1991 – 92 Vancouver Canucks season The 1991 – 92 Vancouver Canucks season was the Canucks ' 22nd NHL season . In the off - season , the Canucks fourth round draft pick in 1989 was finally validated and the Canucks now officially held the NHL rights to Pavel Bure . There was still a problem , though . His release from the Central Red Army still needed to be negotiated and there was no guarantee that he would play for the Canucks in the upcoming season . Director of Hockey Operations Brian Burke accepted the job as General Manager of the Hartford Whalers and took Milwaukee Admirals Head Coach , Rick Ley to coach his team . George McPhee filled the vacant front - office post and Jack McIlhargey became the new coach on the farm . Ron Wilson became an assistant coach , as did Stan Smyl , who tearfully resigned from active playing . " The Steamer " retired as the team ' s all - time leader in games ( 896 ) , goals ( 262 ) , assists ( 411 ) , and points ( 673 ) . Pat Quinn elected to retain all three titles ( President , General Manger , and Head Coach ) instead of hiring a new coach . Craig Coxe was chosen by the San Jose Sharks in the expansion draft , and Steve Bozek signed with the same club as a free agent . To fill the void , 13 - year veteran and Burnaby - native C Ryan Walter was signed away from Montreal . The team season opened with a home - and - home series against the expansion San Jose Sharks and the Canucks swept . Pavel Bure , staying in California with his father and brother , watched the game at the Cow Palace from the press box . They managed to roll up a 7 – 1 – 1 record , the last being a 3 – 1 victory over the Washington Capitals on October 24 which leap - frogged the Canucks past Washington into first place in the NHL standings . On November 3 , the Canucks paid tribute to their long - time captain and all - time leading scorer turned assistant coach ( Smyl ) with a special pre - game ceremony . He was presented with a Harley Davidson motorcycle , among other gifts , and had his number 12 raised to the rafters at Pacific Coliseum . In the game to follow , Igor Larionov broke out of a long drought by scoring his first three goals of the season in a 7 – 2 rout of Edmonton . The Pavel Bure debacle was being settled during that time and two nights later he made his NHL debut before a packed Coliseum against the Winnipeg Jets . The " Russian Rocket " , as he became known , dazzled the crowd with three spectacular rushes but failed to score in a 3 – 3 tie . Three games later , Bure scored his first two NHL goals in an 8 – 2 romp of the Los Angeles Kings . Playing with Larionov and Greg Adams , Bure completed the " BIG Line " , which became , arguably , the most dangerous offensive unit in Canucks history . Though all of the experts were predicting otherwise , the Canucks remained among the NHL ' s elite throughout the season , hitting a high point with an 11 – 0 shellacking of the Calgary Flames on March 1 . Bure would roll to 34 goals , many of the highlight - reel variety , breaking Ivan Hlinka ' s club rookie record in only 65 games . His 60 points equaled Hlinka ' s total from 1981 – 82 . Trevor Linden ' s 75 points led the team in scoring for the second straight year , Cliff Ronning was second with 71 points and Larionov finished third with 65 . Kirk McLean rebounded to have a terrific season in goal , winning a club - record 38 games and recording a 2 . 74 goals - against average with five shutouts earning him team MVP honors . Gino Odjick broke Dave Williams ' 11 - year old single - season penalty minutes record with 348 and , what ' s more , he did it in only 65 games . Overall , the team racked up club record totals of 42 wins and 96 points and won the Smythe Division by eight points over Los Angeles . The only threat to their division crown was a 10 - day strike in early April that threatened to wipe out the playoffs . Finally , the streak of losing seasons had been halted at 16 years and , for the first time since 1982 , the Canucks would open up a playoff series at home . The Canucks would eventually win the first round against the Winnipeg Jets , in seven games , after trailing the series 3 – 1 . However , the Canucks would not get past the Edmonton Oilers and lost the series in six games . If it was any consolation , the Canucks were pretty successful in post - season hardware . They didn ' t win the Stanley Cup , but Pavel Bure won the Calder Trophy as Rookie of the year , Pat Quinn won the Jack Adams Award as Coach of the Year , and Ryan Walter won the Bud Light NHL Man of the Year for his work in the community . As well , Kirk McLean is runner - up for the Vezina Trophy ( top goaltender ) and is named to the NHL ' s Second All - Star Team . Regular season . Game log . October . Monthly Record : 9 – 3 – 1 ( Home 5 – 1 – 1 ; Road 4 – 2 – 0 ) November . Monthly Record : 7 – 4 – 2 ( Home 6 – 2 – 1 ; Road 1 – 2 – 1 ) December . Monthly Record : 6 – 4 – 3 ( Home 3 – 1 – 2 ; Road 3 – 3 – 1 ) January . Monthly Record : 7 – 3 – 1 ( Home 2 – 2 – 0 ; Road 5 – 1 – 1 ) February . Monthly Record : 5 – 6 – 2 ( Home 3 – 2 – 1 ; Road 2 – 4 – 1 ) March . Monthly Record : 7 – 5 – 2 ( Home 3 – 1 – 1 ; Road 4 – 4 – 1 ) April . Monthly Record : 1 – 1 – 1 ( Home 1 – 0 – 1 ; Road 1 – 0 – 0 ) Playoffs . Smythe Division Semi - finals : vs . ( 4 ) Winnipeg Jets . Vancouver wins series 4 – 3 Smythe Division Final : vs . ( 3 ) Edmonton Oilers . Edmonton wins series 4 – 2 Player stats . Scoring Leaders . " Note : GP = Games played ; G = Goals ; A = Assists ; Pts = Points ; + / - = Plus / Minus ; PIM = Penalty Minutes " Goaltending . " Note : GP = Games Played ; TOI = Time On Ice ( minutes ) ; W = Wins ; L = Losses ; T = Ties ; GA = Goals Against ; SO = Shutouts ; Sv % = Save Percentage ; GAA = Goals Against Average " Playoffs . Scoring Leaders . " Note : GP = Games played ; G = Goals ; A = Assists ; Pts = Points ; + / - = Plus / Minus ; PIM = Penalty Minutes " Goaltending . " Note : GP = Games Played ; TOI = Time On Ice ( minutes ) ; W = Wins ; L = Losses ; GA = Goals Against ; SO = Shutouts ; Sv % = Save Percentage ; GAA = Goals Against Average " Transactions . Trades . Expansion draft . Vancouver ' s losses at the 1991 NHL Dispersal and Expansion Drafts in Buffalo , New York . Draft picks . Vancouver ' s picks at the 1991 NHL Entry Draft in Buffalo , New York . Farm teams . Milwaukee Admirals . Vancouver Canucks IHL affiliate that play in Milwaukee , Wisconsin and their home arena is the Bradley Center . Columbus Chill . Vancouver Canucks ECHL affiliate that play in Columbus , Ohio and their home arena is the Ohio Expo Center Coliseum .