On this day in 1987, the Vancouver Canucks hire Pat Quinn as general manager and president

On this day in 1987, the Vancouver Canucks hired Pat Quinn as their general manager and president while still under contract with the Los Angeles Kings.

Before finding his new home with the Canucks, Quinn was already a known coach in the NHL, previously coaching the Philadelphia Flyers from 1978 to 1982, which included a 35-game winning streak in 1979-80, and then the Los Angeles Kings from 1984 to 1987. It was with the Kings, however, that Quinn ran into a bit of trouble.

Before coming to Vancouver in December of 1986, while still with the Kings, Quinn believed he had found some loophole in his contract with the Kings that allowed him to speak with other teams about possible opportunities resulting in his arrival in Vancouver.

However, NHL president John Ziegler disagreed with Quinn’s actions and banned him from returning to a position behind the bench anywhere in the NHL until the 1990-91 season. He also suspended him for the remainder of the season.

“Its the waiting I can’t stand,” said Quinn. “It’s out of my hands. I can’t do anything and it’s very, very frustrating. You can’t count on anything in the hockey business.”

Ziegler went on to fine the Canucks $310,000 and the Kings $130,000 for failing to report the incident to the league immediately. The Canucks eventually retaliated in April 1987 by suing Ziegler for his actions.

“Ziegler acted beyond his powers,” said lawyer Barry Kirkham, who was representing the Canucks at the time. “We’re trying to set aside his decision.”

When Quinn was free to participate after the 1986-87 season, he joined the Canucks as their new general manager and president. His career in the Canucks’ front office saw him bring in plenty of significant players to the organization, including Pavel Bure and Trevor Linden.

When the 1990-91 season rolled around, Quinn took over as the Canucks’ head coach for the remaining 26 games of the season and remained in that position until the beginning of the 1995-96 campaign, when he chose to resign to focus on his duties as general manager and president of the club.

In November of the 1997-98 season, the Canucks chose to part ways with Quinn which resulted in him taking on the role as the head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs, where he remained until the conclusion of the 2005-06 season.

He made one final NHL appearance as a bench boss in 2009-10 when he became the head coach of the Edmonton Oilers. Pat Quinn coached throughout 1400 NHL games with a record of 684-528-154. He became a Hall of Famer in 2016, and was inducted into the Canucks’ ring of honour in April 2014.

Quinn passed away on November 23rd, 2014, after creating a legacy beyond just the NHL as he led Team Canada to an Olympic gold medal in 2002, a gold for Team Canada at the 2004 World Cup, a gold medal in the 2008 IIHF World U-18 Championships, and a gold medal for Team Canada in the 2009 World Junior Championships.