Canucks: Who would be on their All-Canadian starting lineup?
The Vancouver Canucks have had several strong teams over the years. When compiling a starting lineup of all Canadians, who would make the final cut?
While we consistently celebrate the foreign talents of the Sedins and Pavel Bure among others, it can be easy to forget some of the great Canadian talents that have graced NHL ice also played for the Vancouver Canucks.
As both the team and league have evolved, more international talent has been injected, so much so that the 2017 season was the last that the league was majority Canadian. It made me think, who would be on the Canucks All-Time Canadian team?
For this exercise, I have selected six players who fit into a line that would work on the ice; meaning that there is no way of picking three centres, rather the lineup needs a centre, a pair of wingers, defencemen and a goaltender. Let’s begin.
Goaltender: Roberto Luongo
Roberto Luongo is by far the best Canadian goaltender the Canucks have ever seen. Although he reached his breaking point in some of the biggest games in franchise history, what he did outside of those is worthy of being the best of All-Time.
He is the franchise leader in wins and was a part of the team that is the most successful in Vancouver’s history. The 2010-11 Canucks were a dominant team, backstopped by a dominant goaltender — who happened to be Canadian — therefore making this list.
Blueliners
Right Defenceman: Doug Lidster
A seventh-round pick making the All-Time Canadian Canucks? You betcha. Doug Lidster likely would not find success in today’s hustle and bustle NHL, but what he achieved with the Canucks during the late ’80s and early ’90s is something that cannot be forgotten.
He was named the Canucks top defencemen four times through his west coast tenure and is fifth on the All-Time points list for a defenceman. Although his name may not ring a bell for many young fans, his inclusion as the top Canadian defender is a well-earned accolade from his time in Vancouver.
Left Defenceman: Ed Jovanovski
Vancouver has had some excellent left-handed defenders, but few have been Canadian. Mattias Ohlund? Nope. How about Jyrki Lumme? Try again. That’s how we end up with Ed Jovanovski, or as fans like to call him “Jovocop.”
Amusing it is that this team has a seventh-round pick alongside a first overall, but the world can be trivial like that. Jovanovski was known as a puck-moving defenceman, but a very physical one at that. There was grit, there was a fight, and there were points, those are the qualities that adorned Jovocop to fans, and also what earned himself a spot on this team.
Forwards
Right-Winger: Todd Bertuzzi
There isn’t a Canadian right-winger that deserves to go ahead of Bertuzzi. Although his time in Vancouver is often overshadowed by the Steve Moore Incident, he was one of the best forwards ever to grace Vancouver ice. He had everything you want in a player — toughness, speed, scoring, it was all there.
From 2001-2003 the man epitomized what it meant to be a power forward, as he scored over a point per game for a Vancouver team that never really had a hope of going very far. He may not have been a figure through Vancouver’s three Stanley Cup appearances, but a player like him may have just been able to push the Canucks over the hump if he had been.
Centreman: Trevor Linden
Please, I would love to hear who else you would suggest. Trevor Linden was a pivotal part of the 1994 Stanley Cup run, but his contributions are far-reaching. He eased into captaincy alongside the aforementioned Lidster as well as Pat Quinn, before being named the youngest captain in the team’s history. Aside from leadership, the four 70-plus point seasons and playing until he physically couldn’t are reasons that only elevate his earning of this spot.
Left-Winger: Alexandre Burrows
This a lot was the hardest to decide out of all. I could have just as easily slotted Geoff Courtnall, he of 246 Canucks points, but in the end, I’ve gone with recent Ring of Honour inductee, Alexandre Burrows. While he may be remembered for his time with the Sedin twins, his “exorcism” goal against the Chicago Blackhawks came without either. Over his 12 seasons in blue and green, Burrows scored countless memorable goals, became the perfect fit for the Sedin twins and morphed into one of the perpetual fan favourites. While it’s his 384 points and never-say-die attitude which earned him the spot on the All-Canadian roster, his demeanor and personality certainly did not take away from his application.
Canucks: TSN's All-Time roster. dark. Next
And just like that, we have the Canucks All-Canadian starting lineup. Stay tuned for The Canuck Way version of the Canucks All-Time roster.