Like many teams, the Canucks have had a bit of a volatile history when it comes to goaltending. In the late 90s and early 2000s, they earned the reputation of being a “goalie graveyard” where careers of promising goaltenders went to die, but the following era would entirely change that perspective and the notion would largely die out.
One of the difficulties in creating a list like this is the dramatic differences in scoring between eras, with the early and mid 80s being extremely high-scoring and the late 90s and early 2000s, being focused heavily on defense and less on scoring goals. This can make goaltending statistics from the 80s or other offensive eras look far worse than they really were relative to their competition and likewise, players from the low-offense eras look far better than they actually were. This list only concerns regular season results, so playoffs are a non-factor here. For this list, one of the biggest things I did is looked at league average stats at the time and compared the numbers of these goalies in seasons to the league averages, so unfair advantages or disadvantages aren’t applied. The result is a beautiful mix of seasons from all over Canucks history and I’m excited to share it.
Honourable Mention: 2019-20 – Jacob Markstrom
As of this writing, this regular season has been officially concluded, with the Canucks finishing at 69 games due to the COVID-19 pandemic. in 2019-20, Markstrom had a strong .918 save percentage, which was significantly above the league average of .910 and he was voted the MVP of the Canucks.
Honourable Mention: 2011-12 – Cory Schneider
I debated between this or Schneider’s 2012-13 season, but despite playing only 33 games, Schneider did set the Canuck save percentage record with .937 that still stands today and will be extremely difficult to beat. Had he been the starter playing more games, this season may have been very high on this list.
10. 1980-81 – Richard Brodeur
Immediately, we see some love given to 1980s teams that were more focused on offense. The 1980-81 Canucks were about a league average team when it came to preventing goals, but Brodeur’s .884 save percentage was notably higher than the league average of .876. 1980-81 was Brodeur’s first season in Vancouver and it coincided with a better season and would be the start of long-term stability in net that fans in Vancouver had never seen before.
9. 1973-74 – Gary Smith
This one will likely surprise some people, because Smith is most known for his 1974-75 season (we’ll get to that one later), but his 1973-74 season was a very strong one as well. The 1973-74 season was the best in the existence of the Canucks up to that point, but they were still quite a poor team and struggled mightily to help out Smith, letting in the third most goals against in the NHL. Yet despite all that, Smith still managed a save percentage of .894, which was only a hair below the league average of .896, pointing to the fact that Smith did almost all the heavy lifting on defense for the Canucks. On top of all that, he played a whopping 65 games.
8. 2008-09 – Roberto Luongo
Photo by Jenelle Schneider
Any avid fan will know that Luongo will be appearing on this list multiple times and the 2008-09 is just the first. Luongo’s third year in Vancouver was the first one in which he didn’t play 70+ games, suiting up for only 54 games due to injury. Still, he put up an amazing .920 save percentage, far above the league average .908 and finished both 10th in Hart voting and 4th in Vezina voting. His nine shutouts during that season remain the Canuck single-season record.
7. 2010-11 – Roberto Luongo
Statistics alone would point to this year being much higher on this list, but it’s hard to ignore the fact that Luongo had an immense amount of support on the 2010-11 Canucks, as the entire team was extremely dominant, winning the President’s Trophy. Luongo had an astonishing .928 save percentage, playing 60 games and finished 3rd in Vezina voting. Providing credence to the dominance of the team in front of him, Luongo and Schneider shared the William M. Jennings trophy as the Canucks allowed the fewest goals during the season.
6. 1988-89 – Kirk McLean
If there is a contender to Luongo’s claim to the throne of greatest Canuck goaltender of all-time, it’s almost certainly McLean and he makes his first entry here. The 1988-89 Canucks astonished the NHL by becoming one of the strongest defensive teams in the league and both McLean and backup Steve Weeks performed incredibly well, with McLean playing more games at 42 games and posting an .891 save percentage, far above the league average .879 in 1988-89. McLean had an impressive four shutouts and his performance was enough to help him finish 3rd in Vezina voting that year.
5. 2007-08 – Roberto Luongo
The 2007-08 season exemplified exactly how dependent the late 2000s Canucks were on Luongo for their success. Luongo was having an incredible season, following up his first season in Vancouver when near the end of the year, perhaps due to fatigue (he played 73 games that year), he began to falter. Once Luongo faltered, the whole team faltered and the team missed the playoffs. In those days, Luongo was the best player on the team, and it wasn’t particularly close. He still finished with a .917 save percentage which was far above the league average .909 and finished 7th in Vezina voting.
4. 1981-82 – Richard Brodeur
It’s here where I think we begin to find another echelon of seasons. After a strong 1980-81 season, Brodeur took on another level in 1981-82. Brodeur played 52 games as starter for the Canucks and he nearly single-handed managed to turn the team into a strong defensive team. Brodeur was light-years ahead of the league average save percentage with a .893 compared the average of .873. His dominance was only further shown when compared to backup Glen Hanlon, who was far below at .862, making it clear that Brodeur was the reason the Canucks were doing so well defensively. Brodeur finished 6th in Vezina voting that year.
3. 1974-75 – Gary Smith
Photo by Denis Brodeur/NHL via Getty Images
By some accounts, what Gary Smith did in 1974-75 was perhaps the most impressive season by a Canuck until the arrival of Pavel Bure in the 90s. The Canucks surely benefited from a very favourable division realignment, but nobody expected the Canucks to be as strong as they were and it was clear to all that Smith was a huge part of the reason why. Smith played in a stunning 72 games, winning 32 games, a record that would last for almost 20 years. Smith’s .895 save percentage was above the league average of .890 and for his huge role in the team’s success, finished 6th in Hart voting and 3rd in All-Star Team voting. Smith beat the likes of Dryden, a young Billy Smith, and Tony Esposito in that year’s voting. It’s somewhat a shame he didn’t last as a Canuck for longer, but I suppose that’s what you expect from a guy nicknamed “Suitcase”.
2. 1991-92 – Kirk McLean
That 32-win season set by Smith in 1974-75? It was McLean who beat it in 1991-92 with the best season of his NHL career. 25-year old McLean was in the prime of his career as he took the league by storm, leading the NHL with those aforementioned 38 wins and also with his five shutouts. McLean became the first Canuck goaltender to finish with a save percentage above .900 with a .901 save percentage, far above the average of .888. The Canucks were an exceptional defensive team and McLean surely had a huge part to play in that, playing in a career-high 65 games for Vancouver, and leading them confidently to the playoffs. For his efforts McLean finished 4th in Hart voting and 2nd in Vezina voting, losing only to the great Patrick Roy.
1. 2006-07 – Roberto Luongo
I’m sure many fans have already guessed this one by now, but it is likely the fairly obvious pick for number one. Roberto Luongo’s first season in Vancouver was his most memorable, as he was the superstar netminder the team had always desired, and they used him, playing him an incredible 76 games during the year. Despite this extraordinarily heavy workload, Luongo still managed a sparkling .921 save percentage, which was hugely ahead of the league average of .905. In part because of his workload, Luongo also manged a incredible 47 wins, which would’ve tied him with Bernie Parent for the NHL record, but as was his luck, Martin Brodeur was having the season of his career too, and would just barely edge out Luongo. Luongo finished 2nd in both Vezina and Hart voting that season, but brought the team back to the playoffs and he won the hearts of Canuck fans, reinvigorating the team for the great years that were to come.
Hooked on Hockey History 