# 1997–98 Vancouver Canucks season

The 1997–98 Vancouver Canucks season was the team's 28th season in the National Hockey League (NHL). After missing the playoffs the season before, the team responded by signing Mark Messier to a three-year contract. The signing of Messier did little to improve the team, however, as they finished even worse than the year before, costing Head Coach Tom Renney and General Manager Pat Quinn their jobs. For the first time in NHL history, regular season games were played outside of North America, with the Canucks playing the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in Tokyo, Japan, to open up the regular season. Pavel Bure became the last Canuck to score 50 or more goals in a season. On April 9, 1998, the Canucks scored three short-handed goals in a 6–3 road win over the Calgary Flames.
In addition, the team introduced a new logo that would stay in use since its debut, with minor colour alterations.
The team was the last in NHL history to record over 2,000 penalty minutes, with 2,148.

## Off-season

Forward Trevor Linden resigned the team captaincy, in favour of new arrival Mark Messier.

## Regular season

The Canucks finished the regular season with the most power-play opportunities against, with 432. Although the Canucks allowed the most goals in the League, with 273, they scored the most short-handed goals, with 19.

### All-Star Game

The 48th National Hockey League All-Star Game took place at General Motors Place in Vancouver, British Columbia, home to the Vancouver Canucks, on January 18, 1998.

#### The International Showdown

The 48th game was held in the very same year as the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, providing the NHL to show its players from all over the world. To this extent, the NHL had the All-Star teams consist of a team of North Americans playing against a team of stars from the rest of the world. The format change also helped to intensify the game, as national pride would also become a factor. These provisions only applied to the players — coaches would still be selected based on which teams were the best from each conference at the time of the break.

### Final standings

Pacific Division :
| No. | CR | | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | 2 | Colorado Avalanche | 82 | 39 | 26 | 17 | 231 | 205 | 95 |
| 2 | 5 | Los Angeles Kings | 82 | 38 | 33 | 11 | 227 | 225 | 87 |
| 3 | 7 | Edmonton Oilers | 82 | 35 | 37 | 10 | 215 | 224 | 80 |
| 4 | 8 | San Jose Sharks | 82 | 34 | 38 | 10 | 210 | 216 | 78 |
| 5 | 11 | Calgary Flames | 82 | 26 | 41 | 15 | 217 | 252 | 67 |
| 6 | 12 | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | 82 | 26 | 43 | 13 | 205 | 261 | 65 |
| 7 | 13 | Vancouver Canucks | 82 | 25 | 43 | 14 | 224 | 273 | 64 |
Note: CR = Conference rank; GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; Pts = Points Bolded teams qualified for the playoffs.
Western Conference :
| R | | Div | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | p – Dallas Stars | CEN | 82 | 49 | 22 | 11 | 242 | 167 | 109 |
| 2 | x – Colorado Avalanche | PAC | 82 | 39 | 26 | 17 | 231 | 205 | 95 |
| 3 | Detroit Red Wings | CEN | 82 | 44 | 23 | 15 | 250 | 196 | 103 |
| 4 | St. Louis Blues | CEN | 82 | 45 | 29 | 8 | 256 | 204 | 98 |
| 5 | Los Angeles Kings | PAC | 82 | 38 | 33 | 11 | 227 | 225 | 87 |
| 6 | Phoenix Coyotes | CEN | 82 | 35 | 35 | 12 | 224 | 227 | 82 |
| 7 | Edmonton Oilers | PAC | 82 | 35 | 37 | 10 | 215 | 224 | 80 |
| 8 | San Jose Sharks | PAC | 82 | 34 | 38 | 10 | 210 | 216 | 78 |
| 9 | Chicago Blackhawks | CEN | 82 | 30 | 39 | 13 | 192 | 199 | 73 |
| 10 | Toronto Maple Leafs | CEN | 82 | 30 | 43 | 9 | 194 | 237 | 69 |
| 11 | Calgary Flames | PAC | 82 | 26 | 41 | 15 | 217 | 252 | 67 |
| 12 | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | PAC | 82 | 26 | 43 | 13 | 205 | 261 | 65 |
| 13 | Vancouver Canucks | PAC | 82 | 25 | 43 | 14 | 224 | 273 | 64 |
Divisions: CEN – Central, PAC – Pacific
bold – Qualified for playoffs; x – Won Division; p – Won Presidents' Trophy

## Schedule and results

1997–98 regular season :
October: 3–8–2 (home: 2–4–2; road: 1–4–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
1WOctober 3, 19973–2Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1997–98)1–0–0Recap
2LOctober 4, 19972–3@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1997–98)1–1–0Recap
3TOctober 9, 19972–2 OTToronto Maple Leafs (1997–98)1–1–1Recap
4LOctober 11, 19973–6New York Rangers (1997–98)1–2–1Recap
5WOctober 13, 19973–0Edmonton Oilers (1997–98)2–2–1Recap
6LOctober 17, 19970–2Boston Bruins (1997–98)2–3–1Recap
7TOctober 19, 19974–4 OTColorado Avalanche (1997–98)2–3–2Recap
8WOctober 21, 19975–1@ Dallas Stars (1997–98)3–3–2Recap
9LOctober 23, 19971–4@ St. Louis Blues (1997–98)3–4–2Recap
10LOctober 25, 19972–3 OTPittsburgh Penguins (1997–98)3–5–2Recap
11LOctober 26, 19971–5Detroit Red Wings (1997–98)3–6–2Recap
12LOctober 29, 19970–3@ Chicago Blackhawks (1997–98)3–7–2Recap
13LOctober 30, 19971–8@ New Jersey Devils (1997–98)3–8–2Recap
Notes:
$^a$ At Yoyogi National Gymnasium in Tokyo, Japan :
November: 6–6–1 (home: 2–2–0; road: 4–4–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
14LNovember 1, 19976–7 OT@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1997–98)3–9–2Recap
15LNovember 3, 19973–5@ Carolina Hurricanes (1997–98)3–10–2Recap
16LNovember 4, 19971–2@ Washington Capitals (1997–98)3–11–2Recap
17LNovember 8, 19972–3Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1997–98)3–12–2Recap
18LNovember 11, 19972–8@ Los Angeles Kings (1997–98)3–13–2Recap
19WNovember 12, 19975–2@ San Jose Sharks (1997–98)4–13–2Recap
20TNovember 14, 19973–3 OT@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1997–98)4–13–3Recap
21WNovember 16, 19974–1Carolina Hurricanes (1997–98)5–13–3Recap
22WNovember 20, 19974–2Phoenix Coyotes (1997–98)6–13–3Recap
23LNovember 22, 19974–5 OTChicago Blackhawks (1997–98)6–14–3Recap
24WNovember 25, 19974–2@ New York Rangers (1997–98)7–14–3Recap
25WNovember 28, 19975–2@ Boston Bruins (1997–98)8–14–3Recap
26WNovember 29, 19974–2@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1997–98)9–14–3Recap :
December: 2–9–3 (home: 1–5–1; road: 1–4–2)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
27TDecember 1, 19973–3 OTDetroit Red Wings (1997–98)9–14–4Recap
28LDecember 4, 19972–3San Jose Sharks (1997–98)9–15–4Recap
29LDecember 6, 19974–6@ Colorado Avalanche (1997–98)9–16–4Recap
30LDecember 8, 19971–5@ St. Louis Blues (1997–98)9–17–4Recap
31LDecember 9, 19975–7@ Detroit Red Wings (1997–98)9–18–4Recap
32LDecember 13, 19972–5Colorado Avalanche (1997–98)9–19–4Recap
33WDecember 15, 19977–0Los Angeles Kings (1997–98)10–19–4Recap
34WDecember 17, 19975–1@ Phoenix Coyotes (1997–98)11–19–4Recap
35TDecember 18, 19970–0 OT@ San Jose Sharks (1997–98)11–19–5Recap
36LDecember 20, 19970–5Chicago Blackhawks (1997–98)11–20–5Recap
37LDecember 23, 19971–3Dallas Stars (1997–98)11–21–5Recap
38TDecember 27, 19973–3 OT@ Dallas Stars (1997–98)11–21–6Recap
39LDecember 29, 19972–5@ Los Angeles Kings (1997–98)11–22–6Recap
40LDecember 31, 19970–8Philadelphia Flyers (1997–98)11–23–6Recap :
January: 3–9–2 (home: 2–3–1; road: 1–6–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
41LJanuary 3, 19982–4Montreal Canadiens (1997–98)11–24–6Recap
42WJanuary 5, 19983–2Los Angeles Kings (1997–98)12–24–6Recap
43LJanuary 7, 19982–3St. Louis Blues (1997–98)12–25–6Recap
44TJanuary 8, 19984–4 OT@ Colorado Avalanche (1997–98)12–25–7Recap
45TJanuary 10, 19982–2 OTFlorida Panthers (1997–98)12–25–8Recap
46LJanuary 12, 19982–3@ Chicago Blackhawks (1997–98)12–26–8Recap
47LJanuary 14, 19980–4@ Detroit Red Wings (1997–98)12–27–8Recap
48LJanuary 15, 19982–6@ Buffalo Sabres (1997–98)12–28–8Recap
49LJanuary 21, 19981–6Phoenix Coyotes (1997–98)12–29–8Recap
50LJanuary 24, 19982–5@ Calgary Flames (1997–98)12–30–8Recap
51LJanuary 26, 19982–4@ Phoenix Coyotes (1997–98)12–31–8Recap
52LJanuary 28, 19981–6@ Colorado Avalanche (1997–98)12–32–8Recap
53WJanuary 30, 19983–1New Jersey Devils (1997–98)13–32–8Recap
54WJanuary 31, 19986–3@ Edmonton Oilers (1997–98)14–32–8Recap :
February: 4–1–1 (home: 4–1–0; road: 0–0–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
55LFebruary 2, 19981–2Colorado Avalanche (1997–98)14–33–8Recap
56WFebruary 6, 19985–4Edmonton Oilers (1997–98)15–33–8Recap
57WFebruary 7, 19986–3San Jose Sharks (1997–98)16–33–8Recap
58WFebruary 25, 19985–2Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1997–98)17–33–8Recap
59TFebruary 27, 19984–4 OT@ Calgary Flames (1997–98)17–33–9Recap
60WFebruary 28, 19986–4Ottawa Senators (1997–98)18–33–9Recap :
March: 4–6–4 (home: 2–4–0; road: 2–2–4)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
61TMarch 2, 19982–2 OT@ Los Angeles Kings (1997–98)18–33–10Recap
62LMarch 5, 19982–6Calgary Flames (1997–98)18–34–10Recap
63WMarch 7, 19985–2Tampa Bay Lightning (1997–98)19–34–10Recap
64LMarch 9, 19980–4St. Louis Blues (1997–98)19–35–10Recap
65TMarch 11, 19982–2 OT@ Montreal Canadiens (1997–98)19–35–11Recap
66LMarch 12, 19982–3@ Philadelphia Flyers (1997–98)19–36–11Recap
67WMarch 14, 19986–2@ New York Islanders (1997–98)20–36–11Recap
68WMarch 17, 19984–2@ Florida Panthers (1997–98)21–36–11Recap
69LMarch 18, 19982–4@ Tampa Bay Lightning (1997–98)21–37–11Recap
70TMarch 20, 19981–1 OT@ Ottawa Senators (1997–98)21–37–12Recap
71TMarch 21, 19981–1 OT@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1997–98)21–37–13Recap
72WMarch 24, 19984–3New York Islanders (1997–98)22–37–13Recap
73LMarch 26, 19982–5Buffalo Sabres (1997–98)22–38–13Recap
74LMarch 28, 19982–3Washington Capitals (1997–98)22–39–13Recap :
April: 3–4–1 (home: 2–3–0; road: 1–1–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
75WApril 1, 19984–2Edmonton Oilers (1997–98)23–39–13Recap
76WApril 4, 19985–3Dallas Stars (1997–98)24–39–13Recap
77LApril 6, 19982–3@ Edmonton Oilers (1997–98)24–40–13Recap
78WApril 9, 19986–3@ Calgary Flames (1997–98)25–40–13Recap
79TApril 11, 19981–1 OT@ San Jose Sharks (1997–98)25–40–14Recap
80LApril 15, 19980–2Los Angeles Kings (1997–98)25–41–14Recap
81LApril 17, 19982–4Calgary Flames (1997–98)25–42–14Recap
82LApril 19, 19981–2Toronto Maple Leafs (1997–98)25–43–14Recap :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Tie (1 point) :

## Player statistics
### Scoring

* Position abbreviations: C = Centre; D = Defence; G = Goaltender; LW = Left Wing; RW = Right Wing
* † = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Canucks only.
* ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Canucks only.
| No. | Player | Pos | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season |
| No. | Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM |
| 10 | Pavel Bure | RW | 82 | 51 | 39 | 90 | 5 | 48 |
| 11 | Mark Messier | C | 82 | 22 | 38 | 60 | −10 | 58 |
| 89 | Alexander Mogilny | RW | 51 | 18 | 27 | 45 | −6 | 36 |
| 19 | Markus Naslund | LW | 76 | 14 | 20 | 34 | 5 | 56 |
| 21 | Jyrki Lumme | D | 74 | 9 | 21 | 30 | −25 | 34 |
| 2 | Mattias Ohlund | D | 77 | 7 | 23 | 30 | 3 | 76 |
| 3 | Bret Hedican | D | 71 | 3 | 24 | 27 | 3 | 79 |
| 28 | Brian Noonan | RW | 82 | 10 | 15 | 25 | −19 | 62 |
| 20 | Dave Scatchard | C | 76 | 13 | 11 | 24 | −4 | 165 |
| 16 | Trevor Linden‡ | RW | 42 | 7 | 14 | 21 | −13 | 49 |
| 26 | Mike Sillinger‡ | C | 48 | 10 | 9 | 19 | −14 | 34 |
| 8 | Donald Brashear | LW | 77 | 9 | 9 | 18 | −9 | 372 |
| 22 | Peter Zezel† | C | 25 | 5 | 12 | 17 | 13 | 2 |
| 27 | Todd Bertuzzi† | LW | 22 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 2 | 63 |
| 4 | Grant Ledyard‡ | D | 39 | 2 | 13 | 15 | −2 | 14 |
| 24 | Scott Walker | C | 59 | 3 | 10 | 13 | −8 | 164 |
| 9 | Brad May† | LW | 27 | 9 | 3 | 12 | 0 | 41 |
| 23 | Bryan McCabe† | D | 26 | 1 | 11 | 12 | 10 | 64 |
| 44 | Dave Babych‡ | D | 47 | 0 | 9 | 9 | −11 | 37 |
| 23 | Martin Gelinas‡ | LW | 24 | 4 | 4 | 8 | −6 | 10 |
| 5 | Dana Murzyn | D | 31 | 5 | 2 | 7 | −3 | 42 |
| 25 | Steve Staios | RW | 77 | 3 | 4 | 7 | −3 | 134 |
| 6 | Adrian Aucoin | D | 35 | 3 | 3 | 6 | −4 | 21 |
| 48 | Bert Robertsson | LW | 30 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 24 |
| 29 | Gino Odjick‡ | LW | 35 | 3 | 2 | 5 | −3 | 181 |
| 14 | Lonny Bohonos‡ | RW | 31 | 2 | 1 | 3 | −9 | 4 |
| 36 | Chris McAllister | D | 36 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −12 | 106 |
| 18 | Geoff Sanderson†‡ | LW | 9 | 0 | 3 | 3 | −1 | 4 |
| 7 | David Roberts | LW | 13 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 4 |
| 9 | Lubomir Vaic | C | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −2 | 2 |
| 26 | Brandon Convery† | C | 7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1 | Sean Burke†‡ | G | 16 | 0 | 1 | 1 | | 14 |
| 39 | Enrico Ciccone†‡ | D | 13 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −2 | 47 |
| 7 | Jamie Huscroft† | D | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 34 | Jason Strudwick† | D | 11 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −3 | 29 |
| 22 | Larry Courville | LW | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −7 | 5 |
| 31 | Corey Hirsch | G | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 |
| 32 | Arturs Irbe | G | 41 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 2 |
| 1 | Kirk McLean‡ | G | 29 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 |
| 30 | Garth Snow† | G | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 4 |
| 27 | Mark Wotton | D | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 6 |

### Goaltending

* † = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Canucks only.
* ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Canucks only.
| No. | Player | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season |
| No. | Player | GP | W | L | T | SA | GA | GAA | SV% | SO | TOI |
| 32 | Arturs Irbe | 41 | 14 | 11 | 6 | 982 | 91 | 2.73 | .907 | 2 | 1999 |
| 1 | Kirk McLean‡ | 29 | 6 | 17 | 4 | 800 | 97 | 3.68 | .879 | 1 | 1583 |
| 30 | Garth Snow† | 12 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 262 | 26 | 3.09 | .901 | 0 | 504 |
| 1 | Sean Burke†‡ | 16 | 2 | 9 | 4 | 396 | 49 | 3.51 | .876 | 0 | 838 |
| 31 | Corey Hirsch | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 5 | 6.05 | .853 | 0 | 50 |

## Awards and records
### Awards

| Type | Award/honour | Recipient |
| League (annual) | NHL All-Rookie Team | Mattias Ohlund (Defence) |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Pavel Bure |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Mark Messier |
| Team | Babe Pratt Trophy | Mattias Ohlund |
| Team | Cyclone Taylor Trophy | Pavel Bure |
| Team | Cyrus H. McLean Trophy | Pavel Bure |
| Team | Fred J. Hume Award | Brian Noonan |
| Team | Molson Cup | Pavel Bure |
| Team | Most Exciting Player Award | Pavel Bure |

### Milestones

| Milestone | Player | Date |
| First game | Mattias Ohlund | October 3, 1997 |
| First game | Dave Scatchard | October 3, 1997 |
| First game | Lubomir Vaic | October 30, 1997 |
| First game | Chris McAllister | November 1, 1997 |
| First game | Bert Robertsson | November 8, 1997 |
| 500th game played | Kirk McLean | October 19, 1997 |

## Transactions
### Trades

| January 2, 1998 | To Vancouver Canucks Sean Burke Geoff Sanderson Enrico Ciccone | To Carolina Hurricanes Kirk McLean Martin Gelinas |
| February 4, 1998 | To Vancouver Canucks conditional 5th round pick in 1998 (Garrett Prosofsky) | To Philadelphia Flyers Mike Sillinger |
| February 4, 1998 | To Vancouver Canucks Brad May 3rd round pick in 1999 | To Buffalo Sabres Geoff Sanderson |
| February 5, 1998 | To Vancouver Canucks Peter Zezel | To New Jersey Devils 5th round pick in 1998 (Anton But) |
| February 6, 1998 | To Vancouver Canucks Bryan McCabe Todd Bertuzzi 3rd round pick in 1999 (Jarkko Ruutu) | To New York Islanders Trevor Linden |
| March 3, 1998 | To Vancouver Canucks 8th round pick in 1998 (Graig Mischler) | To Boston Bruins Grant Ledyard |
| March 4, 1998 | To Vancouver Canucks Garth Snow | To Philadelphia Flyers Sean Burke |
| March 7, 1998 | To Vancouver Canucks Brandon Convery | To Toronto Maple Leafs Lonny Bohonos |
| March 14, 1998 | To Vancouver Canucks Jamie Huscroft | To Tampa Bay Lightning Enrico Ciccone |
| March 23, 1998 | To Vancouver Canucks Jason Strudwick | To New York Islanders Gino Odjick |
| March 24, 1998 | To Vancouver Canucks 3rd round pick in 1999 (Justin Morrison) | To Philadelphia Flyers Dave Babych 6th round pick in 1998 (Antero Niittymaki) |

## Draft picks

Vancouver's picks at the 1997 NHL entry draft in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
| Round | # | Player | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team |
| 1 | 10 | Brad Ference (D) | Canada | Spokane Chiefs (WHL) |
| 2 | 34 | Ryan Bonni (D) | Canada | Saskatoon Blades (WHL) |
| 2 | 36 | Harold Druken (D) | Canada | Detroit Whalers (OHL) |
| 3 | 64 | Kyle Freadrich (LW) | Canada | Prince George Cougars (WHL) |
| 4 | 90 | Chris Stanley (C) | Canada | Belleville Bulls (OHL) |
| 5 | 114 | David Darguzas (C) | Canada | Edmonton Ice (WHL) |
| 5 | 117 | Matt Cockell (G) | Canada | Saskatoon Blades (WHL) |
| 6 | 144 | Matt Cooke (LW) | Canada | Windsor Spitfires (OHL) |
| 6 | 148 | Larry Shapley (D) | Canada | Welland Jr. Canadians (Golden Horseshoe Junior B Hockey League) |
| 7 | 171 | Rod Leroux (D) | Canada | Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL) |
| 8 | 201 | Denis Martynyuk (LW) | Russia | CSKA Moscow (Russian Pro Hockey League) |
| 9 | 227 | Peter Brady (G) | Canada | Powell River Paper Kings (BCJHL) |