The Canucks are a professional ice hockey franchise based in Vancouver, Canada, competing in the NHL (National Hockey League). They play as a Pacific Division of the Western Conference member, playing their games at Rogers Arena. The current Head Coach is Bruce Boudreau, and Jim Rutherford serves as Club President, with Patrik Allvin serving as the General Manager.
In 1966 Vancouver began constructing a new modern arena, the Pacific Coliseum. At the time, the WHL’s Canucks played at a smaller stadium, the Vancouver Forum. Meanwhile, a Vancouver group led by the WHL Canucks owner and former Mayor of Vancouver (Fred Hume) applied to be one of the teams to join the league in 1967, but the NHL rejected it.
A group run by Tom Scallen presented again and was awarded an expansion team for $6 million (three times the cost in 1967). The new group purchased the Canucks and brought them into the league as an expansion team in the 1970-71 season. As part of their preparation, the Canucks bought several NHL players, including Murray Hall, Ted Taylor, Marc Reaume, Len Lunde, George Gardner, and John Armor.
In 1982, the Canucks would make their first significant impact. Though they’d reached the playoffs five times, they hadn’t won any series. The Canucks finished three games under a .500 win percentage in the 1981 season but gained momentum when they finished their campaign with an unbeaten streak spanning nine games. Further enhancing their success, the Canucks went to the Stanley Cup Finals with a combined 11-2 record against the Calgary Flames, Los Angeles Kings, and Chicago Black Hawks. Despite an otherwise losing record, Vancouver had home-ice advantage in the first season. They retained this advantage during their next round against the LA Kings.
In the second game of the conference finals in Chicago, the Head Coach Roger Neilson, frustrated with poor officiating, placed a towel on the end of his hockey stick and held it up as a mock surrender, ”waving the white flag”. The players on the bench did the same. For the following games, Canuck fans copied the gesture by waving towels above their heads, and this habit has stuck, now known as ‘Towel Power.’ The Canucks went on to win the series, making it to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time.
The Canucks were the first Western Canadian team to play in the Stanley Cup for 56 years. The last time was the Victoria Cougars in the 1926 Stanley Cup Finals. It also marked the first coast-to-coast finals. Competing against the Islanders (who’d won the cup in the prior two years), Vancouver took the first game to overtime, and Canucks defenceman Harold Snepsts gave the puck away, leading to an errant goal for Mike Bossy of the Islanders. Canucks held a 3-2 lead after the first two periods but ultimately lost 6-4. 1982 would be the last year that Vancouver won a playoff for ten years.
In 1995, the Rogers Arena opened, the stadium seats up to 18,890, and it hosted the Winter Olympics in 2010. The arena is owned by Canuck Sports & Entertainment.
The franchise would decline after the 1982 playoffs, though they’d reach them again in 1994. The most significant event came in 2011 when they joined the 2011 Stanley Cup playoffs; the Canucks played against the Chicago Blackhawks and took a 3-0 lead in the series. But they ultimately lost again.
The franchise celebrated its 50th year in the 2019-20 season in the NHL. The same season saw the rookie campaign of Quinn Hughes, who closed the season with 45 assists and eight goals for 53 points. The Canucks also became the first team to have a Calder Trophy finalist three years since the Toronto Maple Leafs.
In February 2020, Henrik and Daniel Sedin’s numbers were retired before a game with the Chicago Blackhawks. In the first league after a hiatus caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the franchise won their first postseason series in almost a decade during 2020 qualifying round, defeating Minnesota Wild.
The Canucks, alongside the Buffalo Sabres, are the oldest NHL teams never to have won the Stanley Cup Championship. Overall, the franchise advanced to the Stanley Cup three times. Including their attempt against the Islanders in 1982, they lost to The New York Rangers in 1994 and the Boston Bruins in 2011. They’ve won the President’s trophy and three division titles for the Smythe Division (until 1993), and seven titles for the Northwest Division from 1998 to 2013. The Canucks have retired six players’ jerseys in their history, including Stan Smyl, Trevor Linden, and Markus Naslund, among others.
Famous Vancouver Canucks trademarks
The Vancouver Canucks represent one of the oldest hockey clubs. Most hockey teams have quite a bit of intellectual property. The Canucks are worth more than 100 million and have had four primary logos during their history. Let’s look at some of the trademark registrations owned by the Vancouver Canucks Limited Partnership.
V logo
The popular ‘V’ logo consists of a ‘V’ containing the word ‘Vancouver’. The trademark application was filed in 2008 and covers:
- Clothing including athletic shoes, boots, capes, dresses, football shoes, footwear, skirts, jackets, jerseys, lacrosse jerseys, football jerseys, hockey jerseys, hats, socks, shirts, golf shirts, sweaters, sleepwear, pants, pullover, short pants, scarves, suits, turtlenecks, uniforms, undergarments, baseball uniforms, vests, wrist bands, and sun visors
Orca logo
The Orca logo is one of the oldest logos trademarked by the Canucks and is a nod to their former parent company, Orca Bay. While the color has changed since its inception, the logo hasn’t. It was initially registered in 1997 for use in:
- Entertainment services, including professional hockey games and exhibitions
- Clothing including belts, boxer shorts, caps, cloth bibs, gloves, hats, headbands, jackets, jerseys, mittens, pants, scarves, shirts, shorts, socks, sweaters, sweatpants, sweatshirts, T-shirts, ties, warm-up suits, and wristbands
Related: Trademarking a logo, step by step
Canucks
Following its first use in 1970, the wordmark ‘Canucks’ was registered in 1973 for use in:
- Professional ice hockey exhibitions
Hockey stick logo
The hockey stick logo was registered in 2007, consisting of a typical hockey stick on a square pattern. It’s registered for use in:
- Clothing including bandanas, beach cover-ups, scarves, shirts, swim trunks, swimsuits, sun visors, suspenders, sweaters, sweatpants, sweatshirts, swimsuits, swim trunks, T-shirts, ties, toques, underwear, vests, warm-up suits, and wristbands
- Entertainment services related to professional ice hockey exhibitions
Wrapping up
The NHL Vancouver Canucks are a unique team with a long-running history, unique team logos, and famous members. They also have the dubious honor of being one of the oldest teams never to win the Stanley cup. Still, fans hold out hope that it could happen someday. Despite that, they’ve still got an impressive net worth of more than 100 million USD, but they don’t have as much intellectual property as you might expect, with just ten trademarks. They do have unique branding and slogans, such as ‘Towel Power,’ but it’s not placed under official trademark protection.
