Vancouver Canucks Best at No.: 65-79

We continue our Summertime retreat from all things serious, and look at the Vancouver Canucks who are best by number. Last time we got 80-99, but as the numbers get lower, they get more popular. This time a fifteen-year period, from 65 to 79.

The best jersey number of the Canucks 65-79

I know, we said we’d go ten at a time after the first article. Then we started counting, and honestly, the harvest isn’t that big. Not every number was used, despite the Canucks being around for over 50 years.

And even the numbers that were used, well… Let’s see what we mean.

79 – Micheal Ferland

All power to Mike Duco—he’s played 18 more NHL games than you or I ever will—but we’re going with Micheal Ferland. As annoying as he is to play against as it is to spell his first name, he was a world-class shift disturber in his day. The Canucks decided they needed some guts, and they knew him well.

A big swing at big free agents was roughly then-general manager Jim Benning’s modus operandi in 2019. Offer four years for $3.5 million to a physical winger with a history of concussion problems? They paid him off after 2022-23, the contract outlasting the manager.

Ferland played only 14 games for the Canucks, scoring one goal and five points.

78 – Kole Lind

Kold Lind, a highly regarded prospect drafted in 2017, has yet to make his mark in the NHL. He’s putting up solid numbers at the AHL level. The Canucks left him available in the 2021 expansion draft, and the Seattle Kraken took advantage.

He has now signed with the Dallas Stars. Lind had zero points in seven games with Vancouver, but he is also the only player to wear 78. So here he is!

77 – Anson Carter

This was a surprising number to look up. While Nikolay Goldobin played the most games, and no one in the world doesn’t love Brad Hunt, it goes to Anson Carter. He only played one year in Vancouver, but he has the perfect set of boxcar stats.

Carter finished the 2005-06 season with 33 goals and 22 assists for 55 points. Guess who his teammates were? He completed the Three Brothers line with Daniel Sedin and Henrik Sedin, but Vancouver didn’t seem interested in signing him. What could have been!

76 – Artūrs Šilovs

Another one-player number, but it would be a stretch to select another. Artūrs Šilovs is well-known by now to fans and teammates. The emergency emergency starter in the playoffs. Newly signed and probably(?) in Vancouver to start the season.

Of the six Latvian goalies to ever play in the NHL, he is the third with the Vancouver Canucks. That’s weird, right?

75 – Michael Di Pietro

Michael DiPietro could still make the NHL as a regular, but his first experience in Vancouver was ROUGH. He played three games with the Canucks, the first while still in the OHL. The San Jose Sharks crushed him with seven goals, because of course they did!

DiPietro had a stellar run in the OHL, including a 13-0 playoff run in 2018-19. He’s now in the Boston Bruins system and is thriving — no thanks to the Canucks’ brutal mistreatment of him.

74 – Ethan Beer

When Ethan Bear decided to play elsewhere, it was hard to blame him. He was expected to sign in Vancouver after the team had traded him the year before. But he was also expected to be a lifesaver, filling in the defense on the cheap.

The Canucks didn’t qualify Bear because he was coming off a lengthy injury rehab. As a free agent, he went where the money—and a two-year contract—was. His 61 games with three goals and 16 points far outpaced Vitali Kravstov and his 16 games with just two points.

73 – Tyler Toffoli

Ah, the one who got away. Then came back and embarrassed them repeatedly.

Okay, Tyler Toffoli only played 10 games in Vancouver. On a line with Elias Pettersson and JT Miller, he had six goals and 10 points. Again, in 10 games. Then the COVID-19 shutdown happened and Jim Benning went the money-saving route and… well, you know.

The following year, he scored eight in eight games against Vancouver. Also added five assists, as Montreal went 5-0-3 against them.

There’s no taking anything away from the serviceable Justin Dowling and his 22 games on the fourth line, he just didn’t make the same impression.

72 – Anthony Beauvillier

You can probably say that we selected Anthony Beauvillier here, and rightly so. Travis Boyd played only 19 games here before blossoming in Arizona, and while Peter Schaefer wore 72, that was in a return engagement and not for long. So Beauvillier it is.

He came to Vancouver as part of the Bo Horvat trade to balance the budget, but he made the most of it. He played 55 games, scored 11 goals and was traded for a fifth-round pick. Anyone who asks for more doesn’t get it. He may not be one of the best Canucks, but he was the Canucks’ best No. 72 pick.

71 – Jiří Šlegr

So, all that stuff about not using a player’s number on his “return engagement” that we talked about? Forget it. Jiří Šlégr wore 71 for 16 games after signing with the Cancuks in 2003-04, so here he is. He returned to the team that drafted him a decade earlier, now that’s a feel-good story!

Then they used him on their third pair before sending him to Boston for nothing, where he played 20 minutes a night. We don’t really know why. But his first run with Vancouver was amazing! In 138 games, the defenseman scored 10 goals and 70 points. That surpasses Zach MacEwan’s 55-game run.

70 – Tanner Pearson

In a surprisingly good deal from GM Jim Benning, Tanner Pearson came to the Canucks. Pearson gave Vancouver a steady, experienced winger who could produce and be a solid support guy in their top six. He played in every situation and scored 55 goals and 114 points in his 221 games.

Then things got awkward. And ugly, with talk of lawsuits and failing medical staff. He could have been on this list even if other players had carried 70.

66 – Gino Odjick

Yes, he wore it. In his rookie season, 20-year-old fifth-round pick Gino Odjick wore the same number as Mario Lemieux. The sheer chutzpah of it lands him here instead of his more famous 29. He scored a little — 46 goals and 98 points in 444 games — but his 2,000+ penalty minutes are what he’s known for.

Still, we can’t let his name pass without pointing out his best season ever. The beloved enforcer passed away in January of last year.

65 – Ilya Mikheev

Picking the Canucks’ best players at any number this high is often a matter of default. In this case, Ilya Mikheyev has enough skill to earn the spot. But also enough to frustrate coaches and fans alike as to why he hasn’t done MUCH more.

Only 24 goals in 124 games is a ridiculously low number for the opportunities he’s been given. Injuries have certainly played havoc with him, and he could make a huge comeback in his new, quiet home. But even if that happens, most Canucks fans will just nod and be happy for him.

Just down (a little)

There are better players out there, so we’re going to take this series ten numbers at a time for the next few times. As the players get better, the choices get harder – and don’t forget to let us know what you think!

Main photo: Bob Frid-USA TODAY Sports