# 1970–71 Vancouver Canucks season

The 1970–71 Vancouver Canucks season was the Canucks' first in the National Hockey League (NHL). They joined the league on May 22, 1970, along with the Buffalo Sabres. After not being awarded an expansion team in 1967 when the league added six teams, Vancouver finally joined the NHL in 1970 for a price of $6 million (compared to $2 million in 1967). The Vancouver Canucks of the Western Hockey League were promoted to the NHL, though the ownership group of the WHL Canucks, not willing to pay the $6 million to join the NHL, sold the team to Medicor, a group controlled by Thomas Scallen.
The Canucks logo was a stylized C designed as a hockey stick inside a rink incorporating the colours of blue, green and white to represent the water, forests and snow surrounding Vancouver. It was designed by a local creative designer, Joe Borovich, and bought for $500.

## Season summary

During the Amateur draft, held on June 11 in Montreal, there was debate over what expansion team would draft first. In order to reach a compromise, a numbered spinning wheel was brought in to determine the draft: the Sabres were odd numbers, the Canucks even. When the wheel landed on 11, the Canucks and NHL President Clarence Campbell thought it was II (two) in Roman numerals. However it turned out to be 11 (eleven) in Arabic numerals, leading the Sabres to select first overall future superstar Gilbert Perreault.
On October 9, 1970, the Canucks played their first game in the NHL, a 3–1 loss to the Los Angeles Kings. There was a grand opening ceremony attended by British Columbia Premier W. A. C. Bennett, Mayor of Vancouver Tom Campbell (who was booed by fans), Chief Dan George and former Vancouver Millionaires player Cyclone Taylor, who received a standing ovation upon being introduced. Barry Wilkins scored the first goal for the Canucks in the third period.
Inexplicably, the Canucks were placed in the East Division, which was not only the tougher division but featured opponents over 2,000 miles away from Vancouver. (The Canucks were nearly a .500 team at home, but could only win seven of 39 road games.) Throughout the first three months of the season, though, the expansion club managed to stay within contention of a playoff spot, until captain Orland Kurtenbach injured his knee in late December. The Canucks would finish their inaugural season with six 20-goal scorers, and Tallon would break Bobby Orr's rookie record for defenseman assists, but 11-30-5 mark to end the season placed them only one point out of last place.

## Regular season

East Division vte :
| | | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | DIFF | Pts |
| 1 | Boston Bruins | 78 | 57 | 14 | 7 | 399 | 207 | +192 | 121 |
| 2 | New York Rangers | 78 | 49 | 18 | 11 | 259 | 177 | +82 | 109 |
| 3 | Montreal Canadiens | 78 | 42 | 23 | 13 | 291 | 216 | +75 | 97 |
| 4 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 78 | 37 | 33 | 8 | 248 | 211 | +37 | 82 |
| 5 | Buffalo Sabres | 78 | 24 | 39 | 15 | 217 | 291 | −74 | 63 |
| 6 | Vancouver Canucks | 78 | 24 | 46 | 8 | 229 | 296 | −67 | 56 |
| 7 | Detroit Red Wings | 78 | 22 | 45 | 11 | 209 | 308 | −99 | 55 |

### Record vs. opponents
## Schedule and results

1970–71 Game log :
October: 3–6–2 (home: 3–2–2; road: 0–4–0)
#DateVisitorScoreHomeRecordPts
1October 9Los Angeles3–1Vancouver0–1–00
2October 11Toronto3–5Vancouver1–1–02
3October 12Vancouver1–4St. Louis1–2–02
4October 14Vancouver2–8Chicago1–3–02
5October 15Vancouver4–5Philadelphia1–4–02
6October 18Boston5–3Vancouver1–5–02
7October 20California1–2Vancouver2–5–04
8October 23St. Louis1–1Vancouver2–5–15
9October 25Pittsburgh1–1Vancouver2–5–26
10October 27Buffalo2–7Vancouver3–5–28
11October 31Vancouver3–6Montreal3–6–28 :
November: 6–7–1 (home: 3–1–0; road: 3–6–1)
#DateVisitorScoreHomeRecordPts
12November 4Vancouver3–8Pittsburgh3–7–28
13November 5Vancouver4–1Buffalo4–7–210
14November 7Toronto2–3Vancouver5–7–212
15November 10Vancouver3–6Boston5–8–212
16November 11Vancouver4–2Toronto6–8–214
17November 14Vancouver3 -3Minnesota6–8–315
18November 15Vancouver2–4Chicago6–9–315
19November 17Detroit5–2Vancouver6–10–315
20November 20Los Angeles1–7Vancouver7–10–317
21November 21Vancouver3–1Los Angeles8–10–319
22November 24Minnesota2–3Vancouver9–10–321
23November 26Vancouver2–4Detroit9–11–321
24November 28Vancouver1–5St. Louis9–12–321
25November 29Vancouver2–4Philadelphia9–13–321 :
December: 5–7–0 (home: 4–2–0; road: 1–5–0)
#DateVisitorScoreHomeRecordPts
26December 1Philadelphia4–5Vancouver10–13–323
27December 5Vancouver1–3Pittsburgh10–14–323
28December 6Vancouver1–4New York10–15–323
29December 8New York1–4Vancouver11–15–325
30December 9Vancouver1–6California11–16–325
31December 12California2–5Vancouver12–16–327
32December 15Philadelphia2–3Vancouver13–16–329
33December 18Montreal4–3Vancouver13–17–329
34December 20Vancouver1–5New York13–18–329
35December 23Vancouver2–7Toronto13–19–329
36December 26Chicago4–2Vancouver13–20–329
37December 30Vancouver4–1Los Angeles14–20–331 :
January: 1–10–2 (home: 0–6–1; road: 1–4–1)
#DateVisitorScoreHomeRecordPts
38January 2St. Louis3–1Vancouver14–21–331
39January 6Vancouver3–7Montreal14–22–331
40January 7Vancouver4–6Boston14–23–331
41January 9Vancouver2–2St. Louis14–23–432
42January 12New York4–2Vancouver14–24–432
43January 16Pittsburgh4–3Vancouver14–25–432
44January 17Vancouver3–1California15–25–434
45January 20Toronto5–1Vancouver15–26–434
46January 23Vancouver1–4Pittsburgh15–27–434
47January 24Vancouver3–7Detroit15–28–434
48January 26Chicago3–3Vancouver15–28–535
49January 29Minnesota2–1Vancouver15–29–535
50January 31Buffalo6–1Vancouver15–30–535 :
February: 3–7–1 (home: 3–3–1; road: 0–4–0)
#DateVisitorScoreHomeRecordPts
51February 2Montreal5–2Vancouver15–31–535
52February 6New York5–4Vancouver15–32–535
53February 9Buffalo3–6Vancouver16–32–537
54February 12Detroit3–5Vancouver17–32–539
55February 14Vancouver1–3Chicago17–33–539
56February 16Boston4–5Vancouver18–33–541
57February 19Philadelphia3–2Vancouver18–34–541
58February 22Montreal3–3Vancouver18–34–642
59February 25Vancouver3–8Boston18–35–642
60February 27Vancouver1–8Philadelphia18–36–642
61February 28Vancouver2–4New York18–37–642 :
March: 5–8–2 (home: 4–3–0; road: 1–5–2)
#DateVisitorScoreHomeRecordPts
62March 3Vancouver1–3Toronto18–38–642
63March 6Vancouver1–3Minnesota18–39–642
64March 7Vancouver3–6Buffalo18–40–642
65March 9Vancouver3–3Montreal18–40–743
66March 11Detroit3–7Vancouver19–40–745
67March 13Boston6–3Vancouver19–41–745
68March 16Chicago7–4Vancouver19–42–745
69March 19Pittsburgh4–6Vancouver20–42–747
70March 21Minnesota6–3Vancouver20–43–747
71March 23St. Louis1–4Vancouver21–43–749
72March 25Vancouver3–4Detroit21–44–749
73March 26Vancouver1–3Buffalo21–45–749
74March 28California5–11Vancouver22–45–751
75March 30Vancouver2–1Minnesota23–45–753
76March 31Vancouver2–2Los Angeles23–45–854 :
April: 1–1–0 (home: 0–1–0; road: 1–0–0)
#DateVisitorScoreHomeRecordPts
77April 2Vancouver7–2California24–45–856
78April 4Los Angeles4–2Vancouver24–46–856 :

## Player statistics
### Skaters

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes
| | | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs |
| Player | # | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| Andre Boudrias | 7 | 77 | 25 | 41 | 66 | 16 | -- | – | – | – | – |
| Wayne Maki | 11 | 78 | 25 | 38 | 63 | 99 | – | – | – | – | – |
| Rosaire Paiement | 15 | 78 | 34 | 28 | 62 | 152 | – | – | – | – | – |
| Murray Hall | 23 | 77 | 21 | 38 | 59 | 22 | – | – | – | – | – |
| Dale Tallon | 19 | 78 | 14 | 42 | 56 | 58 | – | – | – | – | – |
| Orland Kurtenbach | 25 | 52 | 21 | 32 | 53 | 84 | – | – | – | – | – |
| Mike Corrigan | 12 | 76 | 21 | 32 | 53 | 103 | – | – | – | – | – |
| Ray Cullen | 10 | 70 | 12 | 21 | 33 | 42 | – | – | – | – | – |
| Poul Popiel | 18 | 78 | 10 | 22 | 32 | 61 | – | – | – | – | – |
| Ted Taylor | 16 | 56 | 11 | 16 | 27 | 53 | – | – | – | – | – |
| Dan Johnson | 8 | 66 | 15 | 11 | 26 | 16 | – | – | – | – | – |
| Barry Wilkins | 4 | 50 | 5 | 18 | 23 | 131 | – | – | – | – | – |
| Pat Quinn | 3 | 76 | 2 | 11 | 13 | 149 | – | – | – | – | – |
| Gary Doak | 2 | 77 | 2 | 10 | 12 | 112 | – | – | – | – | – |
| Bobby Schmautz | 9 | 26 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 14 | – | – | – | – | – |
| Garth Rizzuto | 22 | 37 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 16 | – | – | – | – | – |
| Danny Seguin$^†$ | 17 | 25 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 46 | – | – | – | – | – |
| John Schella | 5 | 38 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 58 | – | – | – | – | – |
| Len Lunde | – | 20 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | – | – | – | – | – |
| Ed Hatoum | – | 26 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 21 | – | – | – | – | – |
| Jim Wiste | – | 23 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – |
| Howie Young | – | 11 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 25 | – | – | – | – | – |
| Marc Reaume | – | 27 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | – | – | – | – | – |
| Darryl Sly | – | 31 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 10 | – | – | – | – | – |
| Ralph Stewart | – | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – |
| Jim Hargreaves | – | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 33 | – | – | – | – | – |
| Ken Block | – | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – |
| Bob Cook | – | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – |
| John Arbour* | – | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | – | – | – | – | – |
| George Gardner | 30 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – |
| Charlie Hodge | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – |
| Dunc Wilson | 30 | 35 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | – | – | – | – | – |
$^†$Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Vancouver. Stats reflect time with the Canucks only.
*Denotes player traded by Vancouver midway through the season. Stats reflect time with Canucks only.

### Goaltenders

Note: GP = Games played; Min = Minutes; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average
| | | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs |
| Player | # | GP | Min | W | L | T | GA | SO | GAA | GP | Min | W | L | GA | SO | GAA |
| George Gardner | 30 | 18 | 922 | 6 | 8 | 1 | 52 | 0 | 3.38 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Charlie Hodge | 1 | 35 | 1967 | 15 | 13 | 5 | 112 | 0 | 3.41 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Dunc Wilson | 30 | 35 | 1793 | 3 | 25 | 2 | 128 | 0 | 4.28 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |

## Awards and records
### Trophies and awards

* Cyclone Taylor Award (Canucks MVP): Orland Kurtenbach
* Cyrus H. McLean Trophy (Canucks Leading Scorer): Andre Boudrias
* Fred J. Hume Award (Canucks Unsung Hero): Barry Wilkins
* Most Exciting Player: Andre Boudrias

### Records achieved in the season

Note: Only records that stand as of 2020–21 are listed

#### Canucks team records

* Fewest ties in one season: (8) – repeated in 1971–72, 1986–87, 1988–89
* Fewest shutouts in one season: (0) – repeated in 1984–85, 2005–06
* Fewest shutouts against in one season: (0) – repeated in 1984–85
* Longest home winless streak: 11 games, December 18, 1970 – February 6, 1971 (0–10–1)
* Most goals in one game: 11, March 28, 1971 (California 5 at Vancouver 11) – repeated in 1986–87, 1991–92
* Most shots against Vancouver goal, one game: 60, February 25, 1971, versus Boston Bruins
* Most shots against Vancouver goal, one period: 28, February 25, 1971, versus Boston Bruins (3rd period)
* Most shots both teams, one period: 43, February 25, 1971, versus Boston Bruins (3rd period)
* Fastest three goals against Vancouver: :20, February 25, 1971, versus Boston Bruins (3rd period: John Bucyk, 4:50; Ed Westfall, 5:02; Ted Green, 5:10)

#### Canucks individual records

* Most assists in one season, rookie: Dale Tallon (42)
* Most goals, one game: Rosaire Paiement (4) – repeated eleven times

## Transactions

The Canucks were involved in the following transactions during the 1970–71 season.

### Trades

| June 10, 1970 | To Vancouver Canucks John Arbour | To Pittsburgh Penguins Cash |
| December 3, 1970 | To Vancouver Canucks Cash | To St. Louis Blues John Arbour |
| May 25, 1971 | To Vancouver Canucks Gregg Boddy | To Montreal Canadiens Cash 3rd round pick (Jim Cahoon) in 1971 NHL Amateur Draft |

## Draft picks
### Expansion draft

Vancouver's picks at the 1970 NHL Expansion Draft. In order to fill out the rosters of both the Canucks and Buffalo Sabres, they were given the opportunity to select eighteen skaters and two goaltenders from the unprotected lists of existing NHL team's rosters. Teams were allowed to protect several players from being drafted, and as such kept many of their star players, leaving the Canucks and Sabres with lesser quality players to choose from. The draft was held on June 9, 1970, at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, Canada. Using a spinning wheel to determine the order of the expansion draft, Buffalo had the first choice.
| # | Player | Drafted from |
| 1. | Gary Doak (D) | Boston Bruins |
| 2. | Orland Kurtenbach (C) | New York Rangers |
| 3. | Ray Cullen (C) | Minnesota North Stars |
| 4. | Pat Quinn (D) | Toronto Maple Leafs |
| 5. | Rosaire Paiement (C) | Philadelphia Flyers |
| 6. | Wayne Maki (LW) | St. Louis Blues |
| 7. | Barry Wilkins (D) | Boston Bruins |
| 8. | Andre Boudrias (C) | St. Louis Blues |
| 9. | Mike Corrigan (LW) | Los Angeles Kings |
| 10. | Poul Popiel (D) | Detroit Red Wings |
| 11. | Dan Johnson (C) | Toronto Maple Leafs |
| 12. | Garth Rizzuto (C) | Chicago Black Hawks |
| 13. | Ed Hatoum (RW) | Detroit Red Wings |
| 14. | Jim Wiste (C) | Chicago Black Hawks |
| 15. | Howie Young (D) | Chicago Black Hawks |
| 16. | Darryl Sly (D) | Minnesota North Stars |
| 17. | Ralph Stewart (C) | St. Louis Blues |
| 18. | John Arbour (D) | Pittsburgh Penguins |
| 19. | Charlie Hodge G | Oakland Seals |
| 20. | Dunc Wilson (G) | Philadelphia Flyers |

### Amateur draft

Vancouver's picks at the 1970 NHL Amateur Draft. The draft was held on June 11, 1970, at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, Canada.
| Round | # | Player | Nationality | College/junior/club team (league) |
| 1 | 2 | Dale Tallon (D) | Canada | Toronto Marlboros (OHA) |
| 2 | 16 | Jim Hargreaves (D) | Canada | Winnipeg Jets (WCHL) |
| 3 | 30 | Ed Dyck (G) | Canada | Calgary Centennials (WCHL) |
| 4 | 44 | Brent Taylor (RW) | Canada | Estevan Bruins (WCHL) |
| 5 | 58 | Bill McFadden | Canada | Swift Current Broncos (WCHL) |
| 6 | 72 | Dave Gilmour (LW) | Canada | London Knights (OHA) |