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Top 50 Canucks players of all time: #30 – Sami Salo
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Jeff Paterson
Aug 12, 2025, 12:00 EDTUpdated: Aug 11, 2025, 16:42 EDT
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Join us this summer as we count down the top 50 Vancouver Canucks players of all time! #30: Sami Salo
For a couple of seasons, few in the National Hockey League had a more feared slap shot than Sami Salo. Put the puck on a tee for the understated Finnish defenceman, and there was a pretty good chance Slammin’ Sami would beat opposing goalies cleanly. A huge part of one of the best eras of Canucks history, Salo spent parts of nine seasons in Vancouver between 2002 and 2012, scoring 74 goals and producing 236 points in 566 career games.
Despite numerous injuries, Salo still managed to register at least 25 points in eight of his nine seasons with the hockey club. His best year was a 14-goal and 37-point campaign in just 67 games in 2006-07. Salo is fourth all-time among Canucks defenders in goal scoring and eighth all time in points. And perhaps this will come as a surprise to some, but no Canucks blueliner has scored more power play goals than the 48 Salo scored during his time with the club.
Salo also holds the franchise record for defencemen with 20 game-winning goals and seven overtime tallies. All of Salo’s numbers would be considerably higher had he managed to play more than 70 games – a feat accomplished in just two of his seasons in Vancouver. Acquired from Ottawa in a one-for-one swap involving Peter Schaefer, Salo found a home in Vancouver and was a key cog on the team’s blueline as the Canucks developed into a legitimate Cup contender.
A coach’s dream, Salo was a consummate professional who showed up, worked hard and pulled his weight when he was in the line-up. After a successful run with the Canucks, Salo signed as a free agent in Tampa Bay and finished his career with two fairly non-descript seasons with the Lightning, finally retiring at the age of 39. Unfortunately, Salo needed one more slap shot to find the back of the net. He finished his career with 99 NHL goals. Looking back on his career all these years later, Sami Salo turned into one of the greatest ninth-round draft picks (239th overall in 1996) in the history of hockey.
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

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