Canucks: The best player to wear each jersey number
By Joshua Rey
31. John Garrett, 1983-1985
Before he was the ketchup loving, colour commentator on Sportsnet we know and love today, John Garrett was a goaltender who played the final three years of his career with the Canucks. He was named to the 1983 All Star Game and was named MVP but a re-vote was held and the MVP was given to Wayne Gretzky. He also had wore a super cool mask.
32. Murray Craven, 1993-94
He was only with the Canucks for two seasons, including the 1993-94 team that reached the Stanley Cup Final. In the regular season, he scored 15 goals and 55 points. He chipped in with four goals and 13 points during the postseason, too.
33. Henrik Sedin, 2000-2018
Arguably the greatest Canuck ever, Henrik Sedin is the franchise leader in both points and assists. He is also the only Canucks to win the Hart Trophy, the first to win the Art Ross and he was the first Canuck to reach 1,000 points.
34. Jason Strudwick, 1998-2002
Jason Strudwick was a defenceman who played five seasons with the Canucks and had four goals and 19 assists to go along with 367 penalty minutes
35.Richard Brodeur, 1981-1988
“King Richard” Brodeur led the Canucks to the 1982 Stanley Cup Final, capturing the imagination of fans. He is third all time in wins with 126.
36.Jannik Hansen, 2007-2017
In my opinion, Jannik Hansen is one of the most underrated Canucks ever. He was a solid bottom six winger that provided a good two-way game with speed and energy.
“The Honey Badger.” was on the 2010-11 team that went all the way to the Stanley Cup Final.
37.Rick Rypien, 2005-2011
Rick Rypien was known for being throwing the body around and getting into scraps. Though he was only 5-foot-11 and 190 pounds, he was one of the toughest fighters the Canucks ever had.
Unfortunately, he couldn’t beat his battle with depression and tragically took his own life in the summer of 2011. As a result, no Canuck has worn 37 since.
I was also tempted to pick Jarko Ruutu.who apparently has super powers because he made Dion Phaneuf fall over in a fight without even throwing a punch.
38. Pavol Demitra, 2008-2010
Though his last season in Vancouver, was plagued by injury, Demitra enjoyed a nice stint in Vancouver. He scored 69 points in 97 games over the course of two seasons. Sadly, Demitra and his KHL team Lokomotiv Yaroslavl were killed in a plane crash on Sept. 7, 2011.
39. Dan Cloutier, 2000-2006
Yes, I know Dan Cloutier is notoriously known for the letting Nick Lidstrom score from centre ice in the 2002 playoffs. I am also aware that he wasn’t very good in the playoffs.
But Cloutier is still the choice for No 39. He had three straight 30-win seasons from 2001-02 to 2003-04, posting solid stats all around. In five seasons with the Canucks, he tallied with a .906 save percentage and 2.42 goals against average. If only he didn’t turn into Neo from The Matrix in the playoffs.
40. Elias Pettersson 2018-Present
He has only played two seasons in the NHL, but Elias Pettersson is looking like the franchise cornerstone, as well as one of the NHL’s elite players. He is only going to get better.