The Vancouver Canucks have never won the Stanley Cup. Along with their expansion sibling Buffalo Sabres, they cannot get over the hump despite their diehard fan base. They have had their share of great chances and phenomenal players like Henrik Sedin, Daniel Sedin, and Roberto Luongo. The Canucks top 10 list is a very stout group.
Greatest Canucks player of all time: Henrik Sedin
The number one spot is a toss-up between the Sedin twins. Henrik gets the nod atop the Canucks top 10 list. He leads the franchise in games played, assists, and points. He was also the long-time captain of the team and ranks second in playoff points in Canucks history.
His number 33 is retired by the franchise and he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2022. He won one Hart Trophy for Most Valuable Player and was a two-time postseason All-Star. He won the Art Ross Trophy for most points in 2009-2010, when he put up 112 points and a ridiculous 83 assists.
#2: Daniel Sedin
Henrik's twin brother, Daniel, was drafted one pick ahead of his brother in the 1999 NHL Draft. The Canucks made a deal with the Thrashers to get both brothers and retained both of them for their entire careers. Daniel tops the franchise's goals list with 393 and ranks second behind his brother in games played, goals, and points.
His number 22 is also retired by the Canucks and he joined his brother in the 2022 Hockey Hall of Fame class. He followed his brother's Art Ross season with one of his own in 2010-11 with a 104-point season. He also made two postseason All-Star teams.
#3: Trevor Linden
Before the Sedins, Trevor Linden was the face of the Canucks. Known as “Captain Canuck”, he spent 16 seasons in Vancouver across two stints. He is one of three players in franchise history with 1000 games played and one of four with 700 points. Linden then spent four seasons in the front office as the President of Hockey Operations.
He never won a major award and is not in the Hall of Fame but does have his number 16 retired by Vancouver. For a team that struggled to find an identity in the early years of its existence, Linden provided a consistent face of the franchise in the 1990s.
#4: Markus Naslund
Markus Naslund was brought to Vancouver from the Penguins in 1995 to get over the hump after the 1994 Stanley Cup Final loss. While he did not provide that, he did put together one of the great careers in franchise history. He ranks second in goals and third in points in franchise history and scored 13 goals in 45 playoff games.
Naslund was a three-time All-Star in Vancouver and won the Lester Pearson Award for Most Outstanding Player, as voted on by the players in 2003. His number 19 is retired by the Canucks.
#5: Pavel Bure
One of the most electrifying players in NHL history clocks in at number five. Pavel Bure only spent seven seasons with the Canucks but put up the only two 60-goal seasons in franchise history during that period. He was a key contributor to the 1994 conference title, scoring 16 goals in 24 games.
Bure is a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame and has his number 10 retired by the Canucks. If he stayed with the Canucks for his entire career, he would have a shot at number one on this list. He has more goals in his career than any player has scored for the Canucks with 437.
#6: Stan Smyl
Another career Canuck comes in at number six with winger Stan Smyl. He ranks in the top five in games played, goals, assists, and points in franchise history. Smy did not get a ton of playoff opportunities but was key on the first team to make the Cup Final in Canucks history. He scored 17 points in 16 games in 1982 before they lost to the New York Islanders.
Smyl never won a major award and is not in the Hall of Fame. His number 12 was the first jersey retired by the franchise. He was the longtime Captain and retired as the franchise leader in all major categories.
#7: Roberto Luongo
The first goalie on the list, Roberto Luongo put together a tremendous career in the 2000s and 2010s. Most of those great years were spent in Vancouver, where he led the team to their third and most recent Cup Final before losing to the Bruins. He also backstopped Team Canada to a gold medal in the 2010 Olympics.
Luongo was named an All-Star once in Vancouver and won the Jennings Trophy one time as well. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2022. When he was traded back to the Panthers in 2014, the Canucks acquired then-prospect Jacob Markstrom. He ended up playing 229 games for the Canucks before leaving in free agency.
#8: Thomas Gradin
In just 8 seasons, forward Thomas Gradin made a tremendous impact on the Canucks. He ranks in the top ten of goals, assists, and points in franchise history despite only playing 613 games. Gradin was another important piece of the 1982 Cup Final team, leading the team in the regular season with 37 goals, 49 assists, and 86 points. He followed that up with 19 points in 17 playoff games.
He is largely forgotten in Canucks franchise history because of his short career. Gradin never won a major award, is not in the Hall of Fame, and does not have his number retired. He had just as much of an impact on that first Cup Final run as Smyl did and should be remembered as such.
#9: Kirk McLean
The second goalie on the list is Kirk McLean. He started a franchise-record 516 games but is behind Luongo in wins. He was the goalie for the 1994 Cup Final appearance, winning all 15 games while posting a .928 save percentage and a 2.29 goals-against average in the playoffs.
McLean was a postseason All-Star once when he led the league with 38 wins in 1991-92. He finished second in the Vezina Trophy voting that year and third in 1988-89. He is not a member of the Hall of Fame and does not have his number retired.
#10: Alex Edler
The only defenseman and the fourth Swedish player on the list, Edler manned the blue line for the Sedin-era Canucks. He is one of four players in Canucks history to play 900 career games and averaged over 22 minutes per night in his time with Vancouver. Defense was always a struggle for the Canucks to figure out in that era and Edler was the mainstay throughout it all.
He was never an All-Star and never won a major award, but his impact on the modern Canucks is undeniable. One day, Quinn Hughes will pass Edler as the franchise's greatest defenseman but for now, Edler holds the spot.
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