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This article documents a current ice hockey season. Information may change as the event progresses.

2008–09 Vancouver Canucks
Division	2nd Northwest
Conference	5th Western
2008–09 record	21–15–5
Home record	11–6–2
Road record	10–9–3
Goals for	117
Goals against	108
Team information
General Manager	Mike Gillis
Coach	Alain Vigneault
Captain	Roberto Luongo
Alternate captains	Ryan Kesler Willie Mitchell Mattias Ohlund
Arena	General Motors Place
Average attendance	18,630 (100%)
Team leaders
Goals	Daniel Sedin (19)
Assists	Henrik Sedin (30)
Points	Daniel Sedin (41)
Penalties in minutes	Shane O'Brien (118)
Plus/Minus	Mattias Ohlund (+13)
Wins	Roberto Luongo (11)
Goals against average	Jason LaBarbera (1.89)

The 2008–09 Vancouver Canucks season is the Canucks' 38th season in the National Hockey League.

Contents 1 Season events 1.1 Off-season 1.2 Pre-season 2 Standings 2.1 Divisional standings 2.2 Conference standings 3 Schedule and results 4 Player stats 4.1 Skaters 4.2 Goaltenders 5 Awards and records 5.1 Records 5.2 Milestones 6 Transactions 6.1 Trades 6.2 Free agents acquired 6.3 Free agents lost 6.4 Received from Waivers 6.5 Lost on Waivers 6.6 Draft picks 7 Roster 8 Farm teams 8.1 Manitoba Moose 8.2 Victoria Salmon Kings 9 References 10 External links

Season events

See also: 2008–09 NHL season

Off-season

On June 17, 2008, the Canucks named Ryan Walter as an assistant coach. He joins head coach Alain Vigneault and assistant coach Rick Bowness on the Canucks' coaching staff.¹ 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 with Montreal in 1986. A native of New Westminster, British Columbia, Walter was the second overall pick by the Washington Capitals 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, while Pitt Meadows native Brendan Morrison signed a one-year, $2.75-million contract with the Anaheim Ducks.

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.

Among the Canucks' roster additions was Steve Bernier, who was acquired from the Buffalo Sabres for a second and third round draft pick, and Pavol Demitra, who signed a two-year, $8-million contract.

The Canucks announced on September 4, 2008, that they will honour Linden in a pre-game ceremony on December 17, 2008 before a game against the Edmonton Oilers. His jersey number, 16, will be 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 began on September 12 with the opening of their annual prospects training camp. The camp consisted of 22 players and was held in Vancouver, British Columbia at both General Motors Place and the University of British Columbia campus, as well as in Camrose, Alberta.² The prospect camp was then followed by the main training camp, held over two days beginning September 20 in Whistler, British Columbia.³

On September 30, 2008, the Canucks named Roberto Luongo as the twelfth captain in team history, with Luongo becoming only the seventh goaltender 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 will be responable for dealing with officials during games, while Ohlund will be responsible for ceremonial faceoffs and other ceremonial duties.⁴

2008 Pre-season Game Log: 6–0–1 (Home: 3–0–1; Road: 3–0–0)
#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Recap
1	September 22	Vancouver	4–3	Edmonton	SO	Schneider	16,839	1–0–0	[1]
2	September 23	Edmonton	1–2	Vancouver		Luongo	18,630	2–0–0	[2]
3	September 27	Vancouver	3–2	San Jose		Luongo	16,721	3–0–0	[3]
4	September 28	Vancouver	5–4	Anaheim	SO	Sanford	16,481	4–0–0	[4]
5	October 1	Calgary	1–6	Vancouver		Luongo	18,630	5–0–0	[5]
6	October 2	San Jose	2–3	Vancouver		Sanford	18,630	6–0–0	[6]
7	October 5	Anaheim	4–3	Vancouver	OT	Luongo	18,630	6–0–1	[7]

Standings

Divisional standings

Northwest Division	GP	W	L	OTL	GF	GA	Pts
Calgary Flames	40	24	12	4	125	119	52
Vancouver Canucks	41	21	15	5	117	108	47
Minnesota Wild	39	20	16	3	97	87	43
Edmonton Oilers	38	19	16	3	108	114	41
Colorado Avalanche	40	20	19	1	106	116	41

Conference standings

Western Conference	GP	W	L	OTL	GF	GA	Pts
San Jose Sharks *	37	28	4	5	128	87	61
Detroit Red Wings *	37	25	7	5	138	109	55
Calgary Flames *	37	22	11	4	115	110	48
Chicago Blackhawks	35	20	8	7	127	94	47
Vancouver Canucks	39	21	15	3	112	101	45
Anaheim Ducks	38	19	15	4	107	107	42
Phoenix Coyotes	38	18	15	5	97	106	41
Colorado Avalanche	37	19	17	1	103	107	39
Minnesota Wild	36	18	16	2	92	84	38
Columbus Blue Jackets	37	17	16	4	96	103	38
Edmonton Oilers	36	17	16	3	101	111	37
Dallas Stars	36	16	15	5	107	123	37
Nashville Predators	37	17	17	3	91	109	37
Los Angeles Kings	37	15	16	6	95	102	36
St. Louis Blues	37	14	20	3	106	128	31

* – division leader

Schedule and results

• Green background indicates win (2 points).
• Red background indicates regulation loss (0 points).
• White background indicates overtime/shootout loss (1 point).

2008–09 Game Log
October: 6–5–0 (Home: 2–1–0 ; Road: 4–4–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 1 October 9 Calgary 0–6 Vancouver Luongo 18,630 1–0–0 2 [8] 2 October 11 Vancouver 5–4 Calgary OT Luongo 19,289 2–0–0 4 [9] 3 October 13 Vancouver 1–5 Washington Luongo 16,847 2–1–0 4 [10] 4 October 16 Vancouver 4–3 Detroit OT Luongo 19,011 3–1–0 6 [11] 5 October 17 Vancouver 2–5 Buffalo Sanford 18,449 3–2–0 6 [12] 6 October 19 Vancouver 2–4 Chicago Luongo 21,193 3–3–0 6 [13] 7 October 21 Vancouver 2–4 Columbus Luongo 12,057 3–4–0 6 [14] 8 October 25 Edmonton 3–6 Vancouver Luongo 18,630 4–4–0 8 [15] 9 October 28 Boston 1–0 Vancouver Luongo 18,630 4–5–0 8 [16] 10 October 30 Vancouver 4–0 Los Angeles Luongo 13,652 5–5–0 10 [17] 11 October 31 Vancouver 7–6 Anaheim SO Luongo 16,704 6–5–0 12 [18]
November: 8–3–2 (Home: 5–2–1 ; Road: 3–1–1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 12 November 2 Detroit 3–2 Vancouver Luongo 18,630 6–6–0 12 [19] 13 November 4 Nashville 0–4 Vancouver Luongo 18,630 7–6–0 14 [20] 14 November 6 Phoenix 0–1 Vancouver Luongo 18,630 8–6–0 16 [21] 15 November 8 Minnesota 0–2 Vancouver Luongo 18,630 9–6–0 18 [22] 16 November 12 Colorado 2–1 Vancouver SO Luongo 18,630 9–6–1 19 [23] 17 November 15 Toronto 2–4 Vancouver Luongo 18,630 10–6–1 21 [24] 18 November 17 Vancouver 1–2 NY Islanders SO Luongo 11,299 10–6–2 22 [25] 19 November 19 Vancouver 6–3 NY Rangers Luongo 18,200 11–6–2 24 [26] 20 November 20 Vancouver 3–2 Minnesota Sanford 18,568 12–6–2 26 [27] 21 November 22 Vancouver 3–1 Pittsburgh Sanford 17,040 13–6–2 28 [28] 22 November 24 Detroit 2–3 Vancouver OT Sanford 18,630 14–6–2 30 [29] 23 November 27 Calgary 4–3 Vancouver Sanford 18,630 14–7–2 30 [30] 24 November 29 Vancouver 1–3 Calgary Schneider 19,289 14–8–2 30 [31]
December: 6–7–1 (Home: 4–3–0 ; Road: 2–4–1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 25 December 1 Vancouver 2–3 Columbus Schneider 13,299 14–9–2 30 [32] 26 December 4 Vancouver 5–6 Detroit Sanford 19,116 14–10–2 30 [33] 27 December 5 Vancouver 2–1 Minnesota Schneider 18,568 15–10–2 32 [34] 28 December 7 Vancouver 4–5 Colorado SO Schneider 13,411 15–10–3 33 [35] 29 December 9 Vancouver 3–1 Nashville Sanford 12,441 16–10–3 35 [36] 30 December 13 Vancouver 0–3 Edmonton Sanford 16,839 16–11–3 35 [37] 31 December 14 Florida 3–5 Vancouver Schneider 18,630 17–11–3 37 [38] 32 December 17 Edmonton 2–4 Vancouver Sanford 18,630 18–11–3 39 [39] 33 December 20 Chicago 3–1 Vancouver Sanford 18,630 18–12–3 39 [40] 34 December 22 Anaheim 3–4 Vancouver Sanford 18,630 19–12–3 41 [41] 35 December 23 Vancouver 0–5 San Jose Schneider 17,496 19–13–3 41 [42] 36 December 26 Edmonton 3–2 Vancouver Sanford 18,630 19–14–3 41 [43] 37 December 28 Ottawa 0–3 Vancouver Sanford 18,630 20–14–3 43 [44] 38 December 30 Philadelphia 3–2 Vancouver Schneider 18,630 20–15–3 43 [45]
January: 2–0–2 (Home: 0–0–1 ; Road: 2–0–1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 39 January 1 Vancouver 2–1 Nashville LaBarbera 16,502 21–15–3 45 [46] 40 January 2 Vancouver 3–4 Atlanta SO LaBarbera 14,902 21–15–4 46 [47] 41 January 4 Dallas 3–2 Vancouver SO LaBarbera 18,630 21–15–5 47 [48] 42 January 7 Vancouver 4-2 Edmonton LaBarbera 16,839 22-15-5 49 43 January 9 St. Louis Vancouver 44 January 10 San Jose Vancouver 45 January 13 New Jersey Vancouver 46 January 15 Phoenix Vancouver 47 January 18 Columbus Vancouver 48 January 20 Vancouver San Jose 49 January 28 Nashville Vancouver 50 January 31 Minnesota Vancouver
February: 0–0–0 (Home: 0–0–0 ; Road: 0–0–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 51 February 3 Carolina Vancouver 52 February 7 Chicago Vancouver 53 February 10 Vancouver St. Louis 54 February 12 Vancouver Phoenix 55 February 13 Vancouver Dallas 56 February 15 Montreal Vancouver 57 February 17 Vancouver Calgary 58 February 19 Vancouver Ottawa 59 February 21 Vancouver Toronto 60 February 24 Vancouver Montreal 61 February 27 Tampa Bay Vancouver
March: 0–0–0 (Home: 0–0–0 ; Road: 0–0–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 62 March 1 Columbus Vancouver 63 March 3 Minnesota Vancouver 64 March 7 San Jose Vancouver 65 March 9 Vancouver Los Angeles 66 March 11 Vancouver Anaheim 67 March 13 Los Angeles Vancouver 68 March 15 Colorado Vancouver 69 March 17 Dallas Vancouver 70 March 19 St. Louis Vancouver 71 March 21 Vancouver Phoenix 72 March 24 Vancouver Dallas 73 March 26 Vancouver St. Louis 74 March 27 Vancouver Colorado 75 March 29 Vancouver Chicago 76 March 31 Vancouver Minnesota
April: 0–0–0 (Home: 0–0–0 ; Road: 0–0–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 77 April 2 Anaheim Vancouver 78 April 4 Vancouver Edmonton 79 April 5 Colorado Vancouver 80 April 7 Calgary Vancouver 81 April 9 Los Angeles Vancouver 82 April 11 Vancouver Colorado

Player stats

Skaters

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

Player	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM
Sedin, DanielDaniel Sedin	41	19	22	41	+9	14
Sedin, HenrikHenrik Sedin	41	7	30	37	+6	30
Demitra, PavolPavol Demitra	31	11	11	22	+1	6
Kesler, RyanRyan Kesler	41	9	11	20	+3	31
Bieksa, KevinKevin Bieksa	31	5	15	20	0	36
Wellwood, KyleKyle Wellwood	36	14	5	19	+7	0
Raymond, MasonMason Raymond	41	9	10	19	+8	20
Bernier, SteveSteve Bernier	40	7	12	19	+6	13
Burrows, AlexandreAlexandre Burrows	41	8	9	17	+2	72
Hansen, JannikJannik Hansen	37	4	13	17	+4	27
Edler, AlexanderAlexander Edler	39	3	14	17	+1	30
Ohlund, MattiasMattias Ohlund	41	3	10	13	+13	52
Mitchell, WillieWillie Mitchell	41	1	10	11	+7	39
Pyatt, TaylorTaylor Pyatt	36	4	6	10	-3	33
Salo, SamiSami Salo	25	2	8	10	+2	14
Hordichuk, DarcyDarcy Hordichuk	37	4	1	5	+3	76
O'Brien, ShaneShane O'Brien †	41	0	5	5	+2	118
Jaffray, JasonJason Jaffray	12	2	2	4	-1	14
Johnson, RyanRyan Johnson	22	1	2	3	+1	4
Rypien, RickRick Rypien	5	2	0	2	-1	7
Krog, JasonJason Krog	4	1	0	1	0	2
Bolduc, AlexandreAlexandre Bolduc	4	0	1	1	+1	2
Nycholat, LawrenceLawrence Nycholat	12	0	1	1	+4	6
Davison, RobRob Davison	15	0	1	1	-1	34
Brown, MikeMike Brown	19	0	1	1	-4	85
Ouellet, MichelMichel Ouellet	3	0	0	0	+1	0

† Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Vancouver. Stats reflect time with the Canucks only.

Goaltenders

Note: GP = Games Played; TOI = Time On Ice (minutes); W = Wins; L = Losses; OT = Overtime Losses; GA = Goals Against; SO = Shutouts; Sv% = Save Percentage; GAA = Goals Against Average; G = Goals; A = Assists

Player	GP	TOI	W	L	OT	GA	SO	Sv%	GAA	G	A	PIM
Luongo, RobertoRoberto Luongo	19	1,076:03	11	5	2	39	5	.928	2.17	0	1	2
Sanford, CurtisCurtis Sanford	17	858:13	7	6	0	36	1	.910	2.52	0	0	0
Schneider, CoryCory Schneider	8	355:24	2	4	1	20	0	.877	3.38	0	0	0
LaBarbera, JasonJason LaBarbera †	3	189:38	1	0	2	6	0	.943	1.89	0	0	0

† Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Vancouver. Stats reflect time with the Canucks only.

Awards and records

Records

• Roberto Luongo set a franchise record for consecutive shutout minutes with 242:36 on November 12, 2008 versus the Colorado Avalanche.⁵

Milestones

Regular Season
Player	Milestone	Reached
Pavol Demitra	700th point	October 11, 2008
Alexander Edler	100th game	October 13, 2008
Jannik Hansen	1st goal	October 16, 2008
Roberto Luongo	200th win	October 16, 2008
Alain Vigneault	200th win	October 16, 2008
Jason Krog	200th game	October 25, 2008
Roberto Luongo	500th game	October 31, 2008
Mattias Ohlund	700th game	November 2, 2008
Henrik Sedin	300th assist	November 4, 2008
Kyle Wellwood	200th game	November 12, 2008
Rob Davison	200th game	November 20, 2008
Daniel Sedin	400th point	November 24, 2008
Alexandre Bolduc	1st game	November 27, 2008
Henrik Sedin	400th point	November 27, 2008
Steve Bernier	200th game	November 29, 2008
Cory Schneider	1st game	November 29, 2008
Steve Bernier	100th point	December 4, 2008
Cory Schneider	1st win	December 5, 2008
Curtis Sanford	100th game	December 17, 2008
Ryan Kesler	100th point	December 22, 2008
Henrik Sedin	600th game	December 26, 2008
Daniel Sedin	600th game	January 2, 2009
Alexandre Bolduc	1st point 1st assist	January 4, 2009

Transactions

See also: 2008–09 NHL transactions

Trades

June 4, 2008	To Vancouver Canucks Steve Bernier	To Buffalo Sabres Los Angeles's 3rd round draft pick in 2009 2nd round draft pick in 2010
September 2, 2008	To Vancouver Canucks Lawrence Nycholat	To Ottawa Senators Ryan Shannon
October 6, 2008	To Vancouver Canucks Shane O'Brien Michel Ouellet	To Tampa Bay Lightning Lukas Krajicek Juraj Simek
December 9, 2008	To Vancouver Canucks Conditional draft pick in 2009	To Chicago Blackhawks Jim Sharrow
December 30, 2008	To Vancouver Canucks Jason LaBarbera	To Los Angeles Kings 7th round draft pick in 2009

Draft picks

Vancouver's picks at the 2008 NHL Entry Draft in Ottawa, Ontario.

Round	#	Player	Nationality	College/Junior/Club Team (League)
1	10	Cody Hodgson (C)	Canada	Brampton Battalion (OHL)
2	41	Yann Sauve (D)	Canada	Saint John Sea Dogs (QMJHL)
5	131	Prab Rai (C)	Canada	Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL)
6	161	Mats Frøshaug (C)	Norway	Linköpings Jr. (Sweden)
7	191	Morgan Clark (G)	Canada	Red Deer Rebels (WHL)

Roster

Updated January 5, 2009.⁶

#	Nat	Player	Pos	S/G	Age	Acquired	Birthplace
18	Canada	Bernier, SteveSteve Bernier	7.0 RW	R	23	2008	Quebec City, Quebec
3	Canada	Bieksa, KevinKevin Bieksa	2.0 D	R	27	2001	Grimsby, Ontario
49	Canada	Bolduc, AlexandreAlexandre Bolduc	4.0 C	L	23	2008	Montreal, Quebec
15	United States	Brown, MikeMike Brown	7.0 RW	R	23	2004	Northbrook, Illinois
14	Canada	Burrows, AlexandreAlexandre Burrows	7.0 RW	L	27	2005	Pincourt, Quebec
4	Canada	Davison, RobRob Davison	2.0 D	L	28	2008	St. Catharines, Ontario
38	Slovakia	Demitra, PavolPavol Demitra	7.0 RW	L	31	2008	Dubnica nad Váhom, Czechoslovakia
23	Sweden	Edler, AlexanderAlexander Edler	2.0 D	L	22	2004	Östersund, Sweden
24	Canada	Hordichuk, DarcyDarcy Hordichuk	6.0 LW	L	28	2008	Kamsack, Saskatchewan
29	Canada	Jaffray, JasonJason Jaffray	7.0 RW	L	27	2007	Rimbey, Alberta
10	Canada	Johnson, RyanRyan Johnson	4.0 C	L	32	2008	Thunder Bay, Ontario
17	United States	Kesler, RyanRyan Kesler (A)	4.0 C	R	24	2003	Livonia, Michigan
30	Canada	LaBarbera, JasonJason LaBarbera	1.0 G	L	28	2008	Burnaby, British Columbia
1	Canada	Luongo, RobertoRoberto Luongo (C)	1.0 G	L	29	2006	Montreal, Quebec
8	Canada	Mitchell, WillieWillie Mitchell (A)	2.0 D	L	31	2006	Port McNeill, British Columbia
32	Canada	Nycholat, LawrenceLawrence Nycholat	2.0 D	L	29	2008	Calgary, Alberta
55	Canada	O'Brien, ShaneShane O'Brien	2.0 D	L	25	2008	Port Hope, Ontario
2	Sweden	Ohlund, MattiasMattias Ohlund (A)	2.0 D	L	32	1994	Piteå, Sweden
9	Canada	Pyatt, TaylorTaylor Pyatt	6.0 LW	L	27	2006	Thunder Bay, Ontario
21	Canada	Raymond, MasonMason Raymond	7.0 RW	L	23	2005	Calgary, Alberta
37	Canada	Rypien, RickRick Rypien	4.0 C	R	24	2005	Coleman, Alberta
6	Finland	Salo, SamiSami Salo	2.0 D	R	34	2002	Turku, Finland
41	Canada	Sanford, CurtisCurtis Sanford	1.0 G	L	29	2007	Owen Sound, Ontario
22	Sweden	Sedin, DanielDaniel Sedin	6.0 LW	L	28	1999	Örnsköldsvik, Sweden
33	Sweden	Sedin, HenrikHenrik Sedin	4.0 C	L	28	1999	Örnsköldsvik, Sweden
13	Sweden	Sundin, MatsMats Sundin	4.0 C	R	37	2008	Bromma, Sweden
42	Canada	Wellwood, KyleKyle Wellwood	4.0 C	R	25	2008	Windsor, Ontario

Note: Due to league policy, Luongo will not be physically wearing the "C" on his jersey. Canucks defenceman Willie Mitchell will handle communications with on-ice officials, and defenceman Mattias Ohlund will handle ceremonial faceoffs.

Farm teams

Manitoba Moose

AHL affiliate that is based in