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Top 50 Canucks players of all time: #19 – Tony Tanti
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Jeff Paterson
Aug 23, 2025, 11:00 EDTUpdated: Aug 22, 2025, 22:39 EDT
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Join us this summer as we count down the top 50 Vancouver Canucks players of all time! #19 – Tony Tanti
Tony Tanti turned in one of the best five-year stretches of goal scoring in Vancouver Canucks history. From 1983 through 1988, Tanti produced seasons of 45, 39, 39, 41 and 40 goals. That is remarkable consistency.
Acquired from the Chicago Blackhawks in a one-for-one swap for fan favourite Curt Fraser in January of 1983, Tanti was brought to Vancouver as the Canucks sought to get younger, just half a season after appearing in the Stanley Cup Final. At the time of the deal, the former 12th overall draft pick was just 19 years old, and Tanti paid immediate dividends for the Canucks, scoring eight times in 39 games after the trade. But it was the following season that the talented Toronto native broke out in a big way.
That is when Tanti exploded for 45 goals and added 41 assists to register a career-high 86 points. Tanti scored 19 of his 45 goals on the power play, but went one better when he notched 20 goals with the man-advantage in 1987-88. Standing at 5’9” and weighing 180 pounds, Tanti wasn’t blessed with size or power, but he didn’t shy away from the high-traffic areas of the ice and used a lethal shot to score from distance.
In all, Tanti produced 250 goals and 470 points in his parts of eight seasons in Vancouver. He remains sixth in franchise goals scored, is eighth in all-time points, and only Daniel Sedin and Markus Naslund have scored more power play goals than Tanti in their time in Canuck uniforms. All of those numbers should make Tanti a candidate for the club’s Ring of Honour. Tanti scored 10 of his 12 NHL hat-tricks during his time in Vancouver and represented the Canucks at the 1986 All-Star Game in Hartford.
In January 1990, Tanti was dealt to the Pittsburgh Penguins in a multi-player deal that brought Dan Quinn to Vancouver. Tanti finished his time in the NHL in Buffalo before playing a handful of seasons in Germany to wrap up his career.
Our previously ranked top 50 Canucks of all time:
#50 – Curt Fraser
#49 – Dave Babych
#48 – Martin Gelinas
#47 – Chris Oddleifson
#46 – Jannik Hansen
#45 – Ivan Boldirev
#44 – Gary Smith
#43 – Jacob Markstrom
#42 – Orland Kurtenbach
#41 – Harold Snepsts
#40 – Darcy Rota
#39 – Thatcher Demko
#38 – Geoff Courtnall
#37 – Dennis Ververgaert
#36 – Petri Skriko
#35 – Dan Hamhuis
#34 – Doug Lidster
#33 – Patrik Sundstrom
#32 – Brendan Morrison
#31 – Richard Brodeur
#30 – Sami Salo
#29 – André Boudrais
#28 – Kevin Bieksa
#27 – Don Lever
#26 – Bo Horvat
#25 – Brock Boeser
#24 – Dennis Kearns
#23 – Ed Jovanovski
#22 – Greg Adams
#21 – Cliff Ronning
#20 – JT Miller

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