2009–10 Vancouver Canucks season

Entry draft

At the 2009 NHL Entry Draft the Vancouver Canucks drafted seven players. The Canucks did not have their own seventh round draft pick as it had previously been traded to the Los Angeles Kings for Jason LaBarbera. The Canucks acquired a sixth round draft pick from the Phoenix Coyotes in return for Shaun Heshka.

Free agency

On July 1, the Vancouver re-signed Daniel and Henrik Sedin to matching 5-year contracts worth $31 million each. The contracts will pay each Sedin $6.1 million per season.

Mikael Samuelsson was signed as an unrestricted free agent on July 3, 2009. His contract was for three years and worth $2.5 million per season.

However, the team lost free agent Mattias Ohlund, who signed with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Ohlund spent the first eleven seasons of his NHL career with the Canucks. He was offered, and signed, a seven-year contract with the Lightning worth $26.25 million, an offer which the Canucks could not match.

On August 17, 2009, the Canucks signed prospect Sergei Shirokov to a 2-year contract worth $1.75 million. Shirokov was drafted in the sixth round of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft.

Trades

On August 28, 2009, Mike Gillis traded prospects centre Patrick White and defenceman Daniel Rahimi to the San Jose Sharks for defencemen Christian Ehrhoff and Brad Lukowich.

Pre-season

As part of the Kraft Hockeyville promotion, the Canucks played the New York Islanders in Terrace, British Columbia, for their first pre-season game. The Canucks won by a score of 2–1.

On September 2, General Manager Mike Gillis announced that he had re-signed starting goaltender Roberto Luongo to a 12-year contract extension worth $64 million. With Luongo being 30 years old at the time of the extension, the contract effectively ensured Luongo would be with the Canucks for the rest of his career. The deal featured a no trade clause (NTC). The NTC had two additional clauses, however: in the fifth season, Luongo will be able to request a trade, and in the seventh season, the Canucks have the option to trade Luongo without needing Luongo to waive his NTC.

On September 24, 2009, Mike Gillis signed head coach Alain Vigneault to a three-year contract extension. The extension will keep Vigneault behind the bench through the 2012–13 season. Vigneault joined the club in the 2006–07 season and led the Canucks to their two Northwest Division titles in the previous three seasons.

Regular season

The 2010 Winter Olympics took place in Vancouver—the first Winter Olympics in an NHL market since the NHL began to allow its players to compete in Olympic competition. As a result, the Canucks undertook the longest road trip in NHL history, with 14 games over six weeks, from January 27 to March 13, 2010, to allow General Motors Place to be used for ice hockey during the games. GM Place was renamed "Canada Hockey Place" during the games, as the International Olympic Committee doesn't allow corporate sponorship for venues. The Canucks' former arena, Pacific Coliseum, was also a venue during the games, hosting figure skating and short track speed skating.

Forward Ryan Kesler was signed to a 6-year contract extension on March 19, 2010. The new contract was worth $30 million.

On the NHL trade deadline day, March 3, the Canucks acquired defenceman Andrew Alberts from the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for a third round pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft.

On March 17, 2010, the Canucks signed their first round draft pick from the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, Jordan Schroeder. The deal was a standard entry-level contract for three years. The contract was for the entry-level maximum of US$900,000 per season along with a $270,000 signing bonus. However, because the contract was signed after the NHL trade deadline, Schroeder was ineligible to play for the Canucks for the remainder of the season. As a result, Schroeder signed an amateur tryout contract with the Canucks' American Hockey League affiliate, the Manitoba Moose.

The Canucks clinched a playoff berth for the second consecutive year with a shootout victory over the Anaheim Ducks on April 2. The Canucks also managed to clinch a second consecutive Northwest Division title when they defeated the Minnesota Wild in overtime on April 4. The win secured the Canucks a top three seed in the 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs and home ice advantage in the first round.

On April 18, 2010, the Canucks signed their 2009 third round draft pick, Kevin Connauton. The terms of the deal were not disclosed. However, like Schroeder, Connauton was ineligible to play for the Canucks as his contract was signed after the NHL trade deadline.

The Canucks finished the regular season third overall in the Western Conference. They were the second highest scoring team, with 268 goals for, averaging 3.27 goals per game.

Playoffs

The Canucks entered the 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs as the third seed in the Western Conference. This was the first time the Canucks made the playoffs in consecutive seasons since the 2004–05 NHL lockout. In the first round, the Canucks defeated the Los Angeles Kings in six games. The Canucks lost the following round, the Conference Semifinals, to the Chicago Blackhawks.

Pre-season

1.^ Game played in Terrace, British Columbia as part of Kraft Hockeyville promotion

Conference standings

bold – Qualified for playoffs; y – Won division; z – Won conference (and division)

Skaters

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = Plus/Minus; PIM = Penalty Minutes

Goaltenders

Note: GP = Games Played; TOI = Time On Ice (minutes); W = Wins; L = Losses; OT = Overtime Losses; GA = Goals Against; GAA= Goals Against Average; SA= Shots Against; SV= Saves; Sv% = Save Percentage; SO= Shutouts

^†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Canucks. Stats reflect time with Canucks only.
^‡Traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with Canucks only.

Draft picks

Vancouver's picks at the 2009 NHL Entry Draft in Montreal, Quebec.

^1 This draft pick originally belonged to the Phoenix Coyotes. It was acquired from Phoenix in exchange for Shaun Heshka.

Farm teams

The Manitoba Moose will remain the Canucks' American Hockey League affiliate for the 2009–10 season.

The Victoria Salmon Kings will remain the Canucks' ECHL affiliate for the 2009–10 season.