2003–04 Vancouver Canucks season

2003–04 Vancouver Canucks
Northwest Division champions
Division	1st Northwest
Conference	3rd Western
2003–04 record	43–24–10–5
Home record	21–13–7–0
Road record	22–11–3–5
Goals for	235
Goals against	194
Team information
General manager	Brian Burke
Coach	Marc Crawford
Captain	Markus Naslund
Alternate captains	Todd Bertuzzi Ed Jovanovski Trevor Linden Brendan Morrison
Arena	General Motors Place
Average attendance	18,630
Team leaders
Goals	Markus Naslund (35)
Assists	Markus Naslund (49)
Points	Markus Naslund (84)
Penalty minutes	Brad May (137)
Wins	Dan Cloutier (33)
Goals against average	Dan Cloutier

The 2003–04 Vancouver Canucks season was the Canucks' 34th NHL season. It was the first time since the Northwest Division was created that a team other than the Colorado Avalanche won the division title.

Regular season

The Canucks began their season with the top line of Brendan Morrison, Markus Naslund and Todd Bertuzzi. The Sedin twins continued to develop and began seeing some success initially being paired with Jason King. With their initial team chemistry, Jason King plotting 12 goals and being named NHL ROokie of the month in November. The trio briefly formed "The Mattress Line" (Two Twins and a King). The season looked promising with the Canucks being near the top of the standings. When February came along, the Canucks narrowly defeated the Colorado Avalanche 1-0 but it came at a cost with Avalanche Forward Steve Moore hitting Canucks Captain Markus Naslund resulting in Naslund getting a concussion and Moore not penalized. Many Canucks vowed revenge against Moore (notably Brad May). When the two teams met again in Denver on March 3rd (with NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman in attendance), there were no incidents and both teams skated to a 5-5 draw. On March 8th, however, in Vancouver, everything fell apart. The Avalanche jumped out to a 5-0 lead and Brad May cut the deficit to 5-2 while at the same time taunting Avalanche goalie David Aebischer after each goal. Bertuzzi made it his personal mission to go after Steve Moore and after trying (and failing) to incite him, sucker punched him and falling on top of him. Bertuzzi would be suspended the rest of the regular season and playoffs. The Canucks had some difficulty recovering from this incident and managed to win the Northwest Division on the final day of the regular season, their first Division Championship since the 1992-1993 season.

Divisional standings

Northwest Division

No.	CR		GP	W	L	T	OTL	GF	GA	PTS
1	3	Vancouver Canucks	82	43	24	10	5	235	194	101
2	4	Colorado Avalanche	82	40	22	13	7	235	198	100
3	6	Calgary Flames	82	42	30	7	3	200	176	94
4	9	Edmonton Oilers	82	36	29	12	5	221	208	89
5	10	Minnesota Wild	82	30	29	20	3	188	183	83

Note: CR = Conference rank; GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; OTL = Overtime loss; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; Pts = Points
         Bolded teams qualified for the playoffs.

Western Conference

R		Div	GP	W	L	T	OTL	GF	GA	Pts
1	P- Detroit Red Wings	CE	82	48	21	11	2	255	189	109
2	Y- San Jose Sharks	PA	82	43	21	12	6	255	183	104
3	Y- Vancouver Canucks	NW	82	43	24	10	5	235	194	101
4	X- Colorado Avalanche	NW	82	40	22	13	7	236	198	100
5	X- Dallas Stars	PA	82	41	26	13	2	194	175	97
6	X- Calgary Flames	NW	82	42	30	7	3	200	176	94
7	X- St. Louis Blues	CE	82	39	30	11	2	191	198	91
8	X- Nashville Predators	CE	82	38	29	11	4	216	217	91
8.5
9	Edmonton Oilers	NW	82	36	29	12	5	221	208	89
10	Minnesota Wild	NW	82	30	29	20	3	188	183	83
11	Los Angeles Kings	PA	82	28	29	16	9	205	217	81
12	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim	PA	82	29	35	10	8	184	213	76
13	Phoenix Coyotes	PA	82	22	36	18	6	188	245	68
14	Columbus Blue Jackets	CE	82	25	45	8	4	177	238	62
15	Chicago Blackhawks	CE	82	20	43	11	8	188	259	59

Divisions: CE – Central, PA – Pacific, NW – Northwest

P – Clinched Presidents Trophy; Y – Clinched Division; X – Clinched Playoff spot

Conference standings

Western Conference	GP	W	L	T	OTL	GF	GA	Pts
p-Detroit Red Wings	82	48	21	11	2	255	189	109
y-San Jose Sharks	82	43	21	12	6	219	183	104
y-Vancouver Canucks	82	43	24	10	5	235	194	101
x-Colorado Avalanche	82	40	22	13	7	235	198	100
x-Dallas Stars	82	41	26	13	2	194	175	97
x-Calgary Flames	82	42	30	7	3	200	176	94
x-St. Louis Blues	82	39	30	11	2	191	198	91
x-Nashville Predators	82	38	29	11	4	216	217	91
e-Edmonton Oilers	82	36	29	12	5	221	208	89
e-Minnesota Wild	82	30	29	20	3	188	183	83
e-Los Angeles Kings	82	28	29	16	9	205	217	81
e-Mighty Ducks of Anaheim	82	29	35	10	8	184	213	76
e-Phoenix Coyotes	82	22	36	18	6	188	245	68
e-Columbus Blue Jackets	82	25	45	8	4	177	238	62
e-Chicago Blackhawks	82	20	43	11	8	188	259	59

p- Presidents' Trophy winner, x- qualified for playoffs, e- did not qualify for playoffs, y- divisional winner

Schedule and results

No.	R	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
1	W	October 9, 2003	4–1	Calgary Flames (2003–04)	1–0–0–0
2	W	October 11, 2003	3–0	Edmonton Oilers (2003–04)	2–0–0–0
3	L	October 13, 2003	2–3	@ Columbus Blue Jackets (2003–04)	2–1–0–0
4	L	October 16, 2003	2–3	@ Detroit Red Wings (2003–04)	2–2–0–0
5	T	October 18, 2003	2–2 OT	@ Minnesota Wild (2003–04)	2–2–1–0
6	W	October 20, 2003	6–1	Buffalo Sabres (2003–04)	3–2–1–0
7	W	October 22, 2003	3–2	St. Louis Blues (2003–04)	4–2–1–0
8	T	October 26, 2003	3–3 OT	Phoenix Coyotes (2003–04)	4–2–2–0
9	W	October 28, 2003	6–3	Columbus Blue Jackets (2003–04)	5–2–2–0
10	W	October 30, 2003	3–1	@ Los Angeles Kings (2003–04)	6–2–2–0
11	W	October 31, 2003	4–1	@ Phoenix Coyotes (2003–04)	7–2–2–0
12	W	November 3, 2003	5–1	Detroit Red Wings (2003–04)	8–2–2–0
13	W	November 5, 2003	4–3	@ Nashville Predators (2003–04)	9–2–2–0
14	L	November 6, 2003	2–3	@ St. Louis Blues (2003–04)	9–3–2–0
15	W	November 8, 2003	4–3	Minnesota Wild (2003–04)	10–3–2–0
16	L	November 11, 2003	0–1	@ Minnesota Wild (2003–04)	10–4–2–0
17	OTL	November 13, 2003	3–4 OT	@ Philadelphia Flyers (2003–04)	10–4–2–1
18	OTL	November 15, 2003	1–2 OT	@ Boston Bruins (2003–04)	10–4–2–2
19	W	November 18, 2003	5–4 OT	Montreal Canadiens (2003–04)	11–4–2–2
20	W	November 20, 2003	3–2 OT	Chicago Blackhawks (2003–04)	12–4–2–2
21	L	November 22, 2003	3–5	Toronto Maple Leafs (2003–04)	12–5–2–2
22	L	November 24, 2003	1–2	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (2003–04)	12–6–2–2
23	W	November 25, 2003	5–2	@ Montreal Canadiens (2003–04)	13–6–2–2
24	W	November 27, 2003	3–2 OT	@ Ottawa Senators (2003–04)	14–6–2–2
25	T	November 29, 2003	4–4 OT	@ Calgary Flames (2003–04)	14–6–3–2
26	L	December 4, 2003	1–4	Calgary Flames (2003–04)	14–7–3–2
27	T	December 6, 2003	1–1 OT	Minnesota Wild (2003–04)	14–7–4–2
28	W	December 9, 2003	4–3 OT	Pittsburgh Penguins (2003–04)	15–7–4–2
29	T	December 11, 2003	1–1 OT	Colorado Avalanche (2003–04)	15–7–5–2
30	W	December 14, 2003	2–1 OT	Carolina Hurricanes (2003–04)	16–7–5–2
31	W	December 16, 2003	2–1 OT	@ Nashville Predators (2003–04)	17–7–5–2
32	L	December 17, 2003	1–3	@ Dallas Stars (2003–04)	17–8–5–2
33	W	December 20, 2003	3–0	@ Edmonton Oilers (2003–04)	18–8–5–2
34	T	December 22, 2003	4–4 OT	Los Angeles Kings (2003–04)	18–8–6–2
35	W	December 26, 2003	2–0	@ Calgary Flames (2003–04)	19–8–6–2
36	L	December 27, 2003	2–6	Edmonton Oilers (2003–04)	19–9–6–2
37	W	December 29, 2003	3–2	@ Colorado Avalanche (2003–04)	20–9–6–2
38	W	December 31, 2003	4–3 OT	@ Chicago Blackhawks (2003–04)	21–9–6–2
39	L	January 2, 2004	2–4	Colorado Avalanche (2003–04)	21–10–6–2
40	W	January 3, 2004	3–1	@ Calgary Flames (2003–04)	22–10–6–2
41	L	January 5, 2004	1–2	San Jose Sharks (2003–04)	22–11–6–2
42	W	January 8, 2004	3–1	@ Los Angeles Kings (2003–04)	23–11–6–2
43	W	January 9, 2004	5–2	@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (2003–04)	24–11–6–2
44	T	January 11, 2004	2–2 OT	Florida Panthers (2003–04)	24–11–7–2
45	W	January 13, 2004	4–1	@ Phoenix Coyotes (2003–04)	25–11–7–2
46	L	January 15, 2004	1–3	@ San Jose Sharks (2003–04)	25–12–7–2
47	L	January 17, 2004	1–2	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (2003–04)	25–13–7–2
48	L	January 19, 2004	2–3	Dallas Stars (2003–04)	25–14–7–2
49	W	January 21, 2004	5–4 OT	Tampa Bay Lightning (2003–04)	26–14–7–2
50	W	January 25, 2004	4–1	Nashville Predators (2003–04)	27–14–7–2
51	W	January 27, 2004	3–2	Chicago Blackhawks (2003–04)	28–14–7–2
52	W	January 29, 2004	4–2	@ St. Louis Blues (2003–04)	29–14–7–2
53	W	January 31, 2004	6–1	@ Washington Capitals (2003–04)	30–14–7–2
54	L	February 2, 2004	3–4	@ New York Rangers (2003–04)	30–15–7–2
55	OTL	February 3, 2004	4–5 OT	@ New York Islanders (2003–04)	30–15–7–3
56	W	February 5, 2004	4–0	@ New Jersey Devils (2003–04)	31–15–7–3
57	L	February 11, 2004	2–3	Calgary Flames (2003–04)	31–16–7–3
58	L	February 13, 2004	1–4	Atlanta Thrashers (2003–04)	31–17–7–3
59	L	February 14, 2004	1–2	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (2003–04)	31–18–7–3
60	W	February 16, 2004	1–0	@ Colorado Avalanche (2003–04)	32–18–7–3
61	L	February 19, 2004	2–6	@ Minnesota Wild (2003–04)	32–19–7–3
62	OTL	February 21, 2004	3–4 OT	@ Edmonton Oilers (2003–04)	32–19–7–4
63	W	February 24, 2004	4–2	Detroit Red Wings (2003–04)	33–19–7–4
64	W	February 26, 2004	3–2 OT	San Jose Sharks (2003–04)	34–19–7–4
65	W	February 28, 2004	2–0	St. Louis Blues (2003–04)	35–19–7–4
66	T	March 3, 2004	5–5 OT	@ Colorado Avalanche (2003–04)	35–19–8–4
67	L	March 5, 2004	1–3	@ Detroit Red Wings (2003–04)	35–20–8–4
68	W	March 6, 2004	4–0	@ Columbus Blue Jackets (2003–04)	36–20–8–4
69	L	March 8, 2004	2–9	Colorado Avalanche (2003–04)	36–21–8–4
70	T	March 10, 2004	1–1 OT	Minnesota Wild (2003–04)	36–21–9–4
71	W	March 12, 2004	4–3 OT	@ Edmonton Oilers (2003–04)	37–21–9–4
72	L	March 13, 2004	1–2	Ottawa Senators (2003–04)	37–22–9–4
73	T	March 16, 2004	2–2 OT	Nashville Predators (2003–04)	37–22–10–4
74	L	March 18, 2004	0–3	@ Dallas Stars (2003–04)	37–23–10–4
75	OTL	March 19, 2004	3–4 OT	@ Chicago Blackhawks (2003–04)	37–23–10–5
76	L	March 21, 2004	4–5	Columbus Blue Jackets (2003–04)	37–24–10–5
77	W	March 24, 2004	1–0	Los Angeles Kings (2003–04)	38–24–10–5
78	W	March 27, 2004	3–2 OT	Dallas Stars (2003–04)	39–24–10–5
79	W	March 29, 2004	6–1	Phoenix Coyotes (2003–04)	40–24–10–5
80	W	March 31, 2004	2–1	@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (2003–04)	41–24–10–5
81	W	April 2, 2004	4–1	@ San Jose Sharks (2003–04)	42–24–10–5
82	W	April 3, 2004	5–2	Edmonton Oilers (2003–04)	43–24–10–5

Playoffs

Western Conference Quarter-Finals vs. (6) Calgary Flames

After splitting the first two games in Vancouver, Dan Cloutier was injured midway through Game 3 in Calgary. With backup Johan Hedberg playing in relief, Vancouver would also split Games 3 and 4 in Calgary. Alex Auld took over in goal starting in Game 5, which the Canucks lost 2-1. Facing elimination in Game 6, Brendan Morrison scored the winner in the third overtime period to force a Game 7 in Vancouver. In the series-deciding game, the Canucks found themselves down a goal and on the penalty kill in the last minute. With Auld on the bench for the extra attacker, winger Matt Cooke tied the game with 5.7 seconds left to force overtime. However, with Ed Jovanovski still in the penalty box, former Canuck Martin Gelinas eliminated the Canucks on the power play.

Vancouver loses series 4-3

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Series
1	April 7	Calgary	3 - 5	Vancouver		Cloutier	18,630	1 – 0
2	April 9	Calgary	2 – 1	Vancouver		Kiprusoff	18,630	1 – 1
3	April 11	Vancouver	2 – 1	Calgary		Hedberg	19,289	2 – 1
4	April 13	Vancouver	0 – 4	Calgary		Kiprusoff	19,289	2 - 2
5	April 15	Calgary	2 – 1	Vancouver		Kiprusoff	18,630	3 – 2
6	April 17	Vancouver	5 – 4	Calgary	3OT	Auld	19,289	3 – 3
7	April 19	Calgary	3 – 2	Vancouver	OT	Kiprusoff	18,630	4 – 3

Note:

• Green background indicates win
• Red background indicates loss

Player statistics

Skaters

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty Minutes

		Regular season						Playoffs
Player		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
Markus Naslund		78	35	49	84	58		7	2	7	9	2
Brendan Morrison		82	22	38	60	50		7	2	3	5	8
Todd Bertuzzi		69	17	43	60	122		--	--	--	--	--
Daniel Sedin		82	18	36	54	18		7	1	2	3	0
Henrik Sedin		76	11	31	42	32		7	2	2	4	2
Brent Sopel		80	10	32	42	36		7	0	1	1	0
Trevor Linden		82	14	22	36	26		7	0	0	0	6
Mattias Ohlund		82	14	20	34	73		7	1	4	5	13
Sami Salo		74	7	19	26	22		7	1	2	3	2
Matt Cooke		53	11	12	23	73		7	3	1	4	12

^†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Team. Stats reflect time with the Team only.
^‡Traded mid-season
Bold/italics denotes franchise record

Goaltenders

Note: GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; OT = Overtime/Shootout Losses; GA = Goals Against; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals Against Average

		Regular season									Playoffs
Player		GP	Min	W	L	T	GA	SO	GAA		GP	Min	W	L	GA	SO	GAA
Dan Cloutier		60	3539	33	21	2	134	5	2.27		3	138	1	1	5	0	2.17
Johan Hedberg		21	1098	8	6	2	46	3	2.51		2	98	1	1	4	0	2.45
Alexander Auld		6	349	2	2	1	12	0	2.06		3	222	1	2	9	0	2.43

Awards and records

Team awards

• Cyclone Taylor Trophy – Markus Naslund
• Cyrus H. McLean Trophy – Markus Naslund
• Fred J. Hume Award – Brent Sopel
• Babe Pratt Trophy – Mattias Ohlund
• Most Exciting Player Award – Todd Bertuzzi
• Molson Cup – Dan Cloutier

Transactions

The Canucks were involved in the following transactions during the 2003–04 season.

Trades

October 30, 2003	To Vancouver Canucks Sean Pronger	To Columbus Blue Jackets Zenith Komarniski
December 17, 2003	To Vancouver Canucks Wade Brookbank	To Nashville Predators future considerations
January 17, 2004	To Vancouver Canucks future considerations	To Boston Bruins Jiri Slegr
February 16, 2004	To Vancouver Canucks Peter Sarno	To Edmonton Oilers Tyler Moss
March 9, 2004	To Vancouver Canucks Martin Rucinsky	To New York Rangers R. J. Umberger Martin Grenier
March 9, 2004	To Vancouver Canucks Sergei Varlamov	To St. Louis Blues Ryan Ready
March 9, 2004	To Vancouver Canucks Marc Bergevin	To Pittsburgh Penguins conditional draft pick
March 9, 2004	To Vancouver Canucks Geoff Sanderson	To Columbus Blue Jackets 3rd round pick in 2004
March 9, 2004	To Vancouver Canucks Sylvain Blouin	To Montreal Canadiens Rene Vydareny

Free agents

Player Former team

Player New team

Draft picks

Vancouver's picks at the 2003 NHL Entry Draft, held in Nashville, Tennessee.

Round	#	Player	Pos	Nationality	College/Junior/Club Team (League)
1	23	Ryan Kesler	C	United States	Ohio State University (NCAA)
2	60	Marc-Andre Bernier	RW	Canada	Halifax Mooseheads (QMJHL)
4	111	Brandon Nolan	LW	Canada	Oshawa Generals (OHL)
4	128	Ty Morris	LW	Canada	St. Albert (AJHL)
5	150	Nicklas Danielsson	RW	Sweden	Brynäs IF (SWE)
6	190	Chad Brownlee	D	Canada	Vernon Vipers (BCHL)
7	222	Francois-Pierre Guenette	C	Canada	Halifax Mooseheads (QMJHL)
8	252	Sergei Topol	F	Russia	OMSK (RUS)
8	254	Nathan McIver	D	Canada	Toronto St. Michael's Majors (OHL)
9	285	Matthew Hansen	D	Canada	Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL)

See also

• 2003–04 NHL season