1990–91 Vancouver Canucks season
The 1990–91 Vancouver Canucks season was the team's 21st in the National Hockey League.Offseason
Entering his last season as a player, Stan Smyl resigns the team captaincy. The position is rotated between defenceman Doug Lidster, forwards Trevor Linden and Dan Quinn.Regular season
The Canucks who were slumping in the first half of the regular season fired head coach Bob McCammon on January 31, 1991. He was fired immediately after a home game against the New York Rangers that ended in a 3-3 tie. The game was noted for a spectacular goal tending performance by Rangers goal tender Mike Richter who made 59 saves.
The next day McCammon was replaced by Pat Quinn who would fly down with the team to Los Angeles on board the Canadian Airlines charter to coach his first game for the club against the Los Angeles Kings. Upon landing at Los Angeles International Airport the team charter was nearly involved in the fatal collision of USAir Flight 1493 and SkyWest Flight 5569 as the aircraft landed on a parallel runway approximately from the collision.
Quinn and the team were badly shaken by the incident, the team was unable to cope with the disaster when they faced the Kings on February 2. The team suffered its worst defeat of the season 9-1. The crash was still bothering the team when they flew out of Los Angeles to another road game in Washington D.C. to face the Washington Capitals. The Canucks would be held winless for their seventh straight game as hall of famer Dino Ciccarelli netted his 400th career regular season NHL goal.Final standings
Schedule and results
Playoffs
Los Angeles wins series 4-2
| # | Date | Visitor | Score | Home | OT | Series |
| 1 | April 4 | Vancouver | 6 - 5 | Los Angeles | | 1 - 0 |
| 2 | April 6 | Vancouver | 2 – 3 | Los Angeles | OT | 1 – 1 |
| 3 | April 8 | Los Angeles | 1 – 2 | Vancouver | OT | 2 – 1 |
| 4 | April 10 | Los Angeles | 6 – 1 | Vancouver | | 2 – 2 |
| 5 | April 12 | Vancouver | 4 – 7 | Los Angeles | | 2 – 3 |
| 6 | April 14 | Los Angeles | 4 – 1 | Vancouver | | 2 – 4 |
Player statistics
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = Plus/Minus; PIM = Penalty Minutes
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM |
| Trevor Linden | 80 | 33 | 37 | 70 | -25 | 65 |
| Dan Quinn | 64 | 18 | 31 | 49 | -28 | 46 |
| Greg Adams | 55 | 21 | 24 | 45 | -5 | 10 |
| Dave Capuano | 61 | 13 | 31 | 44 | 1 | 42 |
| Doug Lidster | 78 | 6 | 32 | 38 | -6 | 77 |
Awards and records
Transactions
Trades
Draft picks
Vancouver's picks at the 1990 NHL Entry Draft in Vancouver, British Columbia.
| Round | # | Player | Nationality | College/Junior/Club Team |
| 1 | 2 | Petr Nedved | | Seattle Thunderbirds |
| 1 | 18 | Shawn Antoski | | North Bay Centennials |
| 2 | 23 | Jiri Slegr | | HC Litvínov |
| 4 | 65 | Darin Bader | | Saskatoon Blades |
| 5 | 86 | Gino Odjick | | Laval Titan |
| 7 | 128 | Daryl Filipek | | Ferris State University |
| 8 | 149 | Paul O'Hagan | | Oshawa Generals |
| 9 | 170 | Mark Cipriano | | Victoria Cougars |
| 10 | 191 | Troy Neumeier | | Prince Albert Raiders |
| 11 | 212 | Tyler Ertel | | North Bay Centennials |
| 12 | 233 | Karri Kivi | | Ilves |
| S | 2 | Paul Dukovac | | Cornell University |
| S | 6 | Normand Krumpschmid | | Ferris State University |
Farm teams
