The 2008/2009 Vancouver Canucks season marked the beginning of many eras in the franchise’s history. Former agent Mike Gillis stepped in as general manager and chose not to re-sign his previous client and ex-Canucks captain Markus Naslund. Roberto Luongo was named captain, adding a fun but somewhat forgettable twist to some of his best seasons with the team. Alain Vigneault confused everyone when he moved Alex Burrows up to play with the Sedins. The Mats Sundin era began and ended. Steve Bernier was there!

Let’s set the mood with Flo Rida’s Low (feat. T-Pain) and head back to 2008/09. 

The Canucks were a pretty good team in 2008/09. 8 of their losses came during an abysmal streak in January, but they rebounded well, going 9-2-0 in the month of February. With the addition of Pavol Demitra and the emergence of Ryan Kesler’s offensive game, the team greatly improved upon their -2 goal differential the previous season.

Both Henrik and Daniel produced at a point-per-game rate during the 08/09 season and spent the second half of the season with Alex Burrows, whose goal total was more than double that of the 07/08 season. Matthias Ohlund and Sami Salo’s passing of the torch to Kevin Bieksa and Alex Edler becomes evident in their point totals and their time on ice. Jason Krog scored on one of his five shots, which is amazing for him. 

Roberto Luongo had a stellar year for the Canucks in 08/09. He set a franchise record for the most shutouts in one season and tied Kirk McLean’s all-time franchise lead in shutouts. Luongo also set a franchise record for the most consecutive minutes played without surrendering a goal (242:36). Cory Schneider made his NHL debut, marking the beginnings of the brief but dramatic Luongo-Schneider era. 

Along with Mike Gillis being hired as general manager, the Canucks hired assistant coach Ryan Walter. 

During his first year as Canucks GM Mike Gillis remained fairly chill, aside from his pursuit of Mats Sundin and the acquisition of Pavol Demitra. Along with the emotional departures of Trevor Linden, Markus Naslund, and Brendan Morrison, the team lost the young and talented Luc Bourdon to a motorcycle accident during the 2008 offseason. 

Sadly, this is definitely not the worst draft in Canucks history. None of the above have become NHL regulars, but Jordan Schroeder and Kevin Connauton (currently of the Wild and the Blue Jackets, respectively) have at least participated at the highest level. Anton Rodin was released from his contract in 2013. Joe Cannata is still with the Canucks organization as a Utica Comet, while Peter Andersson has recently left the Comets to go play in Sweden. Steven Anthony was the non-Luongo part of the the 2014 Luongo trade. 

Points: Daniel (31-51-82) and Henrik (22-60-82) Sedin

Goals: Daniel Sedin, 31G

Assists: Henrik Sedin, 60A

As they tend to be, the Sedins were excellent and identical in their point totals. It’s a wonder that neither Henrik nor Daniel wore an A at this point – it seems bizarre that Ryan Kesler would wear one before either of them. 

One of Daniel’s best goals of the season came in the playoffs. Set up by Kyle Wellwood (bless him) Daniel’s shot is too fast and too accurate for anyone, especially Khabibulin, to see without a slow motion replay: 

The most memorable moment of the Canucks first round sweep of the St. Louis Blues came when Alex Burrows scored in overtime to clinch the series and celebrated with his bow-and-arrow tribute to his late friend Luc Bourdon. The second most memorable moment of this series was Kesler and Burrows being rude to David Backes.

The second round was the first of three years of consecutive playoff encounters between the Canucks and the Chicago Blackhawks. Earlier this season, the teams had participated in a messy line brawl that saw Burrows literally pulling Duncan Keith’s ramen-noodle-like hair and Kevin Bieksa losing an impressive amount of his uniform. The Canucks lost the series in 6 after becoming far too familiar with Dustin Byfuglien’s lower body, Patrick Kane’s backhand, and the haunting chorus of Chelsea Dagger. 

There was a lot for Canucks fans to enjoy about the 2008/09 campaign. The Sedins, Kesler, Burrows, Bieksa, and Luongo all had excellent years. New addition Pavol Demitra provided secondary offence and Kyle Wellwood was surprisingly fun to watch, especially in the shootout. The Canucks clinched the Northwest division after going 23-7-2 from February onwards, losing only once in regulation at GM Place during that run.

Despite missing almost two months of the regular season due to a groin injury, Roberto Luongo recovered in time to participate in the 2009 All Star Game. 

Ryan Kesler was voted team MVP after a very good season, though this did automatically make both Sedins and Luongo good choices for the Fred J. Hume unsung hero award, which ended up going to Steve Bernier! 

The biggest disappointment from this season was easily the mismanagement of the 7th Canuck. The opportunity for the Canucks to have their own 12th man flag became possible with the departure of Brendan Morrison and his #7 jersey. The introduction is one of the best moments in franchise history if you enjoy watching large crowds of people sit quietly while intense music plays. The 7th Canuck initiative was immediately abandoned, which is probably the only thing that could have made the whole thing more uncomfortable. 

If I could change anything about the 2008/2009 season, I would tell the Canucks to stand by their silly decision because I think it would be funny to see a crowd get really quiet before every single home game. 

Also, Mats Sundin really wasn’t necessary but oh well.