver Canucks
Sean Burke
Geoff Sanderson
Enrico Ciccone 		To Carolina Hurricanes
Kirk McLean
Martin Gelinas
February 4, 1998 To Vancouver Canucks
conditional 5th round pick in 1998 (Garrett Prosofsky) 		To Philadelphia Flyers
Mike Sillinger
February 4, 1998 To Vancouver Canucks
Brad May
3rd round pick in 1999 		To Buffalo Sabres
Geoff Sanderson
February 5, 1998 To Vancouver Canucks
Peter Zezel 		To New Jersey Devils
5th round pick in 1998 (Anton But)
February 6, 1998 To Vancouver Canucks
Bryan McCabe
Todd Bertuzzi
3rd round pick in 1999 (Jarkko Ruutu) 		To New York Islanders
Trevor Linden
March 3, 1998 To Vancouver Canucks
8th round pick in 1998 (Graig Mischler) 		To Boston Bruins
Grant Ledyard
March 4, 1998 To Vancouver Canucks
Garth Snow 		To Philadelphia Flyers
Sean Burke
March 7, 1998 To Vancouver Canucks
Brandon Convery 		To Toronto Maple Leafs
Lonny Bohonos
March 14, 1998 To Vancouver Canucks
Jamie Huscroft 		To Tampa Bay Lightning
Enrico Ciccone
March 23, 1998 To Vancouver Canucks
Jason Strudwick 		To New York Islanders
Gino Odjick
March 24, 1998 To Vancouver Canucks
3rd round pick in 1999 (Justin Morrison) 		To Philadelphia Flyers
Dave Babych
6th round pick in 1998 (Antero Niittymaki)

Draft picks[edit]

Vancouver's picks at the 1997 NHL Entry Draft in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.[12]

Round # Player Nationality College/Junior/Club team
1 10 Brad Ference (D)  Canada Spokane Chiefs (WHL)
2 34 Ryan Bonni (D)  Canada Saskatoon Blades (WHL)
2 36 Harold Druken (D)  Canada Detroit Whalers (OHL)
3 64 Kyle Freadrich (LW)  Canada Prince George Cougars (WHL)
4 90 Chris Stanley (C)  Canada Belleville Bulls (OHL)
5 114 David Darguzas (C)  Canada Edmonton Ice (WHL)
5 117 Matt Cockell (G)  Canada Saskatoon Blades (WHL)
6 144 Matt Cooke (LW)  Canada Windsor Spitfires (OHL)
6 148 Larry Shapley (D)  Canada Welland Jr. Canadians (Golden Horseshoe Junior B Hockey League)
7 171 Rod Leroux (D)  Canada Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL)
8 201 Denis Martynyuk (LW)  Russia CSKA Moscow (Russian Pro Hockey League)
9 227 Peter Brady (G)  Canada Powell River Paper Kings (BCJHL)

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Commissioner’s selection.

References[edit]

  • "Vancouver Canucks 1997-98 roster and scoring statistics at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved July 8, 2023.
  • "1997-98 Vancouver Canucks Roster, Stats, Injuries, Scores, Results, Shootouts". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved July 8, 2023.
  1. ^ "Vancouver Canucks at Calgary Flames Box Score — April 9, 1998".
  2. ^ "Vancouver Canucks 1997-98". Retrieved January 26, 2012.
  3. ^ "1997-98 NHL Summary".
  4. ^ "1997-1998 Conference Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". NHL.
  5. ^ "1997-98 Vancouver Canucks Schedule". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved July 8, 2023.
  6. ^ "Postseason All-Star Teams". records.nhl.com. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
  7. ^ "NHL All-Star Game Historical Summaries - 1998". NHL.com. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
  8. ^ a b c Vancouver Canucks 2016–17 Media Guide, p. 249
  9. ^ a b Vancouver Canucks 2016–17 Media Guide, p. 250
  10. ^ 2015–16 Vancouver Canucks Media Guide, p. 217
  11. ^ "New York Rangers Official Web-site -- Roster". New York Rangers. Archived from the original on May 22, 2000. Retrieved July 9, 2023. 1997-98… Appeared in his 500th career NHL game on Oct. 19 vs. Colorado
  12. ^ "1997 NHL Entry Draft Picks at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
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