Throwback Thursday: This week in 1994, Vancouver Canucks hire Rick Ley as head coach

This week in 1994 (Aug. 10), the Vancouver Canucks hired Rick Ley as the 12th head coach in franchise history. Ley took over for Pat Quinn, who moved upstairs as the clubs’ general manager.

The Ley era in Vancouver didn’t last very long. He was only behind the bench for two seasons posting a 47-50-27 record in those 124 games.

Vancouver made the playoffs in the lockout-shortened 1994-95 season, Ley’s first, beating the St. Louis Blues in seven games before being swept by Chicago.

The next year, Ley’s Canucks sputtered with a 29-32-15 record and with six games left in the season, Vancouver fired Ley. It came after an uninspiring stretch of hockey late in the season.

In the ten games prior to Ley’s dismissal, the Canucks had sputtered winning only two of 10 games including a six-game losing streak.

Quinn stepped down behind the bench once again, and Vancouver sneaked into the playoffs in thanks to some poor teams around them. The Canucks, however, lost to the Colorado Avalanche in the first round.

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