The Canuck Way
Fansided

Vancouver Canucks: 5 greatest head coaches in franchise history

By Alex Hoegler

VANCOUVER, CANADA - MARCH 2: (EDITORIAL USE ONLY) Pat Quinn the Coach of the 1993/94 Vancouver Canucks Team holds a press conference with members of that team at the 2014 Tim Hortons NHL Heritage Classic between the Vancouver Canucks and Ottawa Senators at BC Place on March 2, 2014 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. (Photo by Graig Abel/NHLI via Getty Images)
VANCOUVER, CANADA - MARCH 2: (EDITORIAL USE ONLY) Pat Quinn the Coach of the 1993/94 Vancouver Canucks Team holds a press conference with members of that team at the 2014 Tim Hortons NHL Heritage Classic between the Vancouver Canucks and Ottawa Senators at BC Place on March 2, 2014 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. (Photo by Graig Abel/NHLI via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
4 of 5
Next

2. Marc Crawford

Just two years after guiding the Colorado Avalanche to a Stanley Cup championship, Marc Crawford announced his resignation in 1998. He became head coach of the Canucks during the 1998-99 season, replacing the fired Mike Keenan.

This was a huge win for a Canucks team that struggled mightily in 1996-97 (77 points), and 1997-98 (64 points). Crawford was tasked with steering the ship on a rebuilding team that consisted of future stars in Todd Bertuzzi, Markus Naslund, Daniel and Henrik Sedin.

The Canucks went 8-23-6 under Crawford in 1998-99, but the front office and ownership wisely stayed patient. The club improved to 30-29-15-8 the following season, finishing with 81 points. Things would finally take off for the better during the 2000-01 season.

Vancouver would capture the final playoff spot in the Western Conference over the next two years,. They were eliminated by the Avalanche and Detroit Red Wings during the opening round of the 2001 and 2002 postseason, respectively.

Related Story. The best defencemen in Vancouver Canucks history. light

But the Canucks finally broke through under Crawford in 2002-03, finishing with 104 points. Naslund (48 goals, 104 points) and Bertuzzi (46 goals, 97 points) led an offensive machine that scored the second-most goals that season (264).

Vancouver took down the St. Louis Blues in the opening round of the playoffs, but they blew a 3-1 series lead to the Minnesota Wild in the second round and lost a heartbreaker in Game 7. The following year, Vancouver finished with 101 points to capture the Pacific Division — their first division title since 1992-93. They would fall to the Calgary Flames in overtime of Game 7 during the opening round, however.

In 2005-06, Vancouver finished with 92 points and narrowly missed out on the postseason. The team fired Crawford after seven seasons.

But his legacy in Vancouver is a special one nonetheless, with four playoff berths, 246 wins (the most in franchise history at the time) and a .554 winning percentage. Only one Canucks coach has topped those numbers.

Next. Number 1. dark

Home/All Time Lists