# 2009–10 Vancouver Canucks season

The 2009–10 Vancouver Canucks season was the team's 40th season in the National Hockey League (NHL).

## Season events
### Off-season
#### Entry draft

At the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, the Vancouver Canucks drafted seven players. The Canucks did not have their own seventh-round draft pick as it had previously been traded to the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for Jason LaBarbera. The Canucks acquired a sixth-round draft pick from the Phoenix Coyotes in exchange for Shaun Heshka.

#### Free agency

On July 1, the Vancouver re-signed Daniel and Henrik Sedin to identical five-year, $31 million contracts. The contracts paid both players $6.1 million per season.
On July 3, 2009, Mikael Samuelsson was signed as an unrestricted free agent to a three-year contract worth $2.5 million per season.
The team lost free agent Mattias Öhlund, who had spent the first 11 seasons of his NHL career with Vancouver; he signed a seven-year, $26.25 million contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
On August 17, 2009, the Canucks signed prospect Sergei Shirokov to a two-year, $1.75 million contract. Shirokov was drafted in the sixth round of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft.

#### Trades

On August 28, 2009, general manager Mike Gillis traded prospects centre Patrick White and defenceman Daniel Rahimi to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for defencemen Christian Ehrhoff and Brad Lukowich.

### Preseason

As part of the Kraft Hockeyville promotion, the Canucks played the New York Islanders in Terrace, British Columbia, for their first preseason game. The Canucks won by a score of 2–1.
On September 2, Mike Gillis announced that starting goaltender Roberto Luongo had signed a new 12-year, $64 million contract with the team. With Luongo being 30 years old at the time of the extension, the contract effectively ensured that Luongo would be with the Canucks for the remainder of his career. The contract included a modified no-trade clause (NTC): in the fifth year of its term, Luongo would be able to request a trade, and in the seventh year of its term, the Canucks would obtain the right to trade Luongo without his consent.
On September 24, 2009, Mike Gillis signed head coach Alain Vigneault to a new three-year contract. The extension will keep Vigneault behind the bench through the 2012–13 season. Vigneault joined the club in the 2006–07 season and led the Canucks to their two Northwest Division titles in the previous three seasons.

### Regular season

The 2010 Winter Olympics took place in Vancouver—the first Winter Olympics in an NHL market since the NHL began to allow its players to compete in Olympic competition. As a result, the Canucks undertook the longest road trip in NHL history, with 14 games over six weeks, from January 27 to March 13, 2010, to allow General Motors Place to be used for ice hockey during the games. GM Place was renamed "Canada Hockey Place" during the games, as the International Olympic Committee doesn't allow corporate sponsorship for venues. The Canucks' former arena, Pacific Coliseum, was also a venue during the games, hosting figure skating and short track speed skating.
On March 19, 2010, forward Ryan Kesler signed a new six-year contract worth $30 million.
On the NHL trade deadline day, March 3, the Canucks acquired defenceman Andrew Alberts from the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for a third-round pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft.
On March 17, 2010, the Canucks signed their first-round draft pick from the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, Jordan Schroeder. The deal was a standard entry-level contract for three years. The contract was for the entry-level maximum of US$900,000 per season along with a $270,000 signing bonus. However, because the contract was signed after the NHL trade deadline, Schroeder was ineligible to play for the Canucks for the remainder of the season. As a result, Schroeder signed an amateur tryout contract with the Canucks' American Hockey League affiliate, the Manitoba Moose.
The Canucks clinched a playoff berth for the second consecutive year with a shootout victory over the Anaheim Ducks on April 2. The Canucks also managed to clinch a second consecutive Northwest Division title when they defeated the Minnesota Wild in overtime on April 4. The win secured the Canucks a top three seed in the 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs and home ice advantage in the first round.
On April 18, 2010, the Canucks signed their 2009 third-round draft pick, Kevin Connauton. The terms of the deal were not disclosed. However, like Schroeder, Connauton was ineligible to play for the Canucks as his contract was signed after the NHL trade deadline.
The Canucks finished the regular season third overall in the Western Conference. They were the second highest scoring team, with 268 goals for, averaging 3.27 goals per game.

### Playoffs

The Canucks entered the 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs as the third seed in the Western Conference. This was the first time the Canucks made the playoffs in consecutive seasons since the 2004–05 NHL lockout. In the first round, the Canucks defeated the Los Angeles Kings in six games. The Canucks lost the following round, the Conference Semi-finals, to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks.

## Schedule and results
### Pre-season

    1.^ Game played in Terrace, British Columbia as part of Kraft Hockeyville promotion

### Regular season

2009–10 game log :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Overtime/shootout loss (1 point) :

### Playoffs

2010 Stanley Cup playoffs :

## Standings
### Divisional standings

Northwest Division :
| | | GP | W | L | OTL | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | y – Vancouver Canucks | 82 | 49 | 28 | 5 | 272 | 222 | 103 |
| 2 | Colorado Avalanche | 82 | 43 | 30 | 9 | 244 | 233 | 95 |
| 3 | Calgary Flames | 82 | 40 | 32 | 10 | 204 | 210 | 90 |
| 4 | Minnesota Wild | 82 | 38 | 36 | 8 | 219 | 246 | 84 |
| 5 | Edmonton Oilers | 82 | 27 | 47 | 8 | 214 | 284 | 62 |

### Conference standings

Western Conference :
| R | | GP | W | L | OTL | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | z – San Jose Sharks | 82 | 51 | 20 | 11 | 264 | 215 | 113 |
| 2 | y – Chicago Blackhawks | 82 | 52 | 22 | 8 | 271 | 209 | 112 |
| 3 | y – Vancouver Canucks | 82 | 49 | 28 | 5 | 272 | 222 | 103 |
| 4 | Phoenix Coyotes | 82 | 50 | 25 | 7 | 225 | 202 | 107 |
| 5 | Detroit Red Wings | 82 | 44 | 24 | 14 | 229 | 216 | 102 |
| 6 | Los Angeles Kings | 82 | 46 | 27 | 9 | 241 | 219 | 101 |
| 7 | Nashville Predators | 82 | 47 | 29 | 6 | 225 | 225 | 100 |
| 8 | Colorado Avalanche | 82 | 43 | 30 | 9 | 244 | 233 | 95 |
| 8.5 |||||||||
| 9 | St. Louis Blues | 82 | 40 | 32 | 10 | 225 | 223 | 90 |
| 10 | Calgary Flames | 82 | 40 | 32 | 10 | 204 | 210 | 90 |
| 11 | Anaheim Ducks | 82 | 39 | 32 | 11 | 238 | 251 | 89 |
| 12 | Dallas Stars | 82 | 37 | 31 | 14 | 237 | 254 | 88 |
| 13 | Minnesota Wild | 82 | 38 | 36 | 8 | 219 | 246 | 84 |
| 14 | Columbus Blue Jackets | 82 | 32 | 35 | 15 | 216 | 259 | 79 |
| 15 | Edmonton Oilers | 82 | 27 | 47 | 8 | 214 | 284 | 62 |
bold – Qualified for playoffs; y – Won division; z – Won conference (and division)

## Player statistics
### Skaters

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = Plus/minus; PIM = Penalty minutes
Regular season :
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM |
| Henrik Sedin | 82 | 29 | 83 | 112 | +35 | 48 |
| Daniel Sedin | 63 | 29 | 56 | 85 | +36 | 28 |
| Ryan Kesler | 82 | 25 | 50 | 75 | +1 | 104 |
| Alex Burrows | 82 | 35 | 32 | 67 | +34 | 121 |
| Mikael Samuelsson | 74 | 30 | 23 | 53 | +10 | 64 |
| Mason Raymond | 82 | 25 | 28 | 53 | 0 | 48 |
| Christian Ehrhoff | 80 | 14 | 30 | 44 | +36 | 42 |
| Alexander Edler | 76 | 5 | 37 | 42 | 0 | 40 |
| Sami Salo | 68 | 9 | 19 | 28 | +14 | 18 |
| Kyle Wellwood | 75 | 14 | 11 | 25 | +6 | 12 |
| Steve Bernier | 59 | 11 | 11 | 22 | 0 | 21 |
| Kevin Bieksa | 55 | 3 | 19 | 22 | −5 | 85 |
| Pavol Demitra | 28 | 3 | 13 | 16 | +3 | 0 |
| Jannik Hansen | 47 | 9 | 6 | 15 | −5 | 18 |
| Willie Mitchell | 48 | 4 | 8 | 12 | +13 | 48 |
| Michael Grabner | 20 | 5 | 6 | 11 | +2 | 8 |
| Tanner Glass | 67 | 4 | 7 | 11 | +5 | 115 |
| Rick Rypien | 69 | 4 | 4 | 8 | −3 | 126 |
| Shane O'Brien | 65 | 2 | 6 | 8 | +15 | 79 |
| Ryan Johnson | 58 | 1 | 4 | 5 | −4 | 12 |
| Mathieu Schneider$^‡$ | 17 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 12 |
| Aaron Rome | 49 | 0 | 4 | 4 | −2 | 24 |
| Matt Pettinger | 9 | 1 | 2 | 3 | +3 | 6 |
| Brad Lukowich | 13 | 1 | 1 | 2 | +5 | 4 |
| Nolan Baumgartner | 12 | 1 | 1 | 2 | +7 | 2 |
| Darcy Hordichuk | 56 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −7 | 142 |
| Andrew Alberts$^†$ | 14 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 13 |
| Alexandre Bolduc | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −3 | 13 |
| Guillaume Desbiens | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Mario Bliznak | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 0 |
| Sergei Shirokov | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −4 | 2 |
| Evan Oberg | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Playoffs :
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM |
| Mikael Samuelsson | 12 | 8 | 7 | 15 | +7 | 16 |
| Daniel Sedin | 12 | 5 | 9 | 14 | +4 | 12 |
| Henrik Sedin | 12 | 3 | 11 | 14 | +3 | 6 |
| Ryan Kesler | 12 | 1 | 9 | 10 | +3 | 4 |
| Kevin Bieksa | 12 | 3 | 5 | 8 | +2 | 14 |
| Christian Ehrhoff | 12 | 3 | 4 | 7 | −1 | 8 |
| Kyle Wellwood | 12 | 2 | 5 | 7 | −1 | 0 |
| Pavol Demitra | 11 | 2 | 4 | 6 | +2 | 4 |
| Sami Salo | 12 | 1 | 5 | 6 | +2 | 2 |
| Alex Burrows | 12 | 3 | 3 | 6 | +4 | 22 |
| Alexander Edler | 12 | 2 | 4 | 6 | +9 | 10 |
| Steve Bernier | 12 | 4 | 1 | 5 | −1 | 0 |
| Mason Raymond | 12 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 6 |
| Shane O'Brien | 12 | 1 | 2 | 3 | +3 | 25 |
| Jannik Hansen | 12 | 1 | 2 | 3 | +1 | 4 |
| Andrew Alberts | 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 | +1 | 27 |
| Rick Rypien | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | +1 | 7 |
| Michael Grabner | 9 | 1 | 0 | 1 | +2 | 0 |
| Nolan Baumgartner | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ryan Johnson | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 2 |
| Matt Pettinger | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Aaron Rome | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tanner Glass | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

### Goaltenders

Note: GP = Games played; TOI = Time on ice (minutes); W = Wins; L = Losses; OT = Overtime losses; GA = Goals against; GAA= Goals against average; SA= Shots against; SV= Saves; Sv% = Save percentage; SO= Shutouts
Regular season :
| Player | GP | Min | W | L | OT | GA | GAA | SA | SV | Sv% | SO |
| Roberto Luongo | 68 | 3,899 | 40 | 22 | 4 | 167 | 2.57 | 1915 | 1748 | .913 | 4 |
| Andrew Raycroft | 21 | 967 | 9 | 5 | 1 | 39 | 2.42 | 438 | 399 | .911 | 1 |
| Cory Schneider | 2 | 79 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 3.80 | 59 | 54 | .915 | 0 |
Playoffs :
| Player | GP | Min | W | L | GA | GAA | SA | SV | Sv% | SO |
| Roberto Luongo | 12 | 707 | 6 | 6 | 38 | 3.22 | 362 | 324 | .895 | 0 |
| Andrew Raycroft | 1 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2.40 | 7 | 6 | .857 | 0 |
$^†$Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Canucks. Stats reflect time with Canucks only. $^‡$Traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with Canucks only.

## Awards and records
### Records

Regular season :
| Player | Record | Reached |
| Roberto Luongo | Franchise shutouts leader, 21 | October 25, 2009 |
| Henrik Sedin | Franchise assists leader, 416 | March 14, 2010 |
| Henrik Sedin | Single season assists record, 83 | March 27, 2010 |
| Vancouver Canucks | Single season franchise home wins, 28 | March 30, 2010 |
| Henrik Sedin | Single season points record, 112 | April 10, 2010 |

### Milestones

Regular season :
| Player | Milestone | Reached |
| Sergei Shirokov | 1st game | October 1, 2009 |
| Guillaume Desbiens | 1st game | October 11, 2009 |
| Michael Grabner | 1st game 1st assist 1st point | October 16, 2009 |
| Michael Grabner | 1st goal | October 21, 2009 |
| Mario Bliznak | 1st game | October 30, 2009 |
| Henrik Sedin | 1st career hat trick | November 14, 2009 |
| Daniel Sedin | 3rd career hat trick | December 10, 2009 |
| Mason Raymond | 1st career hat trick | December 27, 2009 |
| Alex Burrows | 2nd career hat trick | January 5, 2010 |
| Alex Burrows | 3rd career hat trick | January 7, 2010 |
| Steve Bernier | 300th career game | January 7, 2010 |
| Kyle Wellwood | 300th career game | January 7, 2010 |
| Evan Oberg | 1st game | January 9, 2010 |
| Henrik Sedin | 700th career game | January 30, 2010 |
| Christian Ehrhoff | 400th career game | February 11, 2010 |
| Andrew Raycroft | 100th career win | February 12, 2010 |
| Mikael Samuelsson | 1st career hat trick | March 9, 2010 |
| Daniel Sedin | 200th career goal | March 23, 2010 |
| Daniel Sedin | 700th career game | April 1, 2010 |
| Michael Grabner | 1st career hat trick | April 2, 2010 |
| Daniel Sedin | 4th career hat trick | April 10, 2010 |

### Awards

Regular season :
| Player | Award | Awarded |
| Henrik Sedin | NHL Third Star of the Week | October 12, 2009 |
| Daniel Sedin | NHL Second Star of the Week | December 14, 2009 |
| Roberto Luongo | NHL Third Star of the Week | December 28, 2009 |
| Henrik Sedin | NHL First Star of the Month | December 2009 |
| Alex Burrows | NHL First Star of the Week | January 11, 2010 |
| Henrik Sedin | NHL Second Star of the Month | January 2010 |
| Mikael Samuelsson | NHL First Star of the Week | March 15, 2010 |
| Henrik Sedin | NHL Third Star of the Month | March 2010 |
| Christian Ehrhoff | Babe Pratt Trophy winner | April 10, 2010 |
| Henrik Sedin | Cyclone Taylor Trophy winner | April 10, 2010 |
| Henrik Sedin | Cyrus H. McLean Trophy winner | April 10, 2010 |
| Mason Raymond | Fred J. Hume Award winner | April 10, 2010 |
| Henrik Sedin | Molson Cup winner | April 10, 2010 |
| Alex Burrows | Most Exciting Player Award winner | April 10, 2010 |
| Henrik Sedin | Art Ross Trophy winner | April 11, 2010 |
| Henrik Sedin | Hart Trophy winner | June 23, 2010 |

## Transactions
### Trades

| June 27, 2009 | To Vancouver Canucks7th-round pick (187th overall) in 2009 | To Phoenix CoyotesShaun Heshka |
| August 28, 2009 | To Vancouver CanucksChristian Ehrhoff Brad Lukowich | To San Jose SharksDaniel Rahimi Patrick White |
| March 3, 2010 | To Vancouver CanucksYan Stastny | To St. Louis BluesPierre-Cedric Labrie |
| March 3, 2010 | To Vancouver CanucksSean Zimmerman Conditional 6th-round pick in 2010 | To Phoenix CoyotesMathieu Schneider |
| March 3, 2010 | To Vancouver CanucksAndrew Alberts | To Carolina Hurricanes3rd-round pick in 2010 |
* ↑ Condition satisfied.

### Free agents acquired

| Player | Former team | Contract terms |
| Aaron Rome | Columbus Blue Jackets | 1 year, $550,000 |
| Lawrence Nycholat | Colorado Avalanche | 1 year, $500,000 |
| Mikael Samuelsson | Detroit Red Wings | 3 years, $7.5 million |
| Tanner Glass | Florida Panthers | 1 year, $500,000 |
| Andrew Raycroft | Colorado Avalanche | 1 year, $500,000 |
| Michael Funk | Buffalo Sabres | 1 year |
| Mathieu Schneider | Montreal Canadiens | 1 year, $1.55 million |
| Matt Pettinger | Tampa Bay Lightning | 1 year, $500,000 |

### Free agents lost

| Player | New team | Contract terms |
| Mattias Ohlund | Tampa Bay Lightning | 7 years, $26.25 million |
| Jason LaBarbera | Phoenix Coyotes | 2 years, $2 million |
| Jason Krog | Atlanta Thrashers | 2 years, $1.1 million |
| Jason Jaffray | Calgary Flames | 2 years, $1 million |
| Mark Cullen | Chicago Blackhawks | 1 year |
| Zack Fitzgerald | Carolina Hurricanes | 1 year |
| Ossi Vaananen | Dinamo Minsk (KHL) | |
| Rob Davison | New Jersey Devils | |
| Taylor Pyatt | Phoenix Coyotes | 1 year |

## Draft picks

Vancouver's picks at the 2009 NHL Entry Draft in Montreal, Quebec.
| Round | # | Player | Nationality | College/junior/club team (League) |
| 1 | 22 | Jordan Schroeder (C) | United States | University of Minnesota (WCHA) |
| 2 | 53 | Anton Rodin (RW) | Sweden | Brynas IF Jr. (J20 SuperElit) |
| 3 | 83 | Kevin Connauton (D) | Canada | Western Michigan University (CCHA) |
| 4 | 113 | Jeremy Price (D) | Canada | Nepean Raiders (CJHL) |
| 5 | 143 | Peter Andersson (D) | Sweden | Frolunda HC Jr. (J20 SuperElit) |
| 6 | 173 | Joe Cannata (G) | United States | Merrimack College (Hockey East) |
| 7 | 187 | Steven Anthony (LW) | Canada | Saint John Sea Dogs (QMJHL) |
^1 This draft pick originally belonged to the Phoenix Coyotes. It was acquired from Phoenix in exchange for Shaun Heshka.

## Farm teams

* The Manitoba Moose will remain the Canucks' American Hockey League affiliate for the 2009–10 season.
* The Victoria Salmon Kings will remain the Canucks' ECHL affiliate for the 2009–10 season.