List of Vancouver Canucks award winners

Vancouver Canucks awards
Henrik Sedin accepting the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl in 2011.
Award	Wins
Clarence S. Campbell Bowl	3
Presidents' Trophy	2
Art Ross Trophy	2
Calder Memorial Trophy	1
Frank J. Selke Trophy	1
General Manager of the Year Award	1
Hart Memorial Trophy	1
Jack Adams Award	2
King Clancy Memorial Trophy	2
NHL Fan Fav Award *	1
NHL Foundation Player Award	1
NHL Man of the Year Award *	1
NHL Plus-Minus Award *	1
Ted Lindsay Award	2
William M. Jennings Trophy	1
Total
Awards won	22

The Vancouver Canucks are a Canadian professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Hockey League (NHL). The Canucks joined the league in 1970–71 season as an expansion team, along with the Buffalo Sabres.

In their history, the team has captured the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl as Western Conference champions in 1982, 1994 and 2011, but lost in their three Stanley Cup appearances to the New York Islanders, New York Rangers and Boston Bruins, respectively.^[1] The Sedin twins have won a combined four awards.^[2][3] Markus Naslund has played in five NHL All-Star Games, the most in Canucks history.

Four players have had their numbers retired by the Canucks organization. Stan Smyl became the first Canuck to have his #12 retired in 1991, followed by Trevor Linden's #16 in 2008, Markus Naslund's #19 in 2010 and Pavel Bure's #10 in 2013. Although they have been recognized for their accomplishments with different teams, Igor Larionov, Cam Neely, Mark Messier, Mats Sundin and Pavel Bure are several Hockey Hall of Famers who have played for the Canucks during their careers; former owner Frank Griffiths, coach Roger Neilson and general managers Bud Poile and Jake Milford have been inducted as builders.

The Canucks have six internal team awards – the Molson Cup is awarded to the player who earns the most three-star selections throughout the season; the Cyclone Taylor Trophy i given to the team's most valuable player; Cyrus H. McLean Trophy recognizes the Canucks' leading scorer; the Babe Pratt Trophy is given to the best Canucks defenceman; the Fred J. Hume Award is awarded to the Canucks' unsung hero; and the Pavel Bure Most Exciting Player Award is awarded to the player judged to be the most exciting on the team. Each of these awards are presented towards the end of the season.

League awards

Team trophies

The Canucks have won the Western (previously the Campbell) Conference three times, in the 1982, 1994 and 2011 seasons.

Individual awards

In their first 21 years, Vancouver Canucks players and staff were not able to win a major individual NHL award until the 1991–92 NHL season. In that year, Pavel Bure won the Calder Memorial Trophy as the league's rookie of the year and Pat Quinn won the Jack Adams Award as coach of the year. Since the 1991–92 season, Canucks players and staff have won an additional 14 individual NHL awards, winning the most awards in the 2010–11 season, with five. The two most decorated Canucks players are Daniel and Henrik Sedin. The Sedins have won a combined four awards, including the Ted Lindsay Award, the Hart Memorial Trophy and becoming the first brother duo to win back-to-back Art Ross Trophies.

The Sedins became the first brother duo to win the Art Ross Trophy in consecutive years

Trevor Linden has won two NHL humanitarian awards as a Canuck

† – Trevor Linden shared the NHL Foundation Player Award with Vincent Lecavalier of the Tampa Bay Lightning.

† – Marek Malik shared the plus-minus award with Martin St. Louis of the Tampa Bay Lightning.

† – Roberto Luongo is the sole winner of the Scotiabank Fan Fav Award.

All-Star Game selections

The National Hockey League All-Star Game is a mid-season exhibition game held annually between many of the top players of each season. Thirty-eight All-Star Games have been held since the Canucks' inaugural season. The All-Star Game has not been held in various years: 1995, 2005 and 2013 as a result of labour stoppages; 2006, 2010 and 2014 because of the Winter Olympics; 1979 and 1987 due to the 1979 Challenge Cup; and the Rendez-vous '87 series between the NHL and the Soviet national team. The NHL also held a Young Stars Game for first- and second-year players from 2002 to 2009.

The Canucks hosted the 1977 All-Star Game at the Pacific Coliseum and the 1998 NHL All-Star Game at General Motors Place. In 1977, Harold Snepsts was the lone Canucks representative as the Wales Conference defeated the Campbell Conference 4–3 in front of 15,607 in attendance. In 1998, both Mark Messier and Pavel Bure were the two Canucks representatives at the All-Star Game, with Messier playing for the North America All-Stars and Bure with the World All-Stars. Team North America won the game 8–7 in front of a sold-out crowd of 18,422. Currently, Markus Naslund played a franchise-high five All-Star Games as a member of the Canucks.

Markus Naslund participated in five NHL All-Star Games as a Canuck

Pavel Bure participated in four NHL All-Star Games as a Canuck

Career achievements

Hockey Hall of Fame

Before entering the NHL, the Vancouver Canucks of the WHL and PCHL had six notable players and one builder that was inducted to the Hockey Hall of Fame. The list of Hall of Famers included Andy Bathgate, Johnny Bower, Tony Esposito, Allan Stanley, Gump Worsley and former owner Fred J. Hume, who was inducted under the Builders category. Bill Cowley was also inducted as a player, although his only affiliation with the Canucks was general manager and head coach in 1948–49.

Since entering the NHL in 1970, several members of the Vancouver Canucks organization have been honoured by the Hockey Hall of Fame. Cam Neely was the first Canucks player inducted, gaining election in 2005, although the majority of Neely's career and success was spent with the Boston Bruins. Within the next three years, Mark Messier would also be inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2007, along with Igor Larionov in 2008 and Mats Sundin in 2012, though their career accomplishments were well known on other teams.

To this date, Pavel Bure is the only Hall of Famer to spend the majority of his playing career with the Canucks. Known for his skating ability, the "Russian Rocket" spent seven seasons in Vancouver, accumulating 478 points (254 goals and 224 assists) in 428 games, winning the Calder Memorial Trophy as rookie of the year in 1992, being named an NHL First All-Star in 1994 and participated in four NHL All-Star Games. He is also the current club record holder for most points by a rookie in a season (60), most goals in a season (60; (both 1992–93 and 1993–94) and club holder of most shorthanded goals (24). However, Bure will always be best remembered for his play during the 1994 Stanley Cup playoffs when he led the Canucks with 16 goals and 31 points, helping the team reach the Finals only to lose the Stanley Cup to the New York Rangers in seven games.

Five members of team management have been inducted in the "Builders" category. Two former general managers, Bud Poile and Jake Milford, were the first two members inducted into the Hall of Fame. Poile was the Canucks' first general manager in 1970 and was inducted in 1990, while Milford became general manager from 1977 to 1982, building the team that went to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1982. Milford served as the club's senior vice-president until his sudden death on December 24, 1984, which occurred one month after his induction.

Long-time owner Frank Griffiths would be the third Canucks builder to be inducted in 1993. Griffiths was the majority owner of the Canucks from 1974 until his death in 1994.

Roger Neilson statue commemorating the towel power event in 1982

In 2002, Former head coach Roger Neilson became the fourth Canucks builder to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Neilson started as an assistant coach, but eventually took over the coaching duties in March 1982 after coach Harry Neale was suspended for taking part in an altercation with fans during a brawl in Quebec. In that same year, Neilson led the Canucks to the Finals and in Game 2 of the Campbell Conference Finals against the Chicago Blackhawks; he felt his team was unfairly penalized on several occasions during the third period and took a trainer's white towel and held it on a hockey stick, as if to say, "I give up." Three other Canuck players did the same thing, and all were ejected from the game. By doing so, Neilson inadvertently started a Canucks playoff tradition known as "Towel Power."

The third general manager and fifth builder to be inducted into the Hall of Fame was Pat Quinn who served as Canucks' general manager for ten years with four of those years as head coach. Quinn, was known for building the Canucks to respectability during the early nineties as the team finished with back-to-back division titles in 1992 and 1993, and were one win away from winning the Stanley Cup in 1994. That success was due in part with the trades that Pat Quinn started in 1987 when his first move was obtaining a young goaltender, Kirk McLean and left winger, Greg Adams from the New Jersey Devils and picking two notable drafts with future captain, Trevor Linden in 1988 and future superstar, Pavel Bure in 1989. He later strengthened the team by making trades to acquire Geoff Courtnall, Cliff Ronning, Sergio Momesso and Robert Dirk from the St. Louis Blues in 1991, which paved the way for the team's success. His other most notable trade came in the 1996 season when he traded Alek Stojanov to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for Markus Naslund, which is seen as one of the leagues' most lopsided trades as Naslund became a superstar player in the NHL during the 2000s and was part of the famed West Coast Express line with Todd Bertuzzi and Brendan Morrison.

Foster Hewitt Memorial Award

One member of the Canucks organization has been honored with the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award. Former Canucks radio and television broadcaster Jim Robson was named the recipient of the award in 1992 mostly for his years of service on the team's broadcasts. Robson was the radio voice of the Canucks from 1970 to 1994 and continued to work their television broadcasts until 1999. Robson also did additional work with CBC Television's Hockey Night in Canada, calling three All-Star Games, parts of four Stanley Cup Finals and is probably best remembered for his call of Bob Nystrom's Stanley Cup-winning overtime goal for the New York Islanders in 1980.^[5]

Retired numbers

The Vancouver Canucks have retired four numbers, and a fifth was retired league-wide. The Canucks retired #12 in honour of Stan Smyl who played right wing for the Canucks from 1978 to 1991. Trevor Linden's #16 was retired in 2008, and was recognized as "Captain Canuck" during his 17 years with the Canucks from 1988–98 and 2001–08. Markus Naslund's #19 was retired in 2010, and is the current Canuck record holder for most goals, most powerplay goals, and tied with the most hat tricks during his tenure with the Vancouver Canucks. NHL Hall of Famer Pavel Bure's #10 was retired in 2013, and is the current single-season club record holder for most points by a rookie in a season (60), most goals in a season (60; both 1992–93 and 1993–94) and current club holder of most short handed goals (24). Wayne Gretzky's #99 was retired League-wide in 1999.

Stan Smyl's #12 banner at Rogers Arena.

Taken out of circulation

The Vancouver Canucks have also unofficially retired four numbers within their organization as remembrance to players whose playing careers were cut short tragically. Wayne Maki played left wing for the Canucks from 1970–73, and was one of the team's leading scorers in the franchises first two seasons. He was diagnosed with brain cancer in December 1972 and died at the age of 29 in 1974.^[6] Since then, Mark Messier has been the only Canuck to wear #11 in his brief stint with the Canucks.

Luc Bourdon died in a motorcycle accident on May 29, 2008, near his hometown of Shippagan, New Brunswick.^[7] At the 2008–09 season opener, the Canucks honoured Bourdon with a pre-game ceremony and his last game-worn jersey was presented to his family by the fan who won the jersey during an annual charity event the previous season. Afterwards, Tom Cochrane and Red Rider performed "Big League" during the video tribute. The Canucks also wore "LB" on their helmets that season in memory of Bourdon and the Luc Bourdon Wall of Dreams was established to commemorate Bourdon at General Motors Place.

Rick Rypien was found dead in his home in Crowsnest Pass, Alberta, on August 15, 2011, and the cause of death was later confirmed as suicide. Although he joined the Winnipeg Jets in the offseason as an unrestricted free agent, the Canucks honored Rypien's memory early in the 2011–12 season with a video entitled "Heart of a Canuck" and an homage to Rypien was worn on the back of all Canucks helmets for the entirety of the 2011–12 season.

Pavol Demitra played three seasons with the Vancouver Canucks until he was an unrestricted free agent after the 2009–10 NHL season. It was also his final season in the NHL as he signed with the KHL's Lokomotiv Yaroslavl on July 15, 2010, and finished as the team's top scorer in the 2011 season. In his second season in the KHL, Demitra would die tragically in a plane crash along with the entire Lokomotiv team on September 7, 2011, as they were heading to play their next road game. Since the tragedy, the Vancouver Canucks have removed his number 38 out of circulation in honour of Pavol Demitra.

Ring of Honour

At the start of their 40th season, the Vancouver Canucks decided to launch the Ring of Honour to celebrate and salute Canuck heroes who have made a lasting impact on the franchise.^[8]

Team awards

Molson Cup

The Canucks are one of several teams in Canada that award the Molson Cup to the player who is named one of a game's top three players, or "three stars", most often over the course of the regular season.^[15] Roberto Luongo has won the Molson Cup five times, the most in team history.

Cyclone Taylor Trophy

• Main: Cyclone Taylor Trophy

The Cyclone Taylor Trophy is the award given each year to the most valuable player on the Vancouver Canucks. It is named after Cyclone Taylor, a Canadian professional ice hockey forward who led the Vancouver Millionaires to the Stanley Cup in 1915. The award was dedicated to him prior to the 1979–80 Canucks season, the season after his death on June 9, 1979, although an award for the Canucks MVP has existed since the team's inauguration in 1970. Markus Naslund has won the award five times.

Cyrus H. McLean Trophy

• Main: Cyrus H. McLean Trophy

The Cyrus H. McLean Trophy was named after Cyrus H. McLean who was the former team President of the WHL Vancouver Canucks from 1968–70. The trophy was first awarded in the Canucks first season, which recognizes the Canucks leading scorer over the course of the regular season. Markus Naslund has won the award the most times, leading the Canucks in scoring seven consecutive years, from 1999 to 2006.

Babe Pratt Trophy

• Main: Babe Pratt Trophy

The Babe Pratt Trophy is given to the best Canucks defenceman, as voted by the fans. The trophy is presented at the last home game of the regular season. It was first awarded for the 1972–73 season as the Premier's Trophy, but as of the 1989–90 season, after the untimely death of Hockey Hall of Fame defenceman and Canucks goodwill ambassador Babe Pratt, the trophy was renamed in honour of him. Mattias Ohlund, Jyrki Lumme, Doug Lidster and Harold Snepsts have won the award four times.

Fred J. Hume Award

• Main: Fred J. Hume Award

The Fred J. Hume Award is named after Fred J. Hume, who was the former mayor of Vancouver and owner of the Canucks while they were in the Western Hockey League. The team award is given out at the end of each NHL season to the team's unsung hero, as decided by the Vancouver Canucks Booster Club since the inaugural 1970–71 season. Currently, four players have won the award twice.

Pavel Bure Most Exciting Player Award

• Main: Pavel Bure Most Exciting Player Award

The Pavel Bure Most Exciting Player Award is given to the player judged to be the most exciting, as voted by the fans. Although the Canucks Media Guide does not recognize any recipients prior to the 1992–93 season, there is record of an annual winner every year since the Canucks' inaugural season in 1970. Tony Tanti and Pavel Bure have won the award five times.

Defunct team awards

President's Trophy

From 1974–75 to 1995–96, the President's Trophy was awarded to the Canucks' most valuable player. It was originally presented by CP Air and later Canadian Airlines and the player won a pair of airline tickets with the trophy. Obviously, many of the names match the Cyclone Taylor Trophy (also awarded to the MVP) and the trophy was retired after the 1996 season.^[16]

Ram Tough Award

The Ram Tough Award was a short-lived award given to the most aggressive player of the Canucks, which was chosen by Canucks management. It was instituted by Pat Quinn at the start of his general manager duties in 1988–89. The winner of the award received a Dodge Ram truck until 1993–94 when the award was no longer in use.^[17]

References