# 2018–19 Vancouver Canucks season

The 2018–19 Vancouver Canucks season was the 49th season for the National Hockey League franchise that was established on May 22, 1970. On July 25, 2018, president of hockey operations, Trevor Linden left the organization and his role was assumed by general manager Jim Benning. The Canucks were eliminated from playoff contention on March 29, 2019, after the Colorado Avalanche's overtime win against the Arizona Coyotes.

## Off season

On June 22, the Canucks drafted Quinn Hughes with the seventh overall pick in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft. They also selected Jett Woo, Tyler Madden, Toni Utunen, Artyom Manukyan and Matthew Thiessen.

## Standings

Pacific Division :
| Pos | Team v t e | GP | W | L | OTL | ROW | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | z – Calgary Flames | 82 | 50 | 25 | 7 | 50 | 289 | 227 | +62 | 107 |
| 2 | x – San Jose Sharks | 82 | 46 | 27 | 9 | 46 | 289 | 261 | +28 | 101 |
| 3 | x – Vegas Golden Knights | 82 | 43 | 32 | 7 | 40 | 249 | 230 | +19 | 93 |
| 4 | Arizona Coyotes | 82 | 39 | 35 | 8 | 35 | 213 | 223 | −10 | 86 |
| 5 | Vancouver Canucks | 82 | 35 | 36 | 11 | 29 | 225 | 254 | −29 | 81 |
| 6 | Anaheim Ducks | 82 | 35 | 37 | 10 | 32 | 199 | 251 | −52 | 80 |
| 7 | Edmonton Oilers | 82 | 35 | 38 | 9 | 32 | 232 | 274 | −42 | 79 |
| 8 | Los Angeles Kings | 82 | 31 | 42 | 9 | 28 | 202 | 263 | −61 | 71 |
Western Conference Wild Card :
| Pos | Div | Team v t e | GP | W | L | OTL | ROW | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | CE | x – Dallas Stars | 82 | 43 | 32 | 7 | 42 | 210 | 202 | +8 | 93 |
| 2 | CE | x – Colorado Avalanche | 82 | 38 | 30 | 14 | 36 | 260 | 246 | +14 | 90 |
| 3 | PA | Arizona Coyotes | 82 | 39 | 35 | 8 | 35 | 213 | 223 | −10 | 86 |
| 4 | CE | Chicago Blackhawks | 82 | 36 | 34 | 12 | 33 | 270 | 292 | −22 | 84 |
| 5 | CE | Minnesota Wild | 82 | 37 | 36 | 9 | 36 | 211 | 237 | −26 | 83 |
| 6 | PA | Vancouver Canucks | 82 | 35 | 36 | 11 | 29 | 225 | 254 | −29 | 81 |
| 7 | PA | Anaheim Ducks | 82 | 35 | 37 | 10 | 32 | 199 | 251 | −52 | 80 |
| 8 | PA | Edmonton Oilers | 82 | 35 | 38 | 9 | 32 | 232 | 274 | −42 | 79 |
| 9 | PA | Los Angeles Kings | 82 | 31 | 42 | 9 | 28 | 202 | 263 | −61 | 71 |

## Schedule and results
### Pre-season

The Canucks released their pre-season schedule on June 13, 2018.

### Regular season

The regular season schedule was released on June 21, 2018.
2018–19 game log :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Overtime/shootout loss (1 point) :

### Detailed records

Western Conference :
| Opponent | Home | Away | Total | Pts | GF | GA |
| Central Division |||||||
| Chicago Blackhawks | 1–0–0 | 1–0–1 | 2–0–1 | 5 | 10 | 8 |
| Colorado Avalanche | 1–0–0 | 1–0–1 | 2–0–1 | 5 | 14 | 10 |
| Dallas Stars | 1–1–0 | 1–0–0 | 2–1–0 | 4 | 7 | 6 |
| Minnesota Wild | 1–1–0 | 0–1–0 | 1–2–0 | 2 | 9 | 11 |
| Nashville Predators | 1–0–0 | 0–1–1 | 1–1–1 | 3 | 10 | 10 |
| St. Louis Blues | 1–0–0 | 1–0–1 | 2–0–1 | 5 | 13 | 5 |
| Winnipeg Jets | 0–2–0 | 0–1–0 | 0–3–0 | 0 | 4 | 8 |
| Total | 6–4–0 | 4–3–4 | 10–7–4 | 24 | 67 | 61 |
| Pacific Division |||||||
| Anaheim Ducks | 1–1–0 | 0–2–0 | 1–3–0 | 2 | 11 | 10 |
| Arizona Coyotes | 0–0–2 | 0–2–0 | 0–2–2 | 2 | 8 | 16 |
| Calgary Flames | 2–1–0 | 1–1–0 | 3–2–0 | 6 | 17 | 17 |
| Edmonton Oilers | 1–0–1 | 1–1–0 | 2–1–1 | 5 | 12 | 10 |
| Los Angeles Kings | 1–0–1 | 2–0–0 | 3–0–1 | 7 | 12 | 9 |
| San Jose Sharks | 1–1–0 | 0–2–0 | 1–3–0 | 2 | 8 | 16 |
| Vancouver Canucks | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Vegas Golden Knights | 0–2–0 | 1–1–0 | 1–3–0 | 2 | 8 | 15 |
| Total | 6–5–4 | 5–9–0 | 11–14–4 | 26 | 76 | 93 |
Eastern Conference :
| Opponent | Home | Away | Total | Pts | GF | GA |
| Atlantic Division |||||||
| Boston Bruins | 1–0–0 | 1–0–0 | 2–0–0 | 4 | 10 | 5 |
| Buffalo Sabres | 1–0–0 | 0–0–1 | 1–0–1 | 3 | 7 | 7 |
| Detroit Red Wings | 1–0–0 | 0–0–1 | 1–0–1 | 3 | 5 | 5 |
| Florida Panthers | 1–0–0 | 1–0–0 | 2–0–0 | 4 | 8 | 3 |
| Montreal Canadiens | 0–1–0 | 0–1–0 | 0–2–0 | 0 | 2 | 5 |
| Ottawa Senators | 1–0–0 | 1–0–0 | 2–0–0 | 4 | 11 | 7 |
| Tampa Bay Lightning | 0–1–0 | 1–0–0 | 1–1–0 | 2 | 6 | 6 |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | 1–0–0 | 0–1–0 | 1–1–0 | 2 | 3 | 7 |
| Total | 6–2–0 | 4–2–2 | 10–4–2 | 22 | 52 | 46 |
| Metropolitan Division |||||||
| Carolina Hurricanes | 0–1–0 | 0–1–0 | 0–2–0 | 0 | 5 | 10 |
| Columbus Blue Jackets | 0–1–0 | 1–0–0 | 1–1–0 | 2 | 3 | 7 |
| New Jersey Devils | 0–0–1 | 0–1–0 | 0–1–1 | 1 | 2 | 7 |
| New York Islanders | 0–1–0 | 0–1–0 | 0–2–0 | 0 | 2 | 9 |
| New York Rangers | 1–0–0 | 0–1–0 | 1–1–0 | 2 | 5 | 3 |
| Philadelphia Flyers | 1–0–0 | 0–1–0 | 1–1–0 | 2 | 6 | 3 |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | 0–1–0 | 1–0–0 | 1–1–0 | 2 | 3 | 7 |
| Washington Capitals | 0–1–0 | 0–1–0 | 0–2–0 | 0 | 4 | 8 |
| Total | 2–5–1 | 2–6–0 | 4–11–1 | 9 | 30 | 54 |

## Player statistics

Final stats

### Skaters

Regular season :
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | +/− | PIM |
| Elias Pettersson | 71 | 28 | 38 | 66 | 3 | 12 |
| Bo Horvat | 82 | 27 | 34 | 61 | −4 | 33 |
| Brock Boeser | 69 | 26 | 30 | 56 | −2 | 22 |
| Alexander Edler | 56 | 10 | 24 | 34 | 3 | 54 |
| Antoine Roussel | 65 | 9 | 22 | 31 | 5 | 118 |
| Loui Eriksson | 81 | 11 | 18 | 29 | −11 | 22 |
| Nikolay Goldobin | 63 | 7 | 20 | 27 | −10 | 18 |
| Jake Virtanen | 70 | 15 | 10 | 25 | −4 | 44 |
| Troy Stecher | 78 | 2 | 21 | 23 | 9 | 32 |
| Markus Granlund | 77 | 12 | 10 | 22 | −4 | 20 |
| Ben Hutton | 69 | 5 | 15 | 20 | −23 | 43 |
| Josh Leivo$^†$ | 49 | 10 | 8 | 18 | 4 | 25 |
| Tyler Motte | 74 | 9 | 7 | 16 | −12 | 10 |
| Alex Biega | 41 | 2 | 14 | 16 | 0 | 22 |
| Sven Baertschi | 26 | 9 | 5 | 14 | −9 | 6 |
| Jay Beagle | 57 | 3 | 10 | 13 | −8 | 18 |
| Tanner Pearson$^†$ | 19 | 9 | 3 | 12 | 0 | 4 |
| Adam Gaudette | 56 | 5 | 7 | 12 | −8 | 18 |
| Derrick Pouliot | 62 | 3 | 9 | 12 | −1 | 30 |
| Christopher Tanev | 55 | 2 | 10 | 12 | 3 | 18 |
| Tim Schaller | 47 | 3 | 7 | 10 | −2 | 9 |
| Erik Gudbranson$^‡$ | 57 | 2 | 6 | 8 | −27 | 83 |
| Brandon Sutter | 26 | 4 | 2 | 6 | −12 | 6 |
| Brendan Leipsic$^‡$ | 17 | 2 | 3 | 5 | −10 | 2 |
| Michael Del Zotto$^‡$ | 23 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 8 |
| Ryan Spooner$^†$ | 11 | 0 | 4 | 4 | −1 | 0 |
| Sam Gagner$^‡$ | 7 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −3 | 4 |
| Brendan Gaunce | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| Quinn Hughes | 5 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2 |
| Darren Archibald$^‡$ | 9 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 12 |
| Luke Schenn$^†$ | 18 | 0 | 2 | 2 | −4 | 9 |
| Ashton Sautner | 17 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −2 | 2 |
| Zack MacEwen | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −4 | 5 |
| Brogan Rafferty | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 0 |
| Guillaume Brisebois | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −4 | 0 |
| Reid Boucher | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Josh Teves | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 2 |

### Goaltenders

Regular season :
| Player | GP | GS | TOI | W | L | OT | GA | GAA | SA | SV% | SO | G | A | PIM |
| Jacob Markstrom | 60 | 60 | 3,599:21 | 28 | 23 | 9 | 166 | 2.77 | 1,896 | .912 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
| Thatcher Demko | 9 | 8 | 534:09 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 25 | 2.81 | 288 | .913 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Anders Nilsson$^‡$ | 12 | 12 | 717:56 | 3 | 8 | 1 | 37 | 3.09 | 353 | .895 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Richard Bachman | 1 | 1 | 60:00 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 6.00 | 29 | .793 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Michael DiPietro | 1 | 1 | 60:00 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 7.00 | 24 | .708 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
$^†$Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Canucks. Stats reflect time with the Canucks only. $^‡$Denotes player was traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with the Canucks only. Bold/italics denotes franchise record.

## Awards and honours
### Awards

Regular season :
| Player | Award | Awarded |
| Elias Pettersson | NHL Rookie of the Month for October | November 1, 2018 |
| Elias Pettersson | NHL Second Star of the Week | November 5, 2018 |
| Elias Pettersson | NHL First Star of the Week | December 10, 2018 |
| Elias Pettersson | NHL Rookie of the Month for December | January 2, 2019 |
| Elias Pettersson | NHL All-Star game selection | January 2, 2019 |

### Milestones

Regular season :
| Player | Milestone | Reached |
| Elias Pettersson | 1st career NHL game 1st career NHL goal 1st career NHL assist 1st career NHL point | October 3, 2018 |
| Bo Horvat | 300th career NHL game | October 13, 2018 |
| Erik Gudbranson | 400th career NHL game | October 22, 2018 |
| Christopher Tanev | 400th career NHL game | October 24, 2018 |
| Adam Gaudette | 1st career NHL assist 1st career NHL point | October 25, 2018 |
| Bo Horvat | 100th career NHL assist | November 21, 2018 |
| Adam Gaudette | 1st career NHL goal | November 24, 2018 |
| Brock Boeser | 100th career NHL game | December 31, 2018 |
| Elias Pettersson | 1st career NHL hat-trick | January 2, 2019 |
| Josh Leivo | 100th career NHL game | January 16, 2019 |
| Bo Horvat | 200th career NHL point | January 18, 2019 |
| Jay Beagle | 500th career NHL game | February 4, 2019 |
| Michael DiPietro | 1st career NHL game | February 11, 2019 |
| Zack MacEwen | 1st career NHL game 1st career NHL assist 1st career NHL point | February 11, 2019 |
| Guillaume Brisebois | 1st career NHL game | February 14, 2019 |
| Loui Eriksson | 900th career NHL game | February 16, 2019 |
| Brock Boeser | 100th career NHL point | February 16, 2019 |
| Troy Stecher | 200th career NHL game | February 28, 2019 |
| Alexander Edler | 800th career NHL game | March 7, 2019 |
| Jake Virtanen | 200th career NHL game | March 13, 2019 |
| Josh Teves | 1st career NHL game | March 26, 2019 |
| Quinn Hughes | 1st career NHL game 1st career NHL assist 1st career NHL point | March 28, 2019 |
| Brogan Rafferty | 1st career NHL game | April 4, 2019 |
| Markus Granlund | 300th career NHL game | April 4, 2019 |

### Records

| Player | Record | Date |
| Alexander Edler | Most games played by Canucks defenceman | December 22, 2018 |
| Elias Pettersson | Most points by Canucks rookie in single season | March 18, 2019 |
| Alexander Edler | Most goals scored by Canucks defenceman | March 28, 2018 |

## Transactions

The Canucks have been involved in the following transactions during the 2018–19 season.

### Trades

| Date | Details | Details |
| June 23, 2018 (2018-06-23) | To Washington Capitals6th-round pick in 2018 | To Vancouver Canucks6th-round pick in 2018 6th-round pick in 2019 |
| June 24, 2018 (2018-06-24) | To Chicago BlackhawksMichael Chaput | To Vancouver CanucksTanner Kero |
| December 3, 2018 (2018-12-03) | To Toronto Maple LeafsMichael Carcone | To Vancouver CanucksJosh Leivo |
| January 2, 2019 (2019-01-02) | To Ottawa SenatorsDarren Archibald Anders Nilsson | To Vancouver CanucksMike McKenna Tom Pyatt 6th-round pick in 2019 |
| January 16, 2019 (2019-01-16) | To Anaheim DucksMichael Del Zotto | To Vancouver CanucksLuke Schenn 7th-round pick in 2020 |
| February 12, 2019 (2019-02-12) | To New York Rangers7th-round pick in 2020 | To Vancouver CanucksMarek Mazanec |
| February 16, 2019 (2019-02-16) | To Edmonton OilersSam Gagner | To Vancouver CanucksRyan Spooner |
| February 25, 2019 (2019-02-25) | To Pittsburgh PenguinsErik Gudbranson | To Vancouver CanucksTanner Pearson |
| February 25, 2019 (2019-02-25) | To San Jose SharksJonathan Dahlen | To Vancouver CanucksLinus Karlsson |

### Free agents

| Date | Player | Team | Contract term |
| July 1, 2018 (2018-07-01) | Jay Beagle | from Washington Capitals | 4-year |
| July 1, 2018 (2018-07-01) | Nic Dowd | to Washington Capitals | 1-year |
| July 1, 2018 (2018-07-01) | Antoine Roussel | from Dallas Stars | 4-year |
| July 1, 2018 (2018-07-01) | Tim Schaller | from Boston Bruins | 2-year |
| July 2, 2018 (2018-07-02) | Jayson Megna | to Washington Capitals | 1-year |
| July 5, 2018 (2018-07-05) | Griffen Molino | to Toronto Marlies (AHL) | Unknown |
| July 9, 2018 (2018-07-09) | Patrick Wiercioch | to Dinamo Minsk (KHL) | Unknown |
| July 31, 2018 (2018-07-31) | Cole Cassels | to Grizzlys Wolfsburg (DEL) | 1-year |
| August 20, 2018 (2018-08-20) | Joseph LaBate | to Belleville Senators (AHL) | 1-year |
| September 5, 2018 (2018-09-05) | Mackenze Stewart | to Toledo Walleye (ECHL) | 1-year |
| December 14, 2018 (2018-12-14) | Mitch Eliot | from Sarnia Sting (OHL) | 3-year |
| February 19, 2019 (2019-02-19) | Michael Leighton | from Utica Comets (AHL) | 1-year |
| March 12, 2019 (2019-03-12) | Josh Teves | from Princeton Tigers (ECAC Hockey) | 1-year |
| April 1, 2019 (2019-04-01) | Jake Kielly | from Clarkson Golden Knights (ECAC Hockey) | 2-year |
| April 1, 2019 (2019-04-01) | Brogan Rafferty | from Quinnipiac Bobcats (ECAC Hockey) | 1-year |

### Waivers

| Date | Player | Team | Ref |
| December 3, 2018 (2018-12-03) | Brendan Leipsic | to Los Angeles Kings | |
| January 4, 2019 (2019-01-04) | Mike McKenna | to Philadelphia Flyers | |

### Signings

| Date | Player | Contract term |
| June 22, 2018 (2018-06-22) | Markus Granlund | 1-year |
| June 26, 2018 (2018-06-26) | Derrick Pouliot | 1-year |
| July 1, 2018 (2018-07-01) | Sven Bartschi | 3-year |
| July 3, 2018 (2018-07-03) | Darren Archibald | 1-year |
| July 20, 2018 (2018-07-20) | Troy Stecher | 2-year |
| July 25, 2018 (2018-07-25) | Jake Virtanen | 2-year |
| March 10, 2019 (2019-03-10) | Quinn Hughes | 3-year |
| March 17, 2019 (2019-03-17) | Jett Woo | 3-year |
| April 24, 2019 (2019-04-24) | Thatcher Demko | 2-year |
| June 20, 2019 (2019-06-20) | Alexander Edler | 2-year |

## Draft picks

Below are the Vancouver Canucks' selections at the 2018 NHL Entry Draft, which was held on June 22 and 23, 2018, at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas.
| Round | # | Player | Pos | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 1 | 7 | Quinn Hughes | D | United States | University of Michigan (B1G) |
| 2 | 37 | Jett Woo | D | Canada | Moose Jaw Warriors (WHL) |
| 3 | 68 | Tyler Madden | C | United States | Tri-City Storm (USHL) |
| 5 | 130 | Toni Utunen | D | Finland | LeKi (Mestis) |
| 6 | 186$^1$ | Artyom Manukyan | RW | Russia | Avangard Omsk (KHL) |
| 7 | 192 | Matthew Thiessen | G | Canada | Steinbach Pistons (MJHL) |
Notes:
* The Washington Capitals' sixth-round pick went to the Vancouver Canucks as the result of a trade on June 23, 2018, that sent a sixth-round pick in 2018 (161st overall) to Washington in exchange for a sixth-round pick in 2019 and this pick.