Canucks Rewind: The Brendan Morrison trade, and his time in Vancouver

Morrison would go on to have three more consistently-productive seasons with the Canucks, where he registered 60, 56 and 51 points respectively. He was a top-five scorer each year and recorded his most important goal as a Canuck during the 2004 playoffs, potting the triple-overtime winner to force game seven against Miikka Kiprusoff and the Calgary Flames in the opening round.

Unfortunately, like many players, Morrison was bitten by the injury bug during the 2007-08 season.

He underwent wrist surgery in December, which put an end to his ironman streak of 542 games. He was able to return to the lineup in February but played for just under a month before tearing his ACL in March. He only suited up for 39 games total that year, the last of his contract with the club, recording just nine goals and 16 assists.

Morrison would go on to play five more seasons in the NHL, bouncing between the Anaheim Ducks, Dallas Stars, Washington Capitals, Calgary Flames and Chicago Blackhawks. He was still able to put up decent numbers as a middle-six forward for those clubs, but it was evident that his best days were well behind him.

Morrison never played an NHL game after the 2011-12 season, unofficially announcing his retirement. He finished his career with 601 points in 934 games played.

During his time with the Canucks, Morrison was one of the most reliable forwards with the franchise. He was known for his effective 200-foot game and was consistently deployed in important even strength, powerplay and penalty kill situations. Arguably the most well-rounded player on the roster during his time in Vancouver, Morrison also established himself as one of the better point-producing centres in the league.

Most importantly, Morrison played an integral role in reshaping the team’s identity for much of the 2000’s decade, helping them climb their way to the top of the Northwest Division.

Even though their regular season accolades never translated into the postseason, his contributions, as well as the help from Naslund and co., raised the franchise’s expectations to new heights that are still upheld by players, coaches and fans to this day.

Even though he never focused much on statistics, Morrison still holds a top-10 spot in a few Canucks records, including game-winning goals, shorthanded goals, overtime goals and consecutive games played.

He was a leader both on and off the ice, and will undoubtedly go down in history as one of the city’s favourite local-grown products. Thanks for the memories, B-Mo!