As we continue lore week at the NHL division at Fansided, let us dive into how the Vancouver Canucks came to be. When did they join the league, why the nickname "Canucks", and where did the name come from?
Becoming the Vancover Canucks
While the current iteration of the Canucks was formed in 1970 through the NHL's second expansion, the previous version of the Canucks was formed decades before. Back in 1945, minor league hockey returned to Vancouver after the Millionaires became the Maroons in 1922-23, eventually disbanding.
The 1945 version of the Canucks joined the Pacific Coast Hockey League (PCHL) and won the league championship twice between 1945 and 1952. The league would become the Western Hockey League (WHL), where they were the WHL champions four times in 18 seasons. The final two titles came in 1969 and 1970. After their final WHL championship, they joined the National Hockey League.
Before 1970, Vancouver tried multiple times to bring a team there but missed out in 1967 and 1968. The first try came in the first expansion window when the NHL was expanding from six to 12 teams. The city even began building the Pacific Coliseum in anticipation of winning an expansion bid.
Unfortunately, that fell through due to the other Canadian teams not being interested in sharing the television market. The next attempt came in 1968 when Vancouver tried to buy the Oakland Seals, but the league didn't want to see a new team move so quickly after just forming the year prior. That said, the NHL expressed to the ownership group in Vancouver that they would be part of the next wave of expansion.
Then, in May 1970, it came to fruition. Along with the Buffalo Sabres, the city of Vancouver would finally get its own NHL team to call its own. The next question was: what would this new team in British Columbia be named?
The term "Canucks" came from a cartoon that was created in the 1860s to represent Canada, just like how the USA had Uncle Sam. The name was Johnny Canuck, and he was a symbol of the team as a patch worn on certain jerseys throughout the history of the franchise. He was also in comics back in 1941 as a military spy during World War II.
When it comes to the current logo and mascot, "Fin", both being orcas, it is because of the presence of whales off the coast of British Columbia. But when it comes down to it, the nickname "Canucks" is from a cartoon, which was created in the 19th century. Furthermore, it pays homage to the original Canucks who brought hockey back to the area in 1945.
Regarding the current Canucks, they are still striving to win their first Stanley Cup in franchise history. While the history of hockey in Vancouver has seen winners in the PCHL and the WHL, along with a Stanley Cup in 1915, this team wants to add to the lore.
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