1989-1990: THE SOVIETS INVADE
Expectations were higher than they'd been in a long time going into this, the franchise's 20th year. The uplifting final few months of the previous season combined with the possible acquisitions of Soviet stars C Igor Larionov and LW Vladimir Krutov lifted the number of season-ticket sales higher than it had ever been. New white home uniforms and the discarding of the infamous "V"s on them also piqued fan interest. Larionov was cleared to play early and was with the team from the start of training camp, while Krutov got his release from the Red Army later and joined during the pre-season. They were part of the Soviet invasion of the NHL.
Krutov became the first Soviet-born player to score a goal in the NHL, scoring an empty-netter in Vancouver's second game, a 5-3 home win over Detroit. The pre-season predictions of success seemed accurate, as the Canucks jumped out to an 8-6-1 record after 15 games. Unfortunately, the team's offensive shortcomings became apparent after that, as the team won only six of its next 39 games-a hole it would not recover from. Krutov and Larionov, from whom it was hoped a scoring punch would be lead, had trouble putting up points. Krutov (34 points in 61 games) showed at times that he still had the quick wrists and puck-handling abilities that had made him a star overseas, but had lost speed and had no inclination to play any sort of physical game. Though Larionov had little more scoring success than his countryman (44 points in 74 games), he at least seemed willing to make more of a defensive contribution. On Dec 27, Viktor Tikhonov's Red Army team paid a visit to the Coliseum. A large crowd gathered to see the Canuck Russians face their old mates, but it was a couple of future NHL stars that stole the spotlight. Arturs Irbe registered a shutout and Sergei Fedorov a hat trick in Red Army's 6-0 win.
Desperately seeking a scoring punch of some kind, on January 21 Pat Quinn dealt Tony Tanti, Barry Pederson and D Rod Buskas to Pittsburgh for C Dan Quinn, RW Andrew McBain, and RW Dave Capuano. It would work to some extent, as Quinn would lead the team in scoring the rest of the season (34 points with Vancouver, 63 overall). The team made two deals on the trading deadline. First they sent Harold Snepsts, Rich Sutter and a second-round pick in 1990 (Craig Johnson) to St. Louis for D Adrien Plavsic, a first-round pick in 1990 (Shawn Antoski) and a second-round pick in 1991 (Craig Darby). They then sent the draft pick they acquired from St. Louis to Montreal for D Jyrki Lumme. The Canucks played well late in the season, but it was too late to make a charge at the playoffs. When the Canucks erased a 5-3 deficit in the last couple of minutes a game in St. Louis and won in overtime to stave off elimination, coach Bob McCammon was asked if he was glad to still be alive. He responded, "If you call being in an iron lung alive." On the final game of the season, Stan Smyl avoided the embarrassment of a goalless season when he redirected a shot into the roof of the net in the game's opening minute. Greg Adams also notched his 30th goal of the season in a 5-2 win over Los Angeles. The win gave the Canucks 64 points to finish the season. It was 11 points shy of a playoff spot, and a 10-point decrease from the previous season. The game was the last in the NHL for Paul Reinhart, who posted back-to-back 57-point seasons despite playing in constant pain. Lost in the shambles was an outstanding season by goaltender Kirk McLean, who appeared in 63 games and arguably played better than he did in his Vezina nomination season a year earlier.
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