The Canucks of the early 2000’s were an offensive powerhouse, led primarily by the trio of Markus Näslund, Todd Bertuzzi, and Brendan Morrison known as the “West Coast Express”, while further complemented by twins Henrik and Daniel Sedin, returning leader and franchise legend Trevor Linden, and a very capable OFD in the form of Ed Jovanovski. They never captured a conference title in this window; however, they were frequently among the best teams in the Northwest Division and the most competitive squads in Western Conference. Alas, this era began to crumble in on itself in the 2003-04 campaign. As an extension of an ongoing feud between the Canucks and Western Conference juggernauts the Colorado Avalanche, there were sparks of the worst kind in a home game for Vancouver on March 8th, 2004.

To set the stage, this originated from a hit on Näslund by Colorado forward Steve Moore. Näslund was checked in the head and no penalty was called, with there additionally being no further discipline from the league (with this being met with strong disdain from Vancouver head coach Marc Crawford, who incidentally led Colorado to their first Stanley Cup victory in 1996). Näslund would miss the next three games with a concussion and a bone chip in his elbow. Enforcer Brad May and Bertuzzi called out Moore for the play and the mindset of at least aspects of the Canucks dressing room became revenge. This would not be immediate, as the teams played to a 5-5 tie without incident with commissioner Gary Bettman in attendance. The game after, five days later, though? That would, sadly, be another story altogether.

This game mirrored one that the Canucks had played at home just barely over four years earlier, wherein they decisively won against the Boston Bruins while they were on the receiving end of one of the worst on-ice attacks ever in the final seconds in the form of the Marty McSorley-Donald Brashear incident. This time, the Canucks would lose 9-2, while acting as the perpetrators of a horrific assault, which, like McSorley’s slash to the head of Brashear, would result in massive hockey disciplinary action and a legal conviction.

The score was already 8-2 in favor of Colorado upon the midway point of the third period and the first period, which ended with a 5-0 advantage in favor of the Avs, had already included a fight between Moore and another enforcer on the Vancouver roster, Matt Cooke, in the opening minutes. Bertuzzi attempted to goad Moore into a fight at this midway juncture and failed, with Bertuzzi then grabbing Moore by the jersey from behind and sucker-punching him, immediately knocking him out. Moore had Bertuzzi land on him, which subsequently led to a dogpile and a line brawl. When the dust settled, it became apparent that Moore was severely injured. His medical evaluations concluded that Moore had suffered a grade three concussion, three fractured neck vertebrae, stretched nerves, vertebral ligament damage, and facial lacerations and was determined to be suffering from amnesia. Despite later comeback efforts, he never played another competitive hockey game.

Bertuzzi, meanwhile, was assessed a match penalty, which meant an inherent indefinite suspension. This eventually proved to last 17 months and was extended internationally/recognized by the IIHF, which entailed that Bertuzzi was forbidden to play elsewhere during the 2004-05 lockout that eliminated the entire NHL season. He pleaded guilty to assault in British Columbia court and was precluded from having a criminal record upon completion of his probationary terms. In civil matters, a lawsuit filed by Moore ultimately resulted in a settlement in 2014.

Returning to on-ice matters for the Canucks for the 2003-04 season, however: The rest of the way for the Canucks was not easy sans an important part of the roster, with Cooke filling in for Bertuzzi on line one. However, they would win the Northwest Division title and clinch the third seed in the conference. They would be pitted against rivals of theirs, the sixth-seeded Calgary Flames. Vancouver would utilize three different goaltenders in the series and force a Game 7 by winning Game 6 5-4 with their backs against the walls down 3-2 in the series and enduring two overtime periods before Morrison served as the hero a couple of minutes into 3OT. Game 7 would be an offensive duel between Cooke and Calgary captain/RW Jarome Iginla, with both players potting two goals a-piece in regulation before Calgary LW Martin Gelinas put an end to matters just 1:25 into OT. This concluded Vancouver’s season, while Calgary (led by dual head coach/GM Darryl Sutter, who had supplanted Craig Button in the latter role) advanced all the way to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final after not having won a playoff series since their Stanley Cup victory in 1989. The Flames fell to the Tampa Bay Lightning, but provided an adrenaline shot to their fanbase and provided hockey fans everywhere with a Cinderella run for the ages.

The Canucks, meanwhile, and ownership group Orca Bay Sports & Entertainment, were set to undergo huge changes after yet another disappointing campaign. GM Brian Burke (who, in his next job in that same role with the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, would remain relevant to Canucks affairs when he controversially offered Steve Moore a two-way contract) did not have his contract renewed. He would be replaced by one of his subordinates, Dave Nonis, who was just 37 years of age. Approximately half a year later, realtor Francesco Aquilini purchased half of Orca Bay Sports & Entertainment from cellular telephone service executive John McCaw, Jr., marking a change at the very top. Things were changing for the Vancouver Canucks at a rapid rate after a very curious, disappointing, and controversial campaign. What effects these changes would have, however, could not be seen until the 2005-06 season due to the lockout – and perhaps would not be apparent even then.