Relive the 2003-04 Vancouver Canucks season

8 years ago

Like all things, this too must pass.

For the Vancouver Canucks, it was the window for the West Coast Express to contend. And it was doomed to suffer a similar fate to the one which befell the club during the 2003-04 season. A campaign that started with such promise, for a team so very ready to contend, it has unfortunately lived on in infamy – marked as the season that ended one career and tainted the legacy of another.

The season started with so much promise. This club had every intention of contending for Stanley’s chalice and I’ll be damned if they didn’t boast a roster worthy of the honour (aside from the goaltender thing). Bad luck, worse decisions and a heartbreaking finish conspired to close out the Canucks season.

Relive every exhilarating, heartbreaking, head-scratching moment, on the other side of the jump.

Results

Team Level:

Team Record	Total Points	Standings	Goal Differential	Shooting Percentage	Save Percentage	PDO
43-24-10-5	101	1st in Northwest Division, 3rd in Western Conference	+55 All-State, +29 Even-Strength	9.9% All-State, 9.8% Even-Strength	.910 All-State, .909 Even-Strength	100.7

Finishing with a positive goal differential that is encroaching on the thirties has to be seen as hugely positive. Unlike the previous year – one in which the Canucks were benefitting hugely from favourable percentages – this year’s version of the Canucks was a near-dominant squad at evens, converting at around the league average rate. No smoke and mirrors to be found here.

Individual Level:

There’s an interesting collection of obscure Canuck favourites on this list. Firstly, Manitoba Moose hero Mike Keane caught my eyes. Then there’s Martin Rucinsky, Marc Bergevin, Sean Pronger (huh?) and Pat Kavanagh to name a few. A motley crew of journeyman if there ever was one – and even an obscenely well dressed general manager in the making.

That right there is the best goaltending the Canucks ever received from Dan Cloutier. His netminding was a full four-points above league average, meaning he wasn’t a massive drag for a change.

Transactions

Trades:

Net Gains and Losses:

Pieces Acquired	Pieces Relinquished
Sylvain Blouin, Sergei Varlamov, Geoff Sanderson, Marc Bergevin, Martin Rucinsky, Peter Sarno, Wade Brookbank, Sean Pronger, Johan Hedberg,	Rene Vydareny, Ryan Ready, 93rd Overall Selection (Dan LaCosta), 222nd Overall Selection (Jordan Morrison), Martin Grenier, R.J. Umberger, Tyler Moss, Jiri Slegr, Zenith Komarniski, 61st Overall Selection (Alex Goligoski), Bryan Helmer

This isn’t a really good look for Brian Burke. Geoff Sanderson was a great deadline acquisition, but otherwise, it’s looking like he was on the losing end of a few trades. The rental of Martin Rucinsky shouldn’t cost a prospect of R.J. Umberger’s caliber (even if Umberger and the club were at odds). Given the way the Canucks handled Johan Hedberg, it’s seems like giving up a second-round selection for the moose didn’t work out as originally anticipated.

Free Agents:

Notable signings:

July 3rd 2003, re-signed Jarko Ruutu
July 11th 2003, re-signed Brad May to a two-year contract
July 15th 2003, re-signed Dan Cloutier to a one-year extension and Marek Malik to a two-year extension
July 17th 2003, re-signed Sami Salo to a two-year extension and re-signed Mats Lindgren
July 28th 2003, re-signed Henrik and Daniel Sedin
July 30th 2003, re-signed Nolan Baumgartner
August 1st 2003, re-signed Artem Chubarov
August 18th 2003, signed Ryan Kesler
October 9th 2003, signed Mike Keane to a one-year contract
October 26th 2003, signed Todd Bertuzzi to a four-year extension

Draft:

These are the drafts that dreams are made of. A franchise goaltender, a first pairing defender, a fourth-liner who had some defensive upside for a little while and a versatile middle-six winger. Never mind the quality of the pieces that turned into full-time NHLers, how about the fact that Vancouver went 50% on this draft in general? That’s highly impressive.

Season Review

The Canucks entered the 2003-04 campaign looking to build on an otherwise successful 2002-03 campaign. Of course, the final results of last seasons efforts left much to be desired and to that end this years incarnation of the franchise hoped to tie loose ends on unfinished business. Much of the cast from last season was returning and just another year deeper in their prime. Key pieces were signed to extensions, assuring they had nothing to worry about aside from their play. The stage was set for another amazing campaign.

It just wasn’t to be though. One could point to any number of spots as turning points in the Canucks campaign, but the one most markedly imprinted in the minds of most is the infamous Todd Bertuzzi-Steve Moore incident, which left the latter hospitalized with severe injuries and a finished professional career.

Of course, what often gets lost in this is the event that led to Vancouver’s want for vengeance at Moore’s expense. Less than a month earlier, Moore had delivered a cheap shot at Naslund’s expense which some would argue altered the trajectory of Naslund’s career from that point forward – and really, he never was the same after that concussion. Moore wasn’t dealt any supplementary discipline for the play, although, I’m not sure that would’ve altered the Canucks game-plan when they next met anyways.

No matter the case, nothing would have served to justify Bertuzzi’s actions. They were injurious, selfish, malicious and absolutely horrifying. A black-eye on the franchise and the league, to be sure. Bertuzzi was suspended for the remainder of that season for his troubles, all but ending the Canucks hopes of competing for a Stanley Cup.

Still, the franchise gave the Calgary Flames all they could handle in their first-round match with the club. They went to seven-games in an absolutely thrilling series, which featured three different netminders for the Canucks and a bevvy of overtime filled hockey. The Canucks eventually fell in game seven, surrendering the series clinching goal in overtime to Martin Gelinas. But before there was overtime, there was this…

Leading Scorers

Points: Markus Naslund, 35G 49A 84P

Despite missing time with a concussion and losing his running mate for the home stretch of this season, Naslund was still well over a point per game player. And in that fateful first round exit to Calgary, Naslund had nine points as well.

Goals: Markus Naslund, 35G

Any surprise here? Naslund was still in the prime of his career and putting up gaudy numbers on the regular.

Assists: Markus Naslund, 49A

A jack of all trades, this Naslund fella.

Rethinking the 2003-04 Canucks

With a 53.3% share of possession, the Canucks were the second best possession team in the Western Conference and the seventh best team in the league by that mark. This was the highest possession share of the West Coast Express era and pretty dominant on the whole. Considering the drama and missing pieces that stunted this team in the home stretch, there’s something to be said for how well they played at even strength.

Driving much of the Canucks success at even-strength were the Sedins twins, who posted gaudy possession totals well north of 60% (!!!). This, at just 22-years of age. Surely there is something to be said for the Sedins growth from the last season to the campaign in question, but one can’t help but wonder if Trent Klatt was a possession drag, given that the Sedins controlled play so dominantly in their first full season without him.