While the Vancouver Canucks have had no shortage of team successes in the 2010’s (last season not withstanding), they’ve also had several outstanding individual performances that have stood out among their peers. Here is the Canucks all-star lineup, made up of individual performances from the 2009-10 campaign, through the first half of the 2014-15 season.
Forwards:
Henrik Sedin (2009-10: 29 Goals, 112 Points)
Henrik’s 112 point, Art Ross-winning campaign serves as a high water mark for the Canucks this decade, and it also acts as the point where the Canucks became known as a team better not messed with. Making his season that much more impressive, is the fact that he played about 20 games without his partner in crime, Daniel Sedin, beside him due to injury. In addition to his Art Ross trophy that year, Henrik also won the Hart Trophy as the NHL’s most valuable player. It was one of the most impressive campaigns in Vancouver Canucks history.
Daniel Sedin (2010-11: 41 Goals, 104 Points)
Speaking of Art Ross-winning Sedins, the other one won the exact same award the very next year, and put up a goals total that ranked fourth in the entire NHL that season. Unfortunately, Daniel has been unable to even come close to reaching his 2010-11 level of play, but it’s still a season that will be remembered as one of the finest in Canucks history.
Ryan Kesler (2010-11: 41 Goals, 73 Points)
The pinnacle of Ryan Kesler’s career was, by far, the 2010-11 campaign, in which he potted 41 goals, while also winning his first career Selke trophy as the league’s best two-way forward. The now 30-year-old was also instrumental in the Canucks epic run to the Stanley Cup Final, almost single-handedly winning the Western semi-finals match-up against the Nashville Predators. Injuries hampered Kesler’s play as the seasons passed, specifically the 2012-13 lockout-shortened year, but there is no doubt that in his prime, Kesler was a force to be reckoned with.
Defensemen:
Christian Ehrhoff (2010-11: 14 Goals, 50 Points)
The biggest loss for the Canucks since their Cup Final run, is without a doubt the puck-moving presence on the back end. Ehrhoff’s biggest season as a Canuck, and of his career to date, was the 2010-11 campaign, where he scored 50 points while being named Vancouver’s best d-man, and came 5th in Norris Trophy voting. His impact on the club cannot be understated, as Vancouver’s powerplay has declined drastically each season since his departure.
Alexander Edler (2011-12: 11 Goals, 49 Points)
The closest Edler has come to reaching his full potential was in the Canucks’ second-consecutive President’s Trophy-winning season in 2011-12. Edler put up a career-high 49 points, was named the Canucks’ best blue liner (as voted on by the fans), and was named to the NHL All-Star game. If we exclude the playoffs, where he was absolutely dreadful in five game series loss at the hands of the Los Angeles Kings, it was probably the best season by a Canucks rearguard of the decade so far.
Goaltender:
Roberto Luongo (2010-11: 2.11 GAA, 0.928 Sv%)
Luongo, like many Canucks, had his best season in 2010-11. Both his save percentage, and goals against average from that year stand as the high water marks of his career, and was nominated for the Vezina trophy for the third time in his career (2004 and 2007 being the other two occasions.) In addition to all that, he, along with then backup Cory Schneider, won the William M. Jennings trophy for the lowest goals against average of any team in the NHL.
Honorable Mention:
Henrik Sedin (2010-11: 19 Goals, 94 Points)
While Daniel and Kesler get a lot of the glory from the Canucks record setting year, Henrik’s second consecutive elite-level campaign flew under the radar for the most part, and that’s a shame, because it really was a great year for Henrik. His 94 points ranked fourth among all NHL skaters, and he broke Vancouver hockey legend Pavel Bure’s record for most points in a single playoff series, with 12 in their five game series against the San Jose Sharks, including four assists in a 4-2 game three victory.
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