2020–21 Vancouver Canucks season

The 2020–21 Vancouver Canucks season was the 51st season for the National Hockey League (NHL) franchise that was established on May 22, 1970.

Due to the Canada–United States border restrictions brought in as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Canucks were re-aligned with the other six Canadian franchises into the newly formed North Division. The league's 56 game season was played entirely within the new divisions, meaning that Vancouver and the other Canadian teams played an all-Canadian schedule for the 2020–21 regular season as well as the first two rounds of the 2021 Stanley Cup playoffs.

On March 31, 2021, the first of several Canucks games were postponed due to COVID protocols. By April, a majority of the team had tested positive for COVID-19, including several coaches. It is the most extensive COVID outbreak in the NHL and in North American professional sports to date. The Canucks were eliminated from playoff contention on May 10 after the Edmonton Oilers defeated the Montreal Canadiens 4–3 in overtime.

Standings

Divisional standings

Schedule and results

Regular season The regular season schedule was released on December 23, 2020. 2020–21 game logJanuary: 6–5–0 (Home: 4–2–0; Road: 2–3–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 1 January 13 Vancouver 5–3 Edmonton Holtby 0 1–0–0 2 2 January 14 Vancouver 2–5 Edmonton Demko 0 1–1–0 2 3 January 16 Vancouver 0–3 Calgary Holtby 0 1–2–0 2 4 January 18 Vancouver 2–5 Calgary Demko 0 1–3–0 2 5 January 20 Montreal 5–6 Vancouver SO Holtby 0 2–3–0 4 6 January 21 Montreal 7–3 Vancouver Demko 0 2–4–0 4 7 January 23 Montreal 5–2 Vancouver Holtby 0 2–5–0 4 8 January 25 Ottawa 1–7 Vancouver Demko 0 3–5–0 6 9 January 27 Ottawa 1–5 Vancouver Demko 0 4–5–0 8 10 January 28 Ottawa 1–4 Vancouver Holtby 0 5–5–0 10 11 January 30 Vancouver 4–1 Winnipeg Demko 0 6–5–0 12 February: 2–9–2 (Home: 1–4–2; Road: 1–5–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 12 February 1 Vancouver 2–6 Montreal Holtby 0 6–6–0 12 13 February 2 Vancouver 3–5 Montreal Demko 0 6–7–0 12 14 February 4 Vancouver 3–7 Toronto Demko 0 6–8–0 12 15 February 6 Vancouver 1–5 Toronto Holtby 0 6–9–0 12 16 February 8 Vancouver 1–3 Toronto Holtby 0 6–10–0 12 17 February 11 Calgary 3–1 Vancouver Demko 0 6–11–0 12 18 February 13 Calgary 1–3 Vancouver Demko 0 7–11–0 14 19 February 15 Calgary 4–3 Vancouver OT Demko 0 7–11–1 15 20 February 17 Vancouver 5–1 Calgary Holtby 0 8–11–1 17 21 February 19 Winnipeg 2–0 Vancouver Demko 0 8–12–1 17 22 February 21 Winnipeg 4–3 Vancouver OT Holtby 0 8–12–2 18 23 February 23 Edmonton 4–3 Vancouver Demko 0 8–13–2 18 24 February 25 Edmonton 3–0 Vancouver Demko 0 8–14–2 18 March: 8–4–1 (Home: 4–3–0; Road: 4–1–1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 25 March 1 Vancouver 4–0 Winnipeg Demko 0 9–14–2 20 26 March 2 Vancouver 2–5 Winnipeg Holtby 0 9–15–2 20 27 March 4 Toronto 1–3 Vancouver Demko 0 10–15–2 22 28 March 6 Toronto 2–4 Vancouver Demko 0 11–15–2 24 29 March 8 Montreal 1–2 Vancouver SO Demko 0 12–15–2 26 30 March 10 Montreal 5–1 Vancouver Demko 0 12–16–2 26 31 March 13 Edmonton 1–2 Vancouver Demko 0 13–16–2 28 32 March 15 Vancouver 3–2 Ottawa OT Demko 0 14–16–2 30 33 March 17 Vancouver 3–2 Ottawa SO Demko 0 15–16–2 32 34 March 19 Vancouver 3–2 Montreal OT Demko 0 16–16–2 34 35 March 20 Vancouver 4–5 Montreal SO Holtby 0 16–16–3 35 36 March 22 Winnipeg 4–0 Vancouver Demko 0 16–17–3 35 37 March 24 Winnipeg 5–1 Vancouver Demko 0 16–18–3 35 — March 31 Calgary – Vancouver Postponed due to COVID-19. Rescheduled for May 16.April: 3–4–0 (Home: 3–1–0; Road: 0–3–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap — April 3 Vancouver – Edmonton Postponed due to COVID-19. Rescheduled for May 6. — April 4 Vancouver – Winnipeg Postponed due to COVID-19. Rescheduled for May 10. — April 6 Vancouver – Winnipeg Postponed due to COVID-19. Rescheduled for May 11. — April 8 Vancouver – Calgary Postponed due to COVID-19. Rescheduled for May 19. — April 10 Vancouver – Calgary Postponed due to COVID-19. Rescheduled for May 13. — April 12 Vancouver – Edmonton Postponed due to COVID-19. Rescheduled for May 8. — April 14 Vancouver – Edmonton Postponed due to COVID-19. Rescheduled for May 15. — April 16 Edmonton – Vancouver Postponed due to COVID-19. Rescheduled for May 3. — April 17 Toronto – Vancouver Postponed due to COVID-19. Rescheduled for April 18. 38 April 18 Toronto 2–3 Vancouver OT Holtby 0 17–18–3 37 — April 19 Toronto – Vancouver Postponed due to COVID-19. Rescheduled for April 20. 39 April 20 Toronto 3–6 Vancouver Holtby 0 18–18–3 39 40 April 22 Ottawa 3–0 Vancouver Demko 0 18–19–3 39 41 April 24 Ottawa 2–4 Vancouver Holtby 0 19–19–3 41 42 April 26 Vancouver 1–2 Ottawa Holtby 0 19–20–3 41 43 April 28 Vancouver 3–6 Ottawa Demko 0 19–21–3 41 44 April 29 Vancouver 1–4 Toronto Holtby 0 19–22–3 41 May: 4–7–1 (Home: 1–2–1; Road: 3–5–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 45 May 1 Vancouver 1–5 Toronto Demko 0 19–23–3 41 46 May 3 Edmonton 5–3 Vancouver Holtby 0 19–24–3 41 47 May 4 Edmonton 4–1 Vancouver Demko 0 19–25–3 41 48 May 6 Vancouver 6–3 Edmonton Demko 0 20–25–3 43 49 May 8 Vancouver 3–4 Edmonton Demko 0 20–26–3 43 50 May 10 Vancouver 3–1 Winnipeg Demko 0 21–26–3 45 51 May 11 Vancouver 0–5 Winnipeg Holtby 0 21–27–3 45 52 May 13 Vancouver 1–4 Calgary Demko 0 21–28–3 45 53 May 15 Vancouver 4–1 Edmonton Demko 0 22–28–3 47 54 May 16 Calgary 6–5 Vancouver OT Holtby 0 22–28–4 48 55 May 18 Calgary 2–4 Vancouver Demko 0 23–28–4 50 56 May 19 Vancouver 2–6 Calgary Holtby 0 23–29–4 50 Legend:

Detailed records North Division Opponent Home Away Total Pts Calgary Flames 2–1–2 1–4–0 3–5–2 8 26 35Edmonton Oilers 1–4–0 3–2–0 4–6–0 8 29 33Montreal Canadiens 2–3–0 1–2–1 3–5–1 7 26 41Ottawa Senators 4–1–0 2–2–0 6–3–0 12 30 20Toronto Maple Leafs 4–0–0 0–5–0 4–5–0 8 23 32Winnipeg Jets 0–3–1 3–2–0 3–5–1 7 17 27 Total 13–12–3 10–17–1 23–29–4 50 151 188

Player statistics

Skaters Regular season Player 56 23 26 49 −3 16 53 15 31 46 −7 43 56 3 38 41 −24 22 56 19 20 39 −6 23 56 13 14 27 −4 16 26 10 11 21 0 6 55 6 15 21 −8 51 51 10 8 18 −15 26 54 5 10 15 −7 4 43 9 3 12 −9 2 38 3 7 10 −3 39 24 6 3 9 0 14 ‡ 31 1 8 9 +5 9 52 0 8 8 −8 58 ‡ 33 4 3 7 −13 12 38 5 0 5 −4 41 † 18 3 2 5 0 2 30 2 3 5 −7 9 30 1 4 5 −2 8 14 3 1 4 −3 6 35 1 3 4 +4 37 23 2 1 3 −1 0 8 1 2 3 +1 0 † 20 0 3 3 −10 6 † 19 2 0 2 −6 0 34 1 1 2 −2 44 18 0 1 1 −11 12 1 0 1 1 −1 0 7 0 1 1 −3 2 3 0 0 0 −2 2 15 0 0 0 −5 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 7 0 0 0 −4 0 1 0 0 0 −1 17 2 0 0 0 −2 2

Goaltenders Regular season Player 35 35 2,086:48 16 18 1 99 2.85 1,164 .915 1 0 0 0 21 21 1,260:29 7 11 3 77 3.67 695 .889 0 0 1 0 †Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Canucks. Stats reflect time with the Canucks only. ‡Denotes player was traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with the Canucks only. Bold/italics denotes franchise record.

Awards and honours

Milestones

Regular season Player Milestone Reached 1st career NHL game 1st career NHL goal 1st career NHL point January 13, 2021 1st career NHL regular season game January 13, 2021 200th career NHL game January 16, 2021 400th career NHL game January 18, 2021 1st career NHL game January 20, 2021 1st career NHL assist January 21, 2021 1st career NHL assist 1st career NHL point January 21, 2021 1st career NHL goal 1st career NHL point January 25, 2021 1st career NHL hat-trick January 25, 2021 200th career NHL game February 2, 2021 600th career NHL game February 11, 2021 200th career NHL assist February 21, 2021 1000th career NHL Penalty minute February 25, 2021 300th career NHL game March 2, 2021 1st career NHL game March 4, 2021 100th career NHL game March 4, 2021 900th career NHL game March 6, 2021 100th career NHL assist March 14, 2021 300th career NHL point March 14, 2021 1st career NHL assist 1st career NHL point April 18, 2021 1st career NHL game April 29, 2021 500th career NHL game May 4, 2021 200th career NHL points May 4, 2021 500th career NHL game May 16, 2021 1st career NHL game May 16, 2021 1st career NHL game May 18, 2021

Transactions The Canucks have been involved in the following transactions during the 2020–21 season.

Trades Date Details Ref To Vegas Golden Knights3rd-round pick in 2022To Vancouver CanucksNate Schmidt To Chicago BlackhawksAdam GaudetteTo Vancouver CanucksMatthew Highmore To Chicago Blackhawks4th-round pick in 2021To Vancouver CanucksMadison Bowey5th-round pick in 2021 To Winnipeg JetsJordie BennTo Vancouver Canucks6th-round pick in 2021 To Dallas Stars3rd-round pick in 2021 To Vancouver CanucksJason Dickinson

Free agents Date Player Team Contract term Ref Braden Holtby from Washington Capitals 2-year Jacob Markstrom to Calgary Flames 6-year Christopher Tanev to Calgary Flames 4-year Louis Domingue to Calgary Flames 1-year Troy Stecher to Detroit Red Wings 2-year Tyler Toffoli to Montreal Canadiens 4-year Jayce Hawryluk from Ottawa Senators 1-year Josh Leivo to Calgary Flames 1-year Oscar Fantenberg to SKA Saint Petersburg (KHL) 1-year Travis Hamonic from Calgary Flames 1-year

Waivers Date Player Team Ref March 17, 2021 Jimmy Vesey from Toronto Maple Leafs March 22, 2021 Travis Boyd

Contract terminations Date Player Via Ref

Retirement Date Player Ref

Signings Date Player Contract term Ref Zack MacEwen 2-year Tyler Motte 2-year Ashton Sautner 1-year Jake Kielly 1-year Adam Gaudette 1-year Jake Virtanen 2-year Guillaume Brisebois 1-year Jalen Chatfield 1-year Tyler Graovac 1-year Justin Bailey 1-year Carson Focht 3-year Thatcher Demko 5-year Tanner Pearson 3-year Vasily Podkolzin 3-year Karel Plášek 3-year

Draft picks

Below are the Vancouver Canucks' selections at the 2020 NHL entry draft, which was held virtually via video conference call on October 6 and 7, 2020 from the NHL Network studios in Secaucus, New Jersey, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Round # Player Pos Nationality College/Junior/Club team (League)382 Joni Jurmo D Finland Jokerit U20 (Jr. A SM-liiga)4113 Jackson Kunz LW United States Shattuck-St. Mary's High School (Minnesota)5144 Jacob Truscott D United States U.S. NTDP U-18 (USHL)6175 Dmitry Zlodeyev C Russia Dynamo Moscow 2 (MHL)71913 Viktor Persson D Sweden Kamloops Blazers (WHL) Notes: The Vancouver Canucks' first-round pick went to the New Jersey Devils as the result of a trade on February 16, 2020 that sent Blake Coleman to Tampa Bay in exchange for Nolan Foote and this pick (being conditional at the time of the trade). The condition – New Jersey will receive a first-round pick in 2020 if Vancouver qualifies for the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs – was converted when the Canucks advanced to the first round of the playoffs on August 7, 2020. Tampa Bay previously acquired this pick in a trade on June 22, 2019 that sent J. T. Miller to Vancouver in exchange for Marek Mazanec, a third-round pick in 2019 and this pick. The Vancouver Canucks' second-round pick went to the Detroit Red Wings as the result of a trade on October 7, 2020 that sent Edmonton's second-round pick in 2020 (45th overall) to Los Angeles in exchange for a fourth-round pick in 2020 (97th overall) and this pick. Los Angeles previously acquired this pick as the result of a trade on February 17, 2020 that sent Tyler Toffoli to Vancouver in exchange for Tim Schaller, Tyler Madden, a conditional fourth-round pick in 2022 and this pick. The Anaheim Ducks' seventh-round pick went to the Vancouver Canucks as the result of a trade on January 16, 2019 that sent Michael Del Zotto to Anaheim in exchange for Luke Schenn and this pick. The Vancouver Canucks' seventh-round pick went to the San Jose Sharks as the result of a trade on October 7, 2020 that sent a fifth-round pick in 2020 (127th overall) to the New York Rangers in exchange for a seventh-round pick in 2020 (196th overall) and this pick.