After COVID-19 put a halt on the 2019-20 NHL season in March, Vancouver Canucks fans around the world wondered what would happen next. Plenty of questions were presented by fans about the future of the season. Those questions were put to bed when the NHL announced its return on Aug. 1, 2020. The Canucks, who were seventh in the Western Conference, made the cut to join the postseason in the “bubble,” taking fans on a wild ride for the next month.
Background on the Team
Simply put, the 2019-20 Canucks were FUN. A pleasant mix of skill, grit, youth, and veterans all culminated into one of the more exciting teams in franchise history. Before the pandemic suspended the season, Vancouver was the 4-seed in the Pacific Division, only one point back of the Calgary Flames in the standings. Newcomer J.T. Miller provided a much-needed spark to Travis Green’s team, while Elias Pettersson, Brock Boeser and Bo Horvat continued to further their development.
On the blue line, Chris Tanev and Quinn Hughes formed a solid pairing. Jacob Markstrom and Thatcher Demko were one of the league’s better goaltending tandems, at times willing the team to victory themselves. Heading into the postseason, they were not expected to make a deep run. Despite the players listed above, they were inexperienced when it came to the postseason, missing out on it the previous four seasons. Fortunately for the fans, they would go on to have quite a memorable run.
Qualifying Round vs. (10) Minnesota Wild
The 2020 playoffs, of course, had a different setup than most years. Out stepped the divisional matchups, and in stepped the old-time conference-seed matchups. But this time, they came with a twist. Seeds 5-through-12 would face each other in a five-game series, with the winners moving on to be re-seeded. Vancouver would play the tenth-seeded Minnesota Wild, which the Canucks won in four games.
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Wild goaltender Alex Stalock was a wall in net in Game 1, stopping all 28 shots he faced, leading the Wild to a 3-0 victory. For Canucks fans, it felt more of the same when it came to recent disappointment in the postseason. Game 2 was crucial; if the Wild won, it would practically be the end for Vancouver. However, a win not only would tie up the series, but it’d give them momentum heading into Game 3. In a back-and-forth affair, they emerged victorious, winning 4-3.
Markstrom willed the Canucks to victory in Game 3, posting a shutout, as they won 3-0. On the brink of advancing to the next round, Vancouver just needed a single victory to move on. Game 4 was exciting as both teams were able to fill the net up with the score at 4-4 at the end of regulation. Just 11 seconds into overtime, the aforementioned Tanev sent Vancouver into the next round with this goal.
First Round vs. (4) St. Louis Blues
Coming off their first Stanley Cup win in 2019, the Blues were a dangerous team in 2020. Core players like Ryan O’Reilly, Alex Pietrangelo, and Jaden Schwartz were still there, bound to cause issues for Vancouver. They would need a quick start in Game 1 to take control of the series and not allow the defending champions to gain momentum. They did exactly that, winning 5-2 and scoring three goals in the final period. That momentum carried over into Game 2 after Horvat won the game in overtime, clinching the 4-3 victory.
The Blues bounced back in both Game 3 and 4, showing why they were Stanley Cup champions the year prior. Game 5 looked bleak for Vancouver after the Blues went up 3-1 in the second period. But in the blink of an eye, the Canucks flipped the game — and ultimately the series — upside down by scoring three straight goals in the second period and holding on for the 4-3 victory. With total momentum heading into Game 6, Vancouver dominated and won 6-2. Not only had they just knocked out the defending champions with relative ease, but they showed the rest of the league they were a contender.
Second Round vs. (1) Vegas Golden Knights
The 2019-20 Vegas Golden Knights were seen as a true contender to lift Lord Stanley’s Cup for the first time in their short history. They had stars at every position and quality depth behind them, too. Having been in the Stanley Cup Final two years prior, they had the experience to match their skill. They showed that in Game 1, trouncing the Canucks 5-0. Vancouver showed elite resilience in Game 2, however, giving Vegas a taste of their own medicine, winning 5-2. The Golden Knights bounced back in Game 3, with goaltender Robin Lehner posting a shutout en route to a 3-0 victory. In Game 4, they put a stranglehold on the series, winning 5-3, but more importantly, extending the series lead to 3-1.
Introduced to the series was Demko in Game 5. The San Diego-born netminder stopped 42 of 43 shots, carrying the Canucks to a 2-1 victory in a game where Vancouver had no business winning, getting outshot by 26. He would somehow improve on his Game 5 performance in Game 6, posting a 48-save shutout as the Canucks won 3-0. It was genuinely one of the greatest, most jaw-dropping goaltending performances in Canucks history.
Vancouver had everything going for them heading into Game 7. They had momentum, elite goaltending play, and Vegas’ goaltending was weak. Despite Demko’s best efforts once again, Vegas finally put their foot down, winning 3-0 (from ‘The Armies: Canucks’ playoff ride comes to an end with Game 7 loss,’ The Athletic, Sept. 5, 2020). He stopped 33 out of 34 shots (Vegas scored two empty-net goals), while Vancouver only mustered 14 shots on net. The run had finally come to an end but gave Canucks fans hope for the future.
What Happened After?
So yeah, what happened afterward? Surely that team filled with young, skillful players continued to progress, leading to continued postseason appearances for the near future, right? Fast forward four seasons and the Canucks have only made the playoffs once – and it just came recently in 2024. Core pieces like Tyler Toffoli, Troy Stecher, Tanev and Markstrom all left via free agency, with the latter two joining division Vancouver’s division rival Flames. Veterans like Antoine Roussel, Loui Eriksson, and Jay Beagle all saw their production dip the following season, and thus, the retool had started to take place.
GM Jim Benning made a multitude of moves the following year to try and aid back Vancouver into the postseason, including trading for Oliver Ekman-Larsson to get rid of Roussel and Eriksson. But ultimately, he damaged the team moving forward. Since then, Jim Rutherford and Patrik Allvin have taken over to try and fix the mess Benning created for them. Then-head coach Travis Green was fired two years later, with Bruce Boudreau taking his spot for 103 games, only to be replaced by current bench boss Rick Tocchet in 2022-23. There was a true mass exodus from that 2019-20 team, as now only six players remain in Vancouver from that team.
The 2020 Playoff run is something that feels forgotten at times when discussing Canucks history. The 2011 run will always be mentioned — as it should — but the 2020 run gave fans hope for the first time in a while. The NHL “bubble” was a weird yet entertaining version of hockey that fans never saw before, but yet it feels unremembered. Maybe it’s because it’s related to the pandemic, something people would understandably like to erase from their memory. Whatever the reason, the 2019-20 Canucks’ playoff run was something that every fan should cherish for eternity.
