Mike Gillis’ first offseason as Canucks GM in the leadup to the 2008–09 season was an intriguing one. He hired an alumnus of the club, Ryan Walter (who also had playing success with the Capitals and Canadiens, winning the Stanley Cup with the latter), as an assistant coach on Alain Vigneault’s staff despite the fact that Walter had no prior coaching experience. Having lost star forwards Brendan Morrison and captain Markus Naslund to free agency, Gillis responded by trading a second and third round pick to Buffalo in exchange for Steve Bernier while signing Pavol Demitra to a two-year deal at $4M per.

On the subject of the captaincy, this is where Gillis found his first controversy. The club announced Roberto Luongo as the new captain on September 30th. The team was permitted to do so, but NHL rules prevents goaltenders from wearing the captain’s “C” on their jersey. Luongo would compromise by including a “C” in his mask design for the year. Additionally, two of the three alternate captains (roles that Willie Mitchell, Matthias Öhlund, and Ryan Kesler would be assigned) would have to take on official captaincy duties, with Mitchell dealing with officials during games and Ohlund participating in ceremonial faceoffs.

Whatever bizarre occurrences there might have been for Vancouver off the ice certainly did not prohibit them from success on it during the season. The team reassumed their rightful place atop the Northwest, capturing the division crown with 100 points (just two ahead of Calgary). Some noteworthy milestones were Luongo setting franchise records for consecutive shutout minutes (242:36) and single season shutouts (9), with his ninth clean sheet also tying the career franchise record for clean sheets held by Kirk McLean. There was some amusing volatility (in perhaps classic Canucks fashion) during the year by setting records for most consecutive home losses (7) and consecutive home wins (11) in effective succession, as well as some disappointment when in-season UFA signing Mats Sundin (ex-captain and superstar of the Toronto Maple Leafs) was not as productive as hoped, but it was a successful campaign worthy of being the year wherein Trevor Linden’s number joined Stan Smyl’s in the rafters.

In the postseason, Vancouver would sweep the St. Louis Blues in round one in a closely contested series wherein all but one game was decided by one goal. Subsequently, however, the Canucks were dispatched by the rising Chicago Blackhawks, whose rebuilding efforts were beginning to pay off. Chicago defeated Vancouver in six games, scoring 23 goals over the proceedings. Definitely not the way they wanted that run to end. Sadly for Vancouver and their fans, the next season would be quite similar.

In the offseason prior to 2009–10, Öhlund (an eleven-year fixture who had been with the Canucks his entire NHL career) departed in free agency to Tampa Bay. He was replaced by Kesler as alternate captain. However, they acquired Swedish Triple Gold Club member Mikael Samuelsson on a team-friendly deal (three years, $2.5M per season). Gillis also made a very good trade by sending prospects C Patrick White and D Daniel Rahimi (neither of whom ever played an NHL game) to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for two blueliners in the forms of Christian Ehrhoff and Brad Lukowich. The latter never provided much to the Canucks, but the former would be a very good asset to the team’s success in the coming couple of seasons. The Sedin twins were also notably retained on five-year deals with identical terms. The Sedins and the Canucks were poised to deliver success to the city of Vancouver.

That season, the Canucks faced a logistical quandary as Vancouver hosted the Olympics, therefore keeping them on the road for 14 games over the course of six weeks (Luongo earned a gold medal with Canada at the tournament, with Kesler gathering a silver medal with the United States). However, this did not preclude them from winning the division again, as they finished eight points clear of Colorado. Henrik Sedin had the best season of his career, tallying 112 points to earn the Art Ross and Hart Memorial Trophies despite Daniel (with whom he had very good chemistry) missing 19 games. To Daniel’s credit, when available, he also had a terrific campaign, being tied with Ehrhoff for the team-lead in +/- at +36 (just 1 ahead of Henrik’s 35). Alex Burrows also had a career season, posting a personal best 67 points and a +34, while Samuelsson proved he was worthy of his contract and then some by posting a 30 goal campaign, the most he would ever score in a single year. Mason Raymond also deserves commendation for his 53 point season, as he was a valuable part of the team’s forward depth.

As to be expected, there were more marks made on the team history books that season with Luongo quickly usurping McLean for most career shutouts in franchise history, Henrik Sedin setting records for most assists (83) and points (the aforementioned 112) in a single season, and perhaps most appropriately a single season record for home wins with 28. However, all of this would be of no consequence if the team did not make a deep playoff run.

Unfortunately, this would not be in the cards for Vancouver, as, upon defeating the LA Kings in six, they would be faced with a matchup with the Chicago Blackhawks yet again. In a repeat, the Blackhawks would win in six games while scoring 23 goals yet again. To rub salt in the wound, the Blackhawks (led by the likes of Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, and Duncan Keith) would go on to win the Stanley Cup that year, defeating the Philadelphia Flyers in six games (with there, as would be fully revealed in time, many disturbing events unfolding beneath the surface as Chicago video coach Brad Aldrich was committing sexual crimes on members/prospects of the team, a fact that the organization covered up). This would not be something the Canucks would forget, as Gillis and the org would prepare to come back even stronger.

Gillis and Vancouver most certainly did an impressive re-load in the summer of 2010, a very busy time for his front office. The Canucks signed Raffi Torres, Manny Malhotra, Dan Hamhuis, Jeff Tambellini and undrafted free agent from the Rochester Institute of Technology Chris Tanev (who would not make an immediate impact that coming year, but bears mention due to his long-term effects on the league as a depth blueliner). Mason Raymond, Shane O’Brien, Jannik Hansen, Tanner Glass, goaltender Corey Schneider, and Aaron Rome were among the pending free agents that were retained. Notable free agent departures included Demitra leaving for the KHL (which tragically indirectly led to his passing in 2011, as he was a victim of the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl aviation disaster) and Mitchell leaving for the Kings, a move that will prove relevant to the events covered in the next installment of this series. Additionally, Keith Ballard and Victor Oreskovich were acquired from the Florida Panthers (a frequent dance partner of theirs over the years, it seems) in exchange for Steve Bernier, Michael Grabner, and their 2010 first round pick. This set it in stone that Vancouver was in “win now” mode as they had no selections in the first three rounds in that year’s draft. However, perhaps it would prove worth it to go all-in on this competitive window.

The 2010–11 Vancouver Canucks (the fortieth season in team history and the beginning of Henrik Sedin’s tenure as captain) were the best incarnation of the team in franchise history. They won the Presidents’ Trophy with 117 points, 10 points clear of the Washington Capitals in second. They were also 12 points ahead of the San Jose Sharks for the best record in the Western Conference. Their 50 ROWs stood at 6 more than the Boston Bruins and Philadelphia Flyers’ joint league second-best of 44. Roberto Luongo and Corey Schneider shared the William M. Jennings Trophy, with the pair allowing just 185 goals on the season (Luongo would place just third in Vezina Trophy voting, however, behind winner Tim Thomas of the Boston Bruins, who captured his second Vezina in three seasons, and second-place Pekka Rinne of the Nashville Predators). A year removed from his brother’s individual standout season, Daniel Sedin had one of his own, capturing the Art Ross with 104 points and leading the team’s forwards in +/- with a +30 (behind only Kevin Bieksa’s +32 for team best). He would be honored as the Ted Lindsay Award winner, complementing his brother’s media selected MVP trophy with a player selected one of his own. Ryan Kesler also took some hardware home of his own, winning the Frank J. Selke Trophy as best defensive forward. His individual numbers included 42 goals and 73 points with a +24. Ehrhoff led all of the team’s defensemen in points with 50 and had a +19. For his efforts towards pushing the team to the top, Mike Gillis would be voted NHL General Manager of the Year (now known as the Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award). It was clear that this team was a powerhouse, but could they finally have some postseason success, getting to the conference finals at minimum, with this consistently good franchise throughout most of the 21st century having reached its high watermark?

The playoffs began with a third consecutive matchup against Chicago. Vancouver built up a 3-0 series lead via 2-0 and 4-3 wins at home before defeating them 3-2 in Chicago. The Blackhawks threatened a reverse sweep, winning Game 4 in Chicago 7-2, Game 5 in Vancouver 5-0, and Game 6 4-3 in OT in Chicago. However, the disaster would be avoided when the Canucks won Game 7 at home, 2-1 in OT, with Burrows scoring both goals. In the semifinals, the Canucks took on Nashville in a closely contested series, where all games but one (Game 4, which was closed out by a Henrik Sedin empty netter) were decided by one goal. The Canucks would win in six games, sending them to the conference finals for the first time since their 1994 Stanley Cup Finals run. In the last rung of the ladder before the Final, they were pitted against the San Jose Sharks. The Sharks were taken care of in five games, though not without some Sturm und drang as the Canucks had to force overtime in the dying second of the third period in the closeout game (with Kesler scoring the game-tying goal with 13.2 remaining after an icing call some raised an eyebrow at). Bieksa eventually put it away in double overtime, bringing the Canucks to just their third finals appearance ever.

The Canucks would be pitted against the Boston Bruins, the third seed from the East and a great team in their own right, a very defensive-minded squad coached by Claude Julien. The great blueline core was spearheaded by captain Zdeno Chara and Dennis Seidenberg, complemented by a terrific two-way center in Patrice Bergeron, and helped greatly by having a fantastic goaltender behind them in Tim Thomas (who was on a historic playoff run after posting a then-modern NHL record .938 SV% during the season which won him his aforementioned Vezina Trophy). Offensively, the Bruins were receiving contributions from the aforementioned Bergeron, Brad Marchand, David Krejci, Nathan Horton, some supplementary help from rookie/2010 second overall pick Tyler Seguin, and two British Columbia natives in the form of veteran Mark Recchi (who was pursuing his third Stanley Cup victory so he could ride off into the sunset after a Hall of Fame career) and noted ex-Vancouver Giants legend Milan Lucic (though his production dropped off in the playoffs due to playing through serious issues with his right sinus that affected his breathing, as well as a broken toe suffered during practice during the ECF which came from blocking one of Seguin’s shots). They also had one of the league’s best fourth lines in the “Merlot Line” (known as such for the color of the jerseys they wore in practice) consisting of Shawn Thornton, Daniel Paille, and Gregory Campbell, as well as other notable depth pieces such as Fs Chris Kelly, Michael Ryder, and Rich Peverley and Ds Andrew Ference, Johnny Boychuk and Tomas Kaberle, amongst others. The Canucks were favored, but Boston were battle-tested and a worthy adversary. They defeated their archrivals the Montreal Canadiens in seven games in round one, swept another rival in the Philadelphia Flyers in round two to avenge the prior year’s reverse sweep, and beat a talented and what can only be described as frustrating to play against Tampa Bay Lightning coached by Guy Boucher in seven to win their first conference title since 1990. The Canucks were also worn down and dealing with a plethora of injuries to their core which would proceed to only get worse in the coming final. It was not going to be an easy task for them to beat Boston. The teams faced only once in the regular season, with Boston winning 3-1 in Vancouver on February 26th in the eventual finals preview. That game was fairly uneventful, however, which did not represent the series that was to come that June.

The first game had some tenacity to it, with a great number of penalties being called and Burrows appearing to bite Bergeron’s finger in a highly publicized incident (though one that yielded neither an additional penalty to Burrows for his part in the tussle between the two nor a suspension due to a lack of conclusive evidence). The game was scoreless, however, thanks to both team’s penalty killing efforts. The scoreless tie was eventually broken on even strength by Raffi Torres with 18.5 seconds remaining in regulation, with Hansen and Kesler receiving credit for the assists. Game 1 stood as a 1-0 home victory for the Canucks.

Game 2 had significantly less of these characteristics. The penalties called were significantly fewer and scoring happened at a more normal pace. Burrows opened the scoring on a power play created by Chara going to the box for interference, with assists credited to Chris Higgins and veteran blueliner Sami Salo. Lucic and Recchi would both score in the second period (Lucic on even strength, Recchi while on the man advantage with Rome in the sin bin for holding). Daniel Sedin would tie the score on an even strength goal at the approximate midpoint of the third with assists going to Burrows and Alex Edler. The overtime would last just 11 seconds, the second-fastest overtime ending in Stanley Cup Finals history, with Burrows beating Thomas with a feint, assisted by Daniel Sedin and Edler. Vancouver therefore went to Boston with a 2-0 series lead, a deficit that the Bruins had only overcome once in their history. Incidentally, said occurrence was against Montreal in round one that year – Perhaps that was a sign of things to come?

Game 3, as is well documented, was when all hell broke loose. The first penalty called of the game was noteworthy and is considered the turning point of the series, as Rome concussed Horton with a hit to the head 5:07 into regulation. He was assessed a five minute major for interference due to its status as a late hit and given a game misconduct. Rome was suspended for four games to ensure he would not play again for the remainder of the finals after the game. While Boston did not score in the first period as the teams played to their third scoreless frame of the series, including on the five-minute man advantage due to Boston’s power play struggles that had dogged them all postseason (notably in the Montreal series, wherein they became the first NHL team ever to win a seven game series without scoring a single power play goal) continuing, it was clear the Bruins became focused and energized in the second after the incident which seemed to turn Vancouver into their enemies, or at least their on-ice rivals. Boston would tally four goals in the second period, with Andrew Ference tallying his third goal of the postseason to open the scoring. Recchi would score next on the power play while Tambellini was in the box for hooking. Marchand would score an unassisted goal on the penalty kill, while Krejci would finish things off to make it 4-0 for Boston.

At the 11:16 mark, an all-out brawl erupted between these two teams that had very suddenly became heated adversaries, accounting for many of the game’s combined 146 PIMs. Two players from each team (Burrows and Kesler for Vancouver, Lucic and Seidenberg for Boston, with Kesler and Seidenberg additionally being given five for fighting) were assessed ten minute misconducts, ending four nights early, complementing earlier misconducts to Ference, Daniel Sedin, and Shawn Thornton. The Bruins were shorthanded when all was said and done, but Paille still managed to score a goal early into the PK, accounting for their fifth unanswered goal. Hansen would make it 5-1, but Recchi, Chris Kelly, and Michael Ryder (the lattermost on the PP) would all find the back of the net to make it 8-1, the final score as Boston registered their first win of the series. Luongo was ultimately left in for all 8 goals against with Alain Vigneault opting not to take him out for Schneider, stopping 30 pucks to post a putrid .789 SV%. Thomas, meanwhile, stopped 40 of 41 (.976 SV%) and was selected first star of the game, with Marchand and Recchi being selected second and third for their 1g-1a and 2g (including the eventual GWG) performances.

Game 4 seemed to mark a natural continuation of the events of Game 3. The Canucks were shut out 4-0, with Peverley tallying the first and last goals and Ryder and Marchand scoring the middle two. The ending minutes of the third period featured two fracases in almost direct sequence, with the teams’ clearly still at each other’s throats. Meanwhile, Bobby Orr was in attendance, waving a flag adorned with Horton’s surname and number 18, and the fans chanted Horton’s name in the final stanza. This also reflected the dialogue in North American sports media. Despite the Bruins’ usual status as heels, the Canucks had done enough in the eyes of public opinion to make themselves the unsympathetic of the two teams in the matchup. Remaining on the ice, however, Thomas and Luongo were polar opposites yet again, with Luongo being pulled after allowing the fourth goal on just his 20th shot against (.800 SV%) and Thomas registering 38 saves in his clean sheet.

In a repeat of Game 2, Game 5 in Vancouver was decided by one goal scored in the third period, this time 4:35 into the final stanza. Some penalties were called but not many, as Vancouver did just enough to take a 3-2 lead in the series. Luongo made 31 saves in the shutout, joining Toronto Maple Leaf Frank McCool as the second ever goaltender to register two 1-0 clean sheets in the same SCF (with McCool having accomplished this feat in 1945). However, Boston was down but not out. Andrew Ference was on the wrong end of the erasing of a 3-2 Finals lead in 2004 with the Flames against the Lightning. Per his word in the 2011 Stanley Cup Final documentary, he knew from experience that losing a Game 6 can completely deflate you. Meanwhile, Luongo partook in the media frenzy by exchanging barbs with Thomas via the press. Thomas promised not to lose another game, as the series shifted back to the TD Garden for Game 6, which had been a house of horrors for the Canucks to that point.

In yet another dent to their depth (which had already lost Dan Hamhuis and had a number of players playing through serious injuries), the Canucks lost Mason Raymond just twenty seconds into Game 6, as he was on the wrong end of an awkward collision with Johnny Boychuk., which resulted in a vertebra injury that kept him out of action until December of that calendar year. To Mike Gillis’ ire, no penalty was called nor did Boychuk receive supplemental discipline from the league after the match. Subsequently, the Bruins scored four goals (Marchand, Lucic, Ference – pp, and Ryder) in 4:14, the fastest four goals by one team in finals history. Vigneault opted to pull Luongo in favor of Schneider yet again. Ultimately, the Bruins would prevail 5-2 in a game that featured yet another massive confrontation in the final minutes and more tempers exploding between the two clubs. The Canucks would have home ice advantage in Game 7 and Raymond would appear in attendance despite needing a plastic corset, which would have the fans’ enthusiastic support. However, it was clear which of the two teams had the emotional advantage.

Despite not having won on the road yet in the series, Game 7 (the first Stanley Cup Game 7 in Bruins history and the second for the Canucks following their defeat to NYR in 1994) in Vancouver would be a coronation ceremony for the Bruins. Thomas posted 37 saves in the shutout, marking the first ever time a team had won a SCF Game 7 in a road shutout. The Bruins ultimately prevailed by a score of 4-0, with two goals each by Bergeron (including the series winner) and Marchand. This additionally marked just their second-ever successful series comeback from a 2-0 deficit after their earlier victory against the Habs and made the 2010–11 Boston Bruins the first team in NHL history to win three Game 7s in a single playoff run.

Almost immediately after the game, in a repeating of events from 1994, a riot erupted in downtown Vancouver that caused approximately 150 injuries and $4M CAD in property damage and yielded almost 100 arrests. Ultimately, a total of 887 charges would be pressed against a total of 301 people after Vancouver police had completed their investigation in 2015. Both public officials and members of the Canucks organization suggested the fanbase en masse was not to blame for these events, though some commentators did not appreciate this deflection. Nevertheless, however, the feeling in sports discourse was this was yet another event that cemented the Canucks and their fans as villains of a sort. That notwithstanding, however, the focus for the organization became building upon this year and trying to come back stronger next season.