1993–94 Vancouver Canucks season


The 1993–94 Vancouver Canucks season was the Canucks' 24th NHL season. Vancouver finished the season second in their division and qualified for the playoffs as the number seven seed. In the playoffs, the Canucks pulled several upsets and reached the Stanley Cup Finals for the second time in franchise history. In the finals they fell behind the New York Rangers three games to one before making a comeback to force a Game 7. Vancouver fell short in its bid to capture the franchise's first Stanley Cup losing Game 7 by a final of 3–2.
During the regular season, Pavel Bure tied his own club record for goals in a season, originally set in the 1992–93 season. Bure's 60 goals led the NHL and as a result he was named a First Team NHL All-Star. Kirk McLean won a team leading 23 games during the regular season, only 8 more than the 15 he recorded in the post-season games. Jeff Brown officially led the team in assists, but did not join the team till after the trade deadline when he was acquired from St. Louis.
In the playoffs, both Bure and captain Trevor Linden were very productive. Bure led all forwards in playoff scoring finishing second overall to Brian Leetch. However, Bure led the league in playoff goals with Linden tied for second. McLean led the playoffs in minutes played, shots against and saves while he and the Rangers Mike Richter tied for the lead in playoff shutouts. McLean finished fourth in goals against average and save percentage.

Regular season

Schedule and results

Playoffs

Western Conference Quarter-finals: vs. (2) [Calgary Flames]

Vancouver wins series 4–3
#DateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceSeries
1April 18Vancouver5 – 0CalgaryMcLean17,7641 – 0
2April 20Vancouver5 – 7CalgaryMcLean18,3181 – 1
3April 22Calgary4 – 2VancouverMcLean16,1501 – 2
4April 24Calgary3 – 2VancouverMcLean16,1501 – 3
5April 26Vancouver2 – 1CalgaryOTMcLean19,0592 – 3
6April 28Calgary2 – 3VancouverOTMcLean16,1503 – 3
7April 30Vancouver4 – 3Calgary2OTMcLean20,2304 – 3

Western Conference Semi-finals: vs. (4) [Dallas Stars]

Vancouver wins series 4–1
#DateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceSeries
1May 2Vancouver6 – 4DallasMcLean16,9141 – 0
2May 4Vancouver3 – 0DallasMcLean16,9142 – 0
3May 6Dallas4 – 3VancouverMcLean16,1502 – 1
4May 8Dallas1 – 2VancouverOTMcLean16,1503 – 1
5May 10Dallas2 – 4VancouverMcLean16,1504 – 1

Western Conference Final: vs. (3) [Toronto Maple Leafs]

Vancouver wins series 4–1
#DateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceSeries
1May 16Vancouver2 – 3TorontoOTMcLean15,7280 – 1
2May 18Vancouver4 – 3TorontoMcLean15,7281 – 1
3May 20Toronto0 – 4VancouverMcLean16,1502 – 1
4May 22Toronto0 – 2VancouverMcLean16,1503 – 1
5May 24Toronto3 – 4Vancouver2OTMcLean16,1504 – 1

Stanley Cup Final: vs. (E1) [New York Rangers]

New York wins series 4–3
#DateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceSeries
1May 31Vancouver3 – 2New YorkOTMcLean18,2001 – 0
2June 2Vancouver1 – 3New YorkMcLean18,2001 – 1
3June 4New York5 – 1VancouverMcLean16,1501 – 2
4June 7New York4 – 2VancouverMcLean16,1501 – 3
5June 9Vancouver6 – 3New YorkMcLean18,2002 – 3
6June 11New York1 – 4VancouverMcLean16,1503 – 3
7June 14Vancouver2 – 3New YorkMcLean18,2003 – 4

Player statistics

Scoring leaders

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = Plus/Minus; PIM = Penalty Minutes
PlayerGPGAPts+/-PIM
Pavel Bure766047107186
Geoff Courtnall8226447015123
Cliff Ronning76254368742
Jeff Brown74145266-1156
Trevor Linden84322961673

Goaltending

Note: GP = Games Played; TOI = Time On Ice ; W = Wins; L = Losses; OT = Overtime Losses; GA = Goals Against; SO = Shutouts; Sv% = Save Percentage; GAA = Goals Against Average
PlayerGPTOIWLTGASOSv%GAA
Kirk McLean523128232631563.8912.99
Kay Whitmore321921181401130.8673.53

Playoffs

Scoring leaders

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = Plus/Minus; PIM = Penalty Minutes
PlayerGPGAPtsPIM
Pavel Bure2416153140
Trevor Linden2412132518
Geoff Courtnall249101951
Jeff Brown24691537
Cliff Ronning245101516

Goaltending

Note: GP = Games Played; TOI = Time On Ice ; W = Wins; L = Losses; GA = Goals Against; SO = Shutouts; Sv% = Save Percentage; GAA = Goals Against Average
PlayerGPTOIWLGASOSv%GAA
Kirk McLean241544159594.9282.29

Awards and records

Trades

Free Agents Acquired

Free Agents Lost

Received from Waivers

Placed on Waivers

Expansion draft

Vancouver's losses at the 1993 NHL Expansion Draft in Quebec City, Quebec.
Round#PlayerNationalityDrafted byDrafted from
11John Vanbiesbrouck Florida PanthersVancouver Canucks
137Anatoli Semenov Mighty Ducks of AnaheimVancouver Canucks

Draft picks

Vancouver's picks at the 1993 NHL Entry Draft in Quebec City, Quebec.
Round#PlayerNationalityCollege/Junior/Club Team
120Mike Wilson Sudbury Wolves
246Rick Girard Swift Current Broncos
498Dieter Kochan Vernon Lakers
5124Scott Walker Owen Sound Platers
6150Troy Creurer Notre Dame Hounds
7176Yevgeni Babariko Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod
8202Sean Tallaire Lake Superior State University
10254Bert Robertsson Södertälje SK
11280Sergei Tkachenko Hamilton Canucks

Farm teams

[Hamilton Canucks]

affiliate based in Hamilton, Ontario and whose home arena was Copps Coliseum. This was the team's second and final season as an affiliate of the Canucks. In the 1993–94 AHL season, Hamilton finished in 2nd place in the South Division, but was eliminated in the first round of the AHL playoffs by the Cornwall Aces in four straight games. After the season, the franchise was relocated as the Syracuse Crunch, which kept its affiliation with Vancouver.

[Columbus Chill]

affiliate based in Columbus, Ohio, and whose home arena was the Ohio Expo Center Coliseum.