2008–09 Vancouver Canucks season

NHLTeamSeason
Season=2008–09
Team=Vancouver Canucks
Conference=Western
ConferenceRank=1st
Division=Northwest
DivisionRank=1st
Record=1–0–0
HomeRecord=1–0–0
RoadRecord=0–0–0
GoalsFor=6
GoalsAgainst=0
GeneralManager= Mike Gillis
Coach= Alain Vigneault
Captain= Roberto Luongo
AltCaptain= Ryan Kesler
Willie Mitchell
Mattias Ohlund
Arena= General Motors Place
Attendance=18,630 (100%)
GoalsLeader=Alexandre Burrows (2)
AssistsLeader=Daniel Sedin (3)
PointsLeader=Daniel Sedin (3)
PlusMinusLeader=Kevin Bieksa (+3)
Mattias Ohlund (+3)
PIMLeader=Steve Bernier (7)
WinsLeader=Roberto Luongo (1)
GAALeader=Roberto Luongo (0.00)The 2008–09 Vancouver Canucks season will be the Canucks' 38th season in the National Hockey League.

eason events

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. [ [http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Hockey/NHL/Vancouver/2008/06/17/5903591-cp.html CANOE - SLAM! Sports - Hockey NHL - Vancouver - Canucks hire Walter as assistant ] ] 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 will honour 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. [cite news|title=Vancouver Canucks prospects camp opens Friday, September 12|url=http://canucks.nhl.com/team/app?articleid=381443&page=NewsPage&service=page|publisher=Vancouver Canucks|date=2008-09-08|accessdate=2008-10-01] The prospect camp was then followed by the main training camp, help over two days begining September 20 in Whistler, British Columbia. [cite news|last=Pap|first=Elliott|title=Bernier not playing with twins as camp opens in Whistler|url=http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/sports/story.html?id=aa3333f2-1665-4dee-b8a2-beb7954a6b5b|publisher="The Vancouver Sun"|date=2008-09-20|accessdate=2008-10-01]

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 responsable for ceremonial faceoffs and other ceremonial duties. [cite news|title=Canucks name goaltender Luongo as team captain|url=http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=251272&lid=headline&lpos=secStory_main|publisher=TSN|date=2008-09-30|accessdate=2008-10-01]

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Player stats

katers

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

Transactions

Trades