1990–91 Vancouver Canucks season

1990–91 Vancouver Canucks
Division	4th Smythe
Conference	Campbell
1990–91 record	28–43–9
Home record	18–17–5
Road record	10–26–4
Goals for	243
Goals against	315
Team information
General manager	Pat Quinn
Coach	Bob McCammon (19-30-5) Pat Quinn (9-13-4)
Captain	Doug Lidster Trevor Linden Dan Quinn (Oct-Mar)
Alternate captains	Garth Butcher (Mar-Apr) Steve Bozek (Mar-Apr)
Arena	Pacific Coliseum
Average attendance	15,150
Team leaders
Goals	Trevor Linden (33)
Assists	Trevor Linden (37)
Points	Trevor Linden (70)
Penalty minutes	Gino Odjick (296)
Plus/minus	Jay Mazur (+3)
Wins	Troy Gamble (16)
Goals against average	Troy Gamble (3.45)
←  1989–90 1991–92  →

The 1990–91 Vancouver Canucks season was the team's 21st in the National Hockey League (NHL).

Offseason

Entering his last season as a player, Stan Smyl resigns the team captaincy. The position is rotated between defenceman Doug Lidster, forwards Trevor Linden and Dan Quinn.

Regular season

Coaching change and USAir Flight 1493

The Canucks who were slumping in the first half of the regular season fired head coach Bob McCammon on January 31, 1991. He was fired immediately after a home game against the New York Rangers that ended in a 3–3 tie. The game was noted for a spectacular goal tending performance by Rangers goal tender Mike Richter who made 59 saves. ^[1]

The next day McCammon was replaced by Pat Quinn who would fly down with the team to Los Angeles on board the Canadian Airlines charter to coach his first game for the club against the Los Angeles Kings. Upon landing at Los Angeles International Airport the team charter witnessed the fatal collision of USAir Flight 1493 and SkyWest Flight 5569 as the aircraft landed on a parallel runway approximately 100 metres (110 yd) from the collision. ^[2] The pilot of the plane carrying the team even turned on the engines to move away from the accident, fearing that the plane would be involved in the accident.

Quinn and the team were badly shaken by the incident, the team was unable to cope with the disaster when they faced the Kings on February 2. The team suffered its worst defeat of the season 9–1. The crash was still bothering the team when they flew out of Los Angeles to another road game in Washington, D.C. to face the Washington Capitals. ^[2] The Canucks would be held winless for their seventh straight game as hall of famer Dino Ciccarelli netted his 400th career regular season NHL goal. ^[3]

Final standings

Smythe Division

	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
Los Angeles Kings	80	46	24	10	340	254	102
Calgary Flames	80	46	26	8	344	263	100
Edmonton Oilers	80	37	37	6	272	272	80
Vancouver Canucks	80	28	43	9	243	315	65
Winnipeg Jets	80	26	43	11	260	288	63

^[4] Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against
Note: Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

Campbell Conference ^[5]

R		Div	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
1	p – Chicago Blackhawks	NRS	80	49	23	8	284	211	106
2	St. Louis Blues	NRS	80	47	22	11	310	250	105
3	Los Angeles Kings	SMY	80	46	24	10	340	254	102
4	Calgary Flames	SMY	80	46	26	8	344	263	100
5	Edmonton Oilers	SMY	80	37	37	6	272	272	80
6	Detroit Red Wings	NRS	80	34	38	8	273	298	76
7	Minnesota North Stars	NRS	80	27	39	14	256	266	68
8	Vancouver Canucks	SMY	80	28	43	9	243	315	65
9	Winnipeg Jets	SMY	80	26	43	11	260	288	63
10	Toronto Maple Leafs	NRS	80	23	46	11	241	318	57

Divisions:NRS – Norris, SMY – Smythe

bold – Qualified for playoffs; p – Won Presidents' Trophy

Schedule and results

No.	R	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
1	L	October 4, 1990	2–3 OT	@ Calgary Flames (1990–91)	0–1–0
2	W	October 6, 1990	6–3	@ Los Angeles Kings (1990–91)	1–1–0
3	L	October 9, 1990	2–6	Los Angeles Kings (1990–91)	1–2–0
4	W	October 12, 1990	4–0	St. Louis Blues (1990–91)	2–2–0
5	W	October 14, 1990	5–4 OT	Edmonton Oilers (1990–91)	3–2–0
6	W	October 17, 1990	3–1	Boston Bruins (1990–91)	4–2–0
7	L	October 19, 1990	5–7	@ Winnipeg Jets (1990–91)	4–3–0
8	W	October 21, 1990	3–2	@ Quebec Nordiques (1990–91)	5–3–0
9	L	October 23, 1990	0–6	@ Detroit Red Wings (1990–91)	5–4–0
10	L	October 25, 1990	2–4	@ Boston Bruins (1990–91)	5–5–0
11	W	October 27, 1990	4–2	@ Hartford Whalers (1990–91)	6–5–0
12	L	October 30, 1990	1–2	Washington Capitals (1990–91)	6–6–0
13	W	November 1, 1990	2–1	New Jersey Devils (1990–91)	7–6–0
14	L	November 3, 1990	3–5	Winnipeg Jets (1990–91)	7–7–0
15	W	November 6, 1990	6–3	Detroit Red Wings (1990–91)	8–7–0
16	W	November 8, 1990	5–3	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1990–91)	9–7–0
17	L	November 9, 1990	1–7	@ Buffalo Sabres (1990–91)	9–8–0
18	L	November 11, 1990	0–2	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1990–91)	9–9–0
19	L	November 14, 1990	3–5	@ Edmonton Oilers (1990–91)	9–10–0
20	W	November 16, 1990	3–2	New York Islanders (1990–91)	10–10–0
21	L	November 19, 1990	4–6	Calgary Flames (1990–91)	10–11–0
22	W	November 21, 1990	4–1	Chicago Blackhawks (1990–91)	11–11–0
23	L	November 23, 1990	4–6	@ Minnesota North Stars (1990–91)	11–12–0
24	T	November 24, 1990	3–3 OT	@ St. Louis Blues (1990–91)	11–12–1
25	T	November 27, 1990	1–1 OT	Minnesota North Stars (1990–91)	11–12–2
26	W	November 29, 1990	2–1	Toronto Maple Leafs (1990–91)	12–12–2
27	W	December 2, 1990	5–1	@ Winnipeg Jets (1990–91)	13–12–2
28	W	December 4, 1990	4–2	@ New York Islanders (1990–91)	14–12–2
29	L	December 5, 1990	4–9	@ New Jersey Devils (1990–91)	14–13–2
30	T	December 7, 1990	2–2 OT	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1990–91)	14–13–3
31	L	December 10, 1990	2–3 OT	Quebec Nordiques (1990–91)	14–14–3
32	L	December 12, 1990	4–5	@ Edmonton Oilers (1990–91)	14–15–3
33	L	December 14, 1990	3–5	New York Rangers (1990–91)	14–16–3
34	L	December 16, 1990	2–5	Calgary Flames (1990–91)	14–17–3
35	W	December 18, 1990	3–2	@ Calgary Flames (1990–91)	15–17–3
36	W	December 20, 1990	7–4	Edmonton Oilers (1990–91)	16–17–3
37	W	December 22, 1990	4–3	Los Angeles Kings (1990–91)	17–17–3
38	L	December 23, 1990	3–4	@ Edmonton Oilers (1990–91)	17–18–3
39	L	December 27, 1990	5–7	Montreal Canadiens (1990–91)	17–19–3
40	L	December 28, 1990	2–5	Edmonton Oilers (1990–91)	17–20–3
41	L	December 31, 1990	1–2	@ Winnipeg Jets (1990–91)	17–21–3
42	L	January 2, 1991	2–5	@ Hartford Whalers (1990–91)	17–22–3
43	L	January 3, 1991	3–8	@ Boston Bruins (1990–91)	17–23–3
44	W	January 5, 1991	6–5	@ Minnesota North Stars (1990–91)	18–23–3
45	T	January 8, 1991	3–3 OT	Buffalo Sabres (1990–91)	18–23–4
46	L	January 10, 1991	4–5	Hartford Whalers (1990–91)	18–24–4
47	L	January 12, 1991	2–6	@ Los Angeles Kings (1990–91)	18–25–4
48	L	January 16, 1991	1–2	Winnipeg Jets (1990–91)	18–26–4
49	W	January 23, 1991	6–5	Edmonton Oilers (1990–91)	19–26–4
50	L	January 25, 1991	1–5	Los Angeles Kings (1990–91)	19–27–4
51	L	January 26, 1991	4–5	@ Los Angeles Kings (1990–91)	19–28–4
52	L	January 28, 1991	0–1	Chicago Blackhawks (1990–91)	19–29–4
53	L	January 30, 1991	4–9	@ Edmonton Oilers (1990–91)	19–30–4
54	T	January 31, 1991	3–3 OT	New York Rangers (1990–91)	19–30–5
55	L	February 2, 1991	1–9	@ Los Angeles Kings (1990–91)	19–31–5
56	L	February 5, 1991	3–5	@ Washington Capitals (1990–91)	19–32–5
57	W	February 7, 1991	2–1	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1990–91)	20–32–5
58	L	February 8, 1991	1–8	@ New York Rangers (1990–91)	20–33–5
59	L	February 10, 1991	0–2	@ New Jersey Devils (1990–91)	20–34–5
60	L	February 14, 1991	2–3	St. Louis Blues (1990–91)	20–35–5
61	W	February 16, 1991	4–2	Washington Capitals (1990–91)	21–35–5
62	T	February 18, 1991	3–3 OT	Quebec Nordiques (1990–91)	21–35–6
63	T	February 20, 1991	5–5 OT	@ Winnipeg Jets (1990–91)	21–35–7
64	L	February 21, 1991	4–6	@ Calgary Flames (1990–91)	21–36–7
65	W	February 23, 1991	5–2	Detroit Red Wings (1990–91)	22–36–7
66	W	February 25, 1991	4–2	Calgary Flames (1990–91)	23–36–7
67	W	February 27, 1991	4–3	Pittsburgh Penguins (1990–91)	24–36–7
68	L	March 1, 1991	1–7	Montreal Canadiens (1990–91)	24–37–7
69	L	March 3, 1991	0–8	@ Chicago Blackhawks (1990–91)	24–38–7
70	L	March 5, 1991	1–4	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1990–91)	24–39–7
71	T	March 7, 1991	3–3 OT	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1990–91)	24–39–8
72	L	March 9, 1991	2–4	@ Montreal Canadiens (1990–91)	24–40–8
73	W	March 10, 1991	7–5	@ Buffalo Sabres (1990–91)	25–40–8
74	L	March 13, 1991	4–5 OT	Philadelphia Flyers (1990–91)	25–41–8
75	T	March 16, 1991	4–4 OT	New York Islanders (1990–91)	25–41–9
76	W	March 17, 1991	5–4 OT	Los Angeles Kings (1990–91)	26–41–9
77	L	March 20, 1991	2–3	Calgary Flames (1990–91)	26–42–9
78	W	March 22, 1991	3–1	Winnipeg Jets (1990–91)	27–42–9
79	L	March 26, 1991	2–7	@ Calgary Flames (1990–91)	27–43–9
80	W	March 28, 1991	3–2 OT	Winnipeg Jets (1990–91)	28–43–9

Playoffs

Smythe Division Semi-Finals: vs. (1) Los Angeles Kings

Los Angeles wins series 4-2

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Series
1	April 4	Vancouver	6 - 5	Los Angeles		1 - 0
2	April 6	Vancouver	2 – 3	Los Angeles	OT	1 – 1
3	April 8	Los Angeles	1 – 2	Vancouver	OT	2 – 1
4	April 10	Los Angeles	6 – 1	Vancouver		2 – 2
5	April 12	Vancouver	4 – 7	Los Angeles		2 – 3
6	April 14	Los Angeles	4 – 1	Vancouver		2 – 4

Player statistics

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

Player	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM
Trevor Linden	80	33	37	70	-25	65
Dan Quinn	64	18	31	49	-28	46
Greg Adams	55	21	24	45	-5	10
Dave Capuano	61	13	31	44	1	42
Doug Lidster	78	6	32	38	-6	77

Transactions

Trades

September 7, 1990	To Vancouver Canucks Dave Mackey	To Minnesota North Stars future considerations
January 12, 1991	To Vancouver Canucks Gerald Diduck	To Montreal Canadiens 4th round pick in 1991 (Vladimir Vujtek)
January 13, 1991	To Vancouver Canucks Tom Kurvers	To Toronto Maple Leafs Brian Bradley
January 16, 1991	To Vancouver Canucks 2nd round draft pick in 1992 (Michael Peca)	To Boston Bruins Petri Skriko
January 22, 1991	To Vancouver Canucks Brian Blab	To Toronto Maple Leafs Todd Hawkins
March 5, 1991	To Vancouver Canucks Cliff Ronning Sergio Momesso Geoff Courtnall Robert Dirk 5th round draft pick in 1992 (Brian Loney)	To St. Louis Blues Garth Butcher Dan Quinn
March 5, 1991	To Vancouver Canucks Dana Murzyn	To Calgary Flames Ron Stern Kevan Guy
March 5, 1991	To Vancouver Canucks Cash	To Buffalo Sabres Steve Weeks

Draft picks

Vancouver's picks at the 1990 NHL Entry Draft in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Round	#	Player	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team (League)
1	2	Petr Nedved (C)	Czechoslovakia	Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL)
1	18	Shawn Antoski (LW)	Canada	North Bay Centennials (OHL)
2	23	Jiri Slegr (D)	Czechoslovakia	HC Litvínov (CSSR)
4	65	Darin Bader (LW)	Canada	Saskatoon Blades (WHL)
5	86	Gino Odjick (LW)	Canada	Laval Titan (QMJHL)
7	128	Daryl Filipek (D)	Canada	Ferris State University (CCHA)
8	149	Paul O'Hagan (D)	Canada	Oshawa Generals (OHL)
9	170	Mark Cipriano (RW)	Canada	Victoria Cougars (WHL)
10	191	Troy Neumeier (D)	Canada	Prince Albert Raiders (WHL)
11	212	Tyler Ertel (C)	Canada	North Bay Centennials (OHL)
12	233	Karri Kivi (D)	Finland	Ilves (SM-liiga)
S	2	Paul Dukovac (D)	Canada	Cornell University (ECAC)
S	7	Normand Krumpschmid (C)	Canada	Ferris State University (CCHA)

Farm teams

Milwaukee Admirals (IHL)

See also

• 1990–91 NHL season

References

1. Lapoint, Joe (February 2, 1991). "Despite Making 59 Saves, Richter Shares the Spotlight". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331.
2. Springer, Steve (February 4, 1991). "Canucks Had Close-Up View of Fatal Airline Crash at LAX". Los Angeles Times.
3. "NHL Roundup". Pittsburgh Post Gazette. February 6, 1991. p. 27.
4. Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 153. ISBN   9781894801225.
5. "1990-1991 Conference Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". NHL.

• "1990–91 Vancouver Canucks Games". Hockey-reference.com. Retrieved May 6, 2009.