1984–85 Vancouver Canucks season

The 1984–85 Vancouver Canucks season was the team's 15th in the National Hockey League (NHL). The Canucks did not qualify for the playoffs for the first time since the 1977–78 season.

1984–85 Vancouver Canucks
Division	5th Smythe
Conference	9th Campbell
1984–85 record	25–46–9
Home record	15–21–4
Road record	10–25–5
Goals for	284
Goals against	401
Team information
General manager	Harry Neale
Coach	Bill LaForge (4-14-2) Harry Neale (21-32-7)
Captain	Stan Smyl
Alternate captains	Doug Halward Rick Lanz
Arena	Pacific Coliseum
Average attendance	11,147
Team leaders
Goals	Tony Tanti (39)
Assists	Patrik Sundstrom (43)
Points	Patrik Sundstrom (68)
Penalty minutes	Garth Butcher (152)
Wins	Richard Brodeur (16)
Goals against average	Richard Brodeur (4.67)
← 1983–84 1985–86 →

Offseason

On May 18, Bill LaForge was announced as the new head coach.^[1] At 32 years of age, LaForge would be the youngest coach in the NHL at the time. LaForge signed a two-year contract and promised tough practices, while emphasizing his PhD philosophy – pride, hustle, and desire.^[2]

Having played the majority of the previous season with the team's minor-league affiliate, centre Gerry Minor was not offered a new contract.^[3] On May 30, the team announced it had signed its first Finnish player, Petri Skriko. The 8th round selection in the 1981 Draft had most recently been a member of SaiPa in the Finnish Elite League.^[4] After three seasons with the club, Lars Molin turned down a two-way contract and returned to his native Sweden to play with his former club, MoDo AIK.^[5]

In the entry draft, the Canucks took 5'11" defenceman J. J. Daigneault with the tenth overall pick. He would have a solid rookie campaign, playing 67 games and collecting 27 points.^[6]

On June 22, the club announced that veteran forward Al MacAdam had been acquired from the North Stars for future considerations.^[7] The following day, it was revealed that fan favourite Harold Snepsts would be heading to Minnesota after playing his entire ten-year career in a Canucks uniform.^[8]

After neck problems had plagued him during the previous season, Darcy Rota underwent spinal fusion surgery on June 29.^[9]

Entering the option year of his contract and unable to agree to terms for a new one, enforcer Tiger Williams was dealt to the Detroit Red Wings for Rob McClanahan.^[10]

Training camp

The Canucks held their training camp at the Cowichan Community Centre in Duncan, from September 18–21.^[11]

49 players took part in the training camp. Notable absences included Thomas Gradin and Patrik Sundström, who were representing Team Sweden in the Canada Cup tournament, as well as Darcy Rota and Stu Kulak who were both recovering from injuries.^[12]

Players were divided into three scrimmage teams, around which the training camp revolved. Aligning closely to coach LaForge's pride, hustle, and desire philosophy, the teams were named accordingly: Team Pride (captained by Ron Delorme); Team Hustle (captained by Doug Halward); Team Desire (captained by Stan Smyl). These scrimmage teams competed in a round-robin tournament, with the winning team claiming the PhD Cup. At the conclusion of each game, all players of the losing team were made to run a mile in full hockey gear. Those with bad knees were permitted to pedal five miles on a stationary bike in full hockey gear.^[13]

Regular season

The team continued to travel aboard their private jet, Air Canuck, for all road trips until late in the season when the plane was sold.^[14]

Final standings

Smythe Division

	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
Edmonton Oilers	80	49	20	11	401	298	109
Winnipeg Jets	80	43	27	10	358	332	96
Calgary Flames	80	41	27	12	363	302	94
Los Angeles Kings	80	34	32	14	339	326	82
Vancouver Canucks	80	25	46	9	284	401	59

^[15]Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against
Note: Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

Record vs. opponents

Smythe Division record vs. opponents

Vs. Campbell Conference Vs. Smythe Division 1984–85 NHL records[16] Team CGY EDM LAK VAN WIN Total Calgary — 1−6−1 4−3−1 7−0−1 5−1−2 17−10−5 Edmonton 6−1−1 — 4−3−1 3−3−2 5−3 18−10−4 Los Angeles 3−4−1 3−4−1 — 4−2−2 2−4−2 12−14−6 Vancouver 0−7−1 3−3−2 2−4−2 — 2−5−1 7−19−6 Winnipeg 1−5−2 3−5 4−2−2 5−2−1 — 13−14−5 Vs. Norris Division 1984–85 NHL records Team CHI DET MIN STL TOR Total Calgary 1−2 2−1 1−0−2 0−3 3−0 7−6−2 Edmonton 3−0 3−0 3−0 3−0 2−0−1 14−0−1 Los Angeles 0−2−1 2−1 1−1−1 1−2 2−1 6−7−2 Vancouver 1−2 1−2 1−1−1 0−3 1−1−1 4−9−2 Winnipeg 1−1−1 2−0−1 2−1 0−1−2 3−0 8−3−4 Vs. Wales Conference Vs. Adams Division 1984–85 NHL records Team BOS BUF HFD MTL QUE Total Calgary 3−0 0−3 3−0 2−0−1 1−1−1 9−4−2 Edmonton 2−1 2−0−1 2−1 1−2 3−0 10−4−1 Los Angeles 0−1−2 2−0−1 2−0−1 0−2−1 1−2 5−5−5 Vancouver 1−2 2−0−1 2−1 2−1 1−2 8−6−1 Winnipeg 2−1 2−1 2−1 1−2 2−1 9−6−0 Vs. Patrick Division 1984–85 NHL records Team NJD NYI NYR PHI PIT WSH Total Calgary 2−0−1 2−1 2−0−1 1−2 0−2−1 1−2 8−7−3 Edmonton 2−1 2−0−1 1−1−1 0−3 1−1−1 1−0−2 7−6−5 Los Angeles 3−0 1−2 2−1 1−1−1 3−0 1−2 11−6−1 Vancouver 3−0 1−2 1−2 0−3 1−2 0−3 6−12−0 Winnipeg 2−0−1 1−2 3−0 3−0 2−1 2−1 13−4−1

Schedule and results

Pre-season

The Canucks released their pre-season schedule on June 20, 1984.^[17]

1984 preseason
Preseason: 4–5–1 (home: 2–3–0; road: 2–2–1) Game Date Visitor Score Home Decision Attendance Record Recap 1[a][b] September 22 Vancouver 4–1 Los Angeles Kilroy — – 2[b] September 22 Vancouver 5–3 Los Angeles Young 3,958 1–0–0 3[a][c] September 23 Los Angeles 4–5 Vancouver Grant — – 4[c] September 23 Los Angeles 4–3 Vancouver Young — 1–1–0 5 September 25 Edmonton 7–2 Vancouver Brodeur 9,241 1–2–0 6 September 28 Vancouver 4–3 Winnipeg Caprice 10,820 2–2–0 7 September 30 Vancouver 4–8 Calgary Brodeur 16,863 2–3–0 8 October 2 Vancouver 4–7 Edmonton Garrett 17,237 2–4–0 9[b] October 3 Winnipeg 0–4 Vancouver Caprice 3,900 3–4–0 10 October 4 Vancouver 5–5 Los Angeles Garrett 5,000 3–4–1 11 October 5 Calgary 3–4 Vancouver Brodeur 8,997 4–4–1 12 October 7 St. Louis 5–4 Vancouver Caprice 9,059 4–5–1
Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Tie (1 point) Notes: a Game was played by the rookie squad. b Game was played at Memorial Arena in Victoria. c Game was played at Cowichan Community Centre in Duncan.

Regular season

The Canucks released their regular season schedule on June 27, 1984.^[18]

1984–85 regular season[19]
October Game Result Date Score Opponent Record 1 L October 11, 1984 2–5 Quebec Nordiques (1984–85) 0–1–0 2 W October 13, 1984 6–5 OT @ Los Angeles Kings (1984–85) 1–1–0 3 L October 14, 1984 5–7 Calgary Flames (1984–85) 1–2–0 4 L October 17, 1984 3–4 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1984–85) 1–3–0 5 L October 18, 1984 2–13 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1984–85) 1–4–0 6 L October 20, 1984 2–3 @ Hartford Whalers (1984–85) 1–5–0 7 L October 23, 1984 5–6 @ New York Islanders (1984–85) 1–6–0 8 L October 24, 1984 3–9 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1984–85) 1–7–0 9 L October 28, 1984 2–5 Washington Capitals (1984–85) 1–8–0 10 L October 30, 1984 0–7 @ Edmonton Oilers (1984–85) 1–9–0 11 L October 31, 1984 3–10 Los Angeles Kings (1984–85) 1–10–0
November Game Result Date Score Opponent Record 12 W November 3, 1984 6–4 Chicago Black Hawks (1984–85) 2–10–0 13 T November 7, 1984 4–4 OT @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1984–85) 2–10–1 14 L November 9, 1984 5–7 @ Winnipeg Jets (1984–85) 2–11–1 15 T November 10, 1984 5–5 OT @ Minnesota North Stars (1984–85) 2–11–2 16 L November 12, 1984 3–5 Montreal Canadiens (1984–85) 2–12–2 17 W November 14, 1984 3–2 Detroit Red Wings (1984–85) 3–12–2 18 W November 16, 1984 7–6 Pittsburgh Penguins (1984–85) 4–12–2 19 L November 17, 1984 0–7 @ Edmonton Oilers (1984–85) 4–13–2 20 L November 20, 1984 1–5 St. Louis Blues (1984–85) 4–14–2 21 L November 21, 1984 4–6 @ Calgary Flames (1984–85) 4–15–2 22 L November 23, 1984 1–5 Winnipeg Jets (1984–85) 4–16–2 23 L November 25, 1984 2–4 Calgary Flames (1984–85) 4–17–2 24 L November 27, 1984 1–6 St. Louis Blues (1984–85) 4–18–2 25 L November 29, 1984 1–12 @ Los Angeles Kings (1984–85) 4–19–2
December Game Result Date Score Opponent Record 26 L December 1, 1984 3–6 @ Los Angeles Kings (1984–85) 4–20–2 27 L December 3, 1984 4–5 New York Islanders (1984–85) 4–21–2 28 W December 8, 1984 3–2 OT Edmonton Oilers (1984–85) 5–21–2 29 W December 11, 1984 4–3 @ Quebec Nordiques (1984–85) 6–21–2 30 W December 13, 1984 5–4 @ Montreal Canadiens (1984–85) 7–21–2 31 L December 15, 1984 1–2 OT @ Boston Bruins (1984–85) 7–22–2 32 T December 16, 1984 2–2 OT @ Buffalo Sabres (1984–85) 7–22–3 33 L December 20, 1984 1–9 @ Calgary Flames (1984–85) 7–23–3 34 W December 21, 1984 3–1 @ Edmonton Oilers (1984–85) 8–23–3 35 L December 23, 1984 4–5 Calgary Flames (1984–85) 8–24–3 36 T December 26, 1984 3–3 OT Los Angeles Kings (1984–85) 8–24–4 37 L December 28, 1984 4–7 Philadelphia Flyers (1984–85) 8–25–4 38 T December 30, 1984 7–7 OT Edmonton Oilers (1984–85) 8–25–5
January Game Result Date Score Opponent Record 39 L January 2, 1985 0–6 @ New York Rangers (1984–85) 8–26–5 40 W January 3, 1985 6–4 @ New Jersey Devils (1984–85) 9–26–5 41 W January 5, 1985 4–1 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1984–85) 10–26–5 42 L January 8, 1985 3–5 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1984–85) 10–27–5 43 L January 9, 1985 4–7 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1984–85) 10–28–5 44 L January 13, 1985 3–5 Toronto Maple Leafs (1984–85) 10–29–5 45 W January 15, 1985 6–5 OT New York Islanders (1984–85) 11–29–5 46 T January 18, 1985 4–4 OT Edmonton Oilers (1984–85) 11–29–6 47 L January 19, 1985 5–7 @ Edmonton Oilers (1984–85) 11–30–6 48 T January 21, 1985 3–3 OT Calgary Flames (1984–85) 11–30–7 49 L January 23, 1985 4–6 Winnipeg Jets (1984–85) 11–31–7 50 W January 25, 1985 7–4 Winnipeg Jets (1984–85) 12–31–7 51 L January 26, 1985 2–6 @ Calgary Flames (1984–85) 12–32–7 52 W January 30, 1985 5–4 OT Montreal Canadiens (1984–85) 13–32–7
February Game Result Date Score Opponent Record 53 W February 1, 1985 4–3 OT Hartford Whalers (1984–85) 14–32–7 54 W February 3, 1985 4–1 New York Rangers (1984–85) 15–32–7 55 L February 6, 1985 0–4 @ St. Louis Blues (1984–85) 15–33–7 56 T February 8, 1985 5–5 OT @ Winnipeg Jets (1984–85) 15–33–8 57 W February 10, 1985 5–3 @ Winnipeg Jets (1984–85) 16–33–8 58 W February 16, 1985 3–2 OT Boston Bruins (1984–85) 17–33–8 59 W February 19, 1985 7–5 New Jersey Devils (1984–85) 18–33–8 60 L February 21, 1985 2–6 Washington Capitals (1984–85) 18–34–8 61 L February 23, 1985 5–7 Quebec Nordiques (1984–85) 18–35–8 62 L February 26, 1985 2–3 @ Washington Capitals (1984–85) 18–36–8 63 L February 27, 1985 5–11 @ Detroit Red Wings (1984–85) 18–37–8
March Game Result Date Score Opponent Record 64 L March 2, 1985 0–5 @ Boston Bruins (1984–85) 18–38–8 65 W March 3, 1985 7–6 OT @ Hartford Whalers (1984–85) 19–38–8 66 L March 6, 1985 3–6 New York Rangers (1984–85) 19–39–8 67 W March 8, 1985 4–3 Los Angeles Kings (1984–85) 20–39–8 68 W March 10, 1985 6–3 Edmonton Oilers (1984–85) 21–39–8 69 W March 13, 1985 6–4 Buffalo Sabres (1984–85) 22–39–8 70 L March 15, 1985 5–6 Detroit Red Wings (1984–85) 22–40–8 71 L March 17, 1985 4–6 Chicago Black Hawks (1984–85) 22–41–8 72 W March 20, 1985 5–4 @ Buffalo Sabres (1984–85) 23–41–8 73 W March 21, 1985 3–2 @ New Jersey Devils (1984–85) 24–41–8 74 L March 23, 1985 4–6 @ Winnipeg Jets (1984–85) 24–42–8 75 L March 25, 1985 3–5 @ Minnesota North Stars (1984–85) 24–43–8 76 L March 27, 1985 3–5 Winnipeg Jets (1984–85) 24–44–8 77 W March 31, 1985 3–2 Minnesota North Stars (1984–85) 25–44–8
April Game Result Date Score Opponent Record 78 L April 3, 1985 3–5 @ Calgary Flames (1984–85) 25–45–8 79 L April 5, 1985 3–4 Los Angeles Kings (1984–85) 25–46–8 80 T April 6, 1985 4–4 OT @ Los Angeles Kings (1984–85) 25–46–9
Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Tie (1 point)

Player statistics

Awards and records

Transactions

Draft picks

Vancouver's draft picks at the 1984 NHL entry draft held at the Montreal Forum in Montreal.

Round	#	Player	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team (League)
1	10	J. J. Daigneault	Canada	Longueuil Chevaliers (QMJHL)
2	31	Jeff Rohlicek	United States	Portland Winter Hawks (WHL)
3	52	David Saunders	Canada	St. Lawrence University (ECAC)
3	55	Landis Chaulk	Canada	Calgary Wranglers (WHL)
3	58	Mike Stevens	Canada	Kitchener Rangers (OHL)
4	73	Brian Bertuzzi	Canada	Kamloops Jr. Oilers (WHL)
5	94	Brett MacDonald	Canada	North Bay Centennials (OHL)
6	115	Jeff Korchinski	Canada	Clarkson College (ECAC)
7	136	Blaine Chrest	Canada	Portland Winter Hawks (WHL)
8	157	Jim Agnew	Canada	Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)
9	178	Rex Grant	Canada	Kamloops Jr. Oilers (WHL)
10	198	Ed Lowney	United States	Boston University (ECAC)
11	219	Doug Clarke	Canada	Colorado College (WCHA)
12	239	Ed Kister	Canada	London Knights (OHL)

Farm teams

Fredericton Express (AHL)

See also

• 1984–85 NHL season