1979-1980: TIGER WILLIAMS MAKES HIS MARK
The Canucks made RW Rick Vaive their first-round selection (sixth overall) at the Entry Draft. Both he and 1978 first rounder Bill Derlago were in the line-up when the season started. For the most part, there were few changes to begin the new season.
After splitting their first two games at home, the Canucks traveled to Edmonton to meet the expansion Oilers and their 18-year-old Superkid, Wayne Gretzky. Goalless in his first two games and through two periods of the contest with Vancouver, the youngster's first of many NHL goals tied the game 4-4 late in the third period by coming out from behind the net and backhanding the puck over a fallen Glen Hanlon. The Canucks were 9-5-5 by November 18 before beginning to decline. The departure of Ron Sedlbauer to Chicago on December 21 took away some offence (LW Harold Phillipoff and D Dave Logan came in return), but that was made up for (and then some) by the brilliant play of Stan Smyl and Thomas Gradin, who recorded 78 and 75 points, respectively. Smyl's total tied Andre Boudrias' five-year-old club record. As well, he lead the team in goals (31), assists (47) and penalty minutes (204), becoming the first player in franchise history to accomplish that feat. The Canucks made two trades in February that would have a lot to do with the direction that the team would take in the coming seasons. On February 8, they shocked many fans by dealing the team's all-time leading scorer, Don Lever, along with RW Brad Smith to Atlanta for C Darcy Rota and C Ivan Boldirev. Boldirev recorded 27 points in 27 games as a Canuck. Ten days later, the Canucks traded both Vaive (who was having a spectacular rookie season) and Derlago to Toronto in exchange for LW Dave "Tiger" Williams and D Dave Butler. Though the deal was questioned by many, nobody could deny the contribution by Williams to the team for the rest of the season. He started contributing right away. Three days after the trade, Pat Quinn's Flyers came to town. There was still some bad blood from the playoffs of the previous season, and what occurred at the Pacific Coliseum on February 21 was an all-out bench-clearing brawl. When the dust had settled, 344 penalty minutes were racked up and Williams had a field day, taking on all of Philadelphia's tough customers. Goaltenders Glen Hanlon and Phil Myre even entertained the fans by slugging it out. Though the Canucks lost 7-3, they proved that they were no longer pushovers. Butler contributed as well, scoring a hat-trick in a crucial 5-0 win against Edmonton in the third-to-last game of the season. The Canucks won their last four games to finish with a record of 27-37-16 for 70 points, good for 15th place overall, setting up a first-round match-up with second-place Buffalo.
This playoff match-up between 1970 expansion cousins demonstrated the discrepancy in the success that the two teams have had. Buffalo went to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1975 and had remained in the upper echelon of the league ever since. Two thirds of the famed French Connection was still in tact. With Gilbert Perreault (whom the Canucks barely missed out on) centering Richard Martin and Danny Gare (who had no trouble filling in for the departed Rene Robert on the top line -- leading the NHL with 56 goals in 1979-80), the Sabres were one of the most offensively explosive teams in the league. The Sabres took the first two games of the best-of-five series at Memorial Auditorium by 2-1 (on Alan Haworth's overtime goal) and 6-0 scores before the series moved west. The Canucks played a most spirited game on April 11, lead by the hard-nosed "Tiger" Williams. He managed to get under the skin of the entire Buffalo team, getting involved at the Sabres bench at one point. During the altercation, it was alleged that his stick hit Sabres' coach Scotty Bowman in the head. No penalty was awarded on the play and Williams continued in the game, leading the Canucks to a 5-4 victory. They seemed to be back in the series, but an NHL supervisor in the press box claimed to have clearly seen Williams strike Bowman, and Williams was suspended for the fourth game. Without him, the Canucks lost 3-1 and the season was over.
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