Since Ryan Miller left the Vancouver Canucks in the summer of last year to sign with the Anaheim Ducks, the California team has been blessed (cursed?) with a plethora of former Vancouver Canucks.

It’s fair for Canucks fans to feel conflicted about cheering for the Ducks though, as Ryan Kesler isn’t exactly loved in this city for the way he forced his way out of town. And while Kevin Bieksa remains a fan favourite and Miller is respected, it’s hard to forget what Kesler did.

While the polarizing winger almost definitely had the best career in an Orca uniform of anyone in the playoffs, now that the Ducks have been swept by the San Jose Sharks, it’s fair to ask who holds that (somewhat) lofty crown.

Below is a ranking of how the former Canucks still in the playoff chase did during their time with Vancouver.

9. Shawn Matthias, Winnipeg Jets
Regular season games with the Canucks: 96

After coming over along with Jacob Markstrom in the Roberto Luongo trade, Matthias put up seven points in 18 games in a depth role and looked like he might be a steady contributor to the Canucks for years to come.

He put up a career-high 18 goals in a Vancouver uniform the next year, helping the Canucks make the playoffs. He promptly turned that production into a $2.3 million contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Matthias hasn’t scored more than 10 goals since and has been a regular healthy scratch with the Jets, who put him up for trade earlier this season.

8. Luca Sbisa, Vegas Golden Knights
Regular season games with the Canucks: 199

Always a favourite whipping boy amongst Canucks fans and media, Sbisa rarely showed himself to be a competent defender after coming over in the Kesler trade.

It was definitely shocking to see him record 14 points in 30 games with the Golden Knights this season, as he showed a complete inability to get the puck out of his own zone with the Canucks, let alone put it in the opposing net.

7. Nick Bonino, Nashville Predators
Regular season games with the Canucks: 75

Another piece in the Kesler deal, Bonino is often brought up by critics of GM Jim Benning, not because they think the Canucks executive didn’t get enough for Kesler (though they do), but because of the trade that sent Bonino out of town.

Just a year after Bonino registered 39 points in 75 games for the Canucks, he was shipped out with a second-round pick and Adam Clendening for Brandon Sutter and a third-round pick. In three years with the Canucks, Sutter’s season high is 34 points. Meanwhile, Bonino has won two Stanley Cups with the Pittsburgh Penguins and is playing a bottom-six role for the Nashville Predators in pursuit of his third. 

6. Michael Grabner, New Jersey Devils
Regular season games with the Canucks: 20

Yes, Grabner only played 20 games for the Canucks, but Vancouver fans are typically more attached to him than that brief stint would suggest. The forward, drafted in the first round in 2006, spent parts of four seasons with the Manitoba Moose and was often regarded as the team’s only real prospect (other than Cory Schneider) at the turn of the decade.

So fans had gotten used to Grabner and were waiting to see what he could do with the big club. He didn’t disappoint, scoring 11 points in 20 games and using his speed to confound opponents.

But he came around at the wrong time. The Canucks were ready to contend for the Stanley Cup, and they shipped Grabner to Florida in a package for Keith Ballard. Since then he’s hit the 20-goal mark four times, leaving Vancouver fans to wonder what could have been.

5. Yannick Weber, Nashville Predators
Regular season games with the Canucks: 159

Yep, it’s a little shocking to look back and realize that Weber logged just under 160 games with the Canucks. The Swiss native was often used as a bottom pairing blueliner with the ‘Nucks, and was able to log more ice time when injuries inevitably struck.

He’s now in a depth role with the Predators and though he was somewhat of a cog for Nashville during the team’s run to the Stanley Cup Final last year, he’s found himself sitting in the press box as of late.

It was only three years ago that Weber scored 11 goals for the Canucks—five more than any Vancouver defenceman scored this year. In fact, no Canucks blueliner has registered as many since, and you have to go back to 2011-12—when Alexander Edler also had 11—to equal Weber’s total.

The next year—Weber’s last in Vancouver—wasn’t so pretty. He recorded a minus-17 rating in 45 games and was often a healthy scratch.

4. Dale Weise, Philadelphia Flyers
Regular season games with the Canucks: 152

The Canucks picked up Weise at the beginning of the 2011-12 season after the New York Rangers gave up on the Winnipeg native. It was an effort to bring some sandpaper to a lineup that had been bullied by the Boston Bruins in the playoffs the previous summer.

And while the team certainly could have used him then, Weise only played six playoff games with Vancouver over three years. He brought heart-and-soul to the Canucks’ bottom-six, but ultimately, as the team turned towards a rebuild, he wasn’t a fit. He was traded to the Montreal Canadiens during the 2013-2014 season and went on to score seven points in 16 games for the Habs in the playoffs.

 

3. Thomas Vanek, Columbus Blue Jackets
Regular season games with the Canucks: 61

Is there some recency bias at play here? Possibly. After all, how can a player with the second-least games played on the list rank third? Well, no one on the list has had a season in Vancouver like the abbreviated one Vanek just put together, his 41 points in 61 games standing as the benchmark among ex-Canucks still in the playoffs.

He was one of the lone bright spots of another rough campaign for the Canucks, and it’s hard not to wonder (and hope) that the team considers bringing him back for another one-year deal.

2. Cory Schneider, New Jersey Devils
Regular season games with the Canucks: 98

How does one evaluate Schneider’s time with the Canucks? He was one of the best goalies in the league after Vancouver slowly brought him up from the minors, similar to how the club is now treating another Boston College grad, Thatcher Demko.

Canucks fans have to hope that the team gets Demko into more than 100 NHL games, but it’s hard to be upset with how the Schneider situation went down. The Canucks now have their future (probably as soon as this coming season) captain because they dealt the goalie for the draft pick that turned into Bo Horvat.

Schneider shared a William Jennings Trophy with Roberto Luongo for allowing the fewest goals during the regular season and had flashes of brilliance in the playoffs after unseating Luongo as the starter.

He’s had a rocky couple of years with New Jersey but looks to have regained his form of late after being benched for backup Keith Kinkaid to start this year’s playoffs. 

1. Jannik Hansen, San Jose Sharks
Regular season games with the Canucks: 565

The ninth-round of the NHL draft doesn’t even exist anymore, but that’s where the Canucks nabbed Hansen in 2004. He would become one of the team’s more reliable forwards for years to come, as he proved himself versatile enough to play anywhere in the lineup.

He was a fixture on the Canucks’ penalty kill for years and spent a considerable amount of time retrieving pucks for the Sedins. He won the team’s Fred J. Hume Award given each year to the unsung hero an unprecedented three times, and is fondly remembered by fans and teammates alike.

The Sharks traded Nikolay Goldobin to add Hansen to their roster and they definitely regret it, as Hansen has often been a healthy scratch this season and hasn’t gotten into a playoff game with San Jose yet.

An earlier version of this article had an incorrect photo of Schneider. 

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