2009 – 10 Vancouver Canucks season The 2009 – 10 Vancouver Canucks season is the 39th season the Vancouver Canucks franchise has played in the National Hockey League ( NHL ) . Season events . Off - season . NHL 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 for Jason LaBarbera . The Canucks acquired a sixth round draft pick from the Phoenix Coyotes in return for Shaun Heshka . Free agency . On 1 July , the Vancouver re - signed Daniel and Henrik Sedin to matching 5 - year contracts worth $ 31 million each . The contracts will pay each Sedin $ 6 . 1 million per season . Mikael Samuelsson was signed as an unrestricted free agent on 3 July 2009 . His contract wass for three years and worth $ 2 . 5 million per season . However , the team lost free agent Mattias Ohlund , who signed with the Tampa Bay Lightning . Ohlund spent the first eleven seasons of his NHL career with the Canucks . He was offered , and signed , a seven year contract with the Lightning worth $ 26 . 25 million , an offer which the Canucks could not match . On 17 August 2009 , the Canucks signed prospect Sergei Shirokov to a 2 - year contract worth $ 1 . 75 million . Shirokov was drafted in the sixth round of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft . Trades . On 28 August 2009 , Mike Gillis traded prospects , centre Patrick White and defenceman Daniel Rahimi to the San Jose Sharks for defencemen Christian Ehrhoff and Brad Lukowich . Pre - season . As part of the Kraft Hockeyville promotion , the Canucks played the New York Islanders in Terrace , British Columbia for their first pre - season game . The Canucks won by a score of 2 – 1 . On 2 September , General Manager Mike Gillis announced that he had re - signed starting goaltender Roberto Luongo to a 12 - year contract extension worth $ 64 million . With Luongo being 30 years old at the time of the extension , the contract effectively ensured Luongo would be with the Canucks for the rest of his career . The deal featured a no trade clause ( NTC ) . The NTC had two additional clauses , however : in the fifth season , Luongo will be able to request a trade , and in the seventh season , the Canucks have the option to trade Luongo without needing Luongo to waive his NTC . On 24 September 2009 , Mike Gillis signed head coach Alain Vigneault to a three year contract extension . The extension will keep Vigneault behind the bench through the 2012 – 13 . Alain 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 sponorship for venues . The Canucks ' former arena , Pacific Coliseum , was also a venue during the games , hosting figure skating and short track speed skating . Forward Ryan Kesler was signed to a 6 - year contract extension on March 19 , 2010 . The new contract was 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 an 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 Semifinals , to the Chicago Blackhawks . Player stats . Skaters . " Note : GP = Games played ; G = Goals ; A = Assists ; Pts = Points ; + / - = Plus / Minus ; PIM = Penalty Minutes " 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 " 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 . Transactions . Trades . < br clear = " all " > Draft picks . Vancouver ' s picks at the 2009 NHL Entry Draft in Montreal , Quebec . Final roster .