1983–84 Vancouver Canucks season
| 1983–84 Vancouver Canucks | |
|---|---|
| Division | 3rd Smythe |
| Conference | 4th Campbell |
| 1983–84 record | 32–39–9 |
| Home record | 20–16–4 |
| Road record | 12–23–5 |
| Goals for | 306 |
| Goals against | 328 |
| Team information | |
| General Manager | Harry Neale |
| Coach |
Roger Neilson (17–28–6) Harry Neale (15–11–3) |
| Captain | Stan Smyl |
| Alternate captains |
Doug Halward Rick Lanz |
| Arena | Pacific Coliseum |
| Average attendance | 13,626 |
| Team leaders | |
| Goals | Tony Tanti (45) |
| Assists | Patrik Sundstrom (53) |
| Points | Patrik Sundstrom (91) |
| Penalties in minutes | Dave "Tiger" Williams (294) |
| Wins | John Garrett (14) |
| Goals against average | Frank Caprice (3.39) |
The Canucks had the ninth overall pick in the Entry Draft and chose right-winger Cam Neely, who had just led the Portland Winterhawks to the Memorial Cup Championship. Neely tallied 31 points and 57 penalty minutes in 56 games his rookie season.
The second game of the season was a wild, shoot-out affair, with the Canucks beating the Minnesota North Stars 10–9. Patrik Sundstrom scored the winning goal to go along with five assists in the game. His right winger, Tony Tanti, scored twice and added three helpers. Two nights later, in a 7–4 win over Toronto, Tanti scored three goals, all assisted by Sundstrom. The two would combine for a large piece of the Canucks' offense this season and, along with Dave "Tiger" Williams on left wing, quickly establish themselves as the club's number one line. Tanti finished with a club-record 45 goals while Sundstrom tallied six assists and seven points (both club records) in a 9–5 win in Pittsburgh on February 29, helping him in establishing a club record of 91 points. Williams again led the NHL in penalty minutes, racking up 294.
On December 10, injuries to Richard Brodeur and John Garrett forced the Canucks to give rookie goalie Frank Caprice his first NHL start against the mighty Edmonton Oilers on Hockey Night In Canada. Things didn’t look good to start, when Pat Hughes beat him to the five-hole at the 16 second mark, but after that he stopped 41 of 42 shots, many coming off of the sticks of future Hall-of-Famers, and earned the game’s First Star in a 3–2 victory. Caprice then backstopped the Canucks to two more victories before suffering his first loss December 18 in Buffalo by a 3–2 score.
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