1986–87 Vancouver Canucks season

1986–87 Vancouver Canucks
Division	5th Smythe
Conference	10th Campbell
1986–87 record	29–43–8
Home record	17–19–4
Road record	12–24–4
Goals for	282
Goals against	314
Team information
General manager	Jack Gordon
Coach	Tom Watt
Captain	Stan Smyl
Alternate captains	Brent Peterson Doug Lidster Barry Pederson
Arena	Pacific Coliseum
Average attendance	10,406
Team leaders
Goals	Tony Tanti (41)
Assists	Barry Pederson (52)
Points	Tony Tanti (79)
Penalty minutes	Garth Butcher (207)
Wins	Richard Brodeur (20)
Goals against average	Richard Brodeur (3.59)
← 1985–86 1987–88 →

The 1986–87 Vancouver Canucks season was the team's 17th in the National Hockey League (NHL). The Canucks did not qualify for the playoffs.

Offseason

Regular season

Final standings

Smythe Division^[1]

	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
Edmonton Oilers	80	50	24	6	372	284	106
Calgary Flames	80	46	31	3	318	289	95
Winnipeg Jets	80	40	32	8	279	271	88
Los Angeles Kings	80	31	41	8	318	341	70
Vancouver Canucks	80	29	43	8	282	314	66

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against
Note: Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

Record vs. opponents

Smythe Division record vs. opponents

Vs. Campbell Conference Vs. Smythe Division 1986–87 NHL records[2] Team CGY EDM LAK VAN WIN Total Calgary — 6–1–1 5–3 4–4 2–6 17–14–1 Edmonton 1–6–1 — 4–2–2 7–0–1 5–3 17–11–4 Los Angeles 3–5 2–4–2 — 2–5–1 3–5 10–19–3 Vancouver 4–4 0–7–1 5–2–1 — 3–5 12–18–2 Winnipeg 6–2 3–5 5–3 5–3 — 19–13–0 Vs. Norris Division 1986–87 NHL records Team CHI DET MIN STL TOR Total Calgary 3–0 1–2 1–1–1 1–2 2–1 8–6–1 Edmonton 1–2 3–0 2–0–1 3–0 2–1 11–3–1 Los Angeles 1–1–1 3–0 0–2–1 1–1–1 1–1–1 6–5–4 Vancouver 1–1–1 1–2 0–3 2–0–1 2–1 6–7–2 Winnipeg 0–3 1–1–1 2–1 1–0–2 1–2 5–7–3 Vs. Wales Conference Vs. Adams Division 1986–87 NHL records Team BOS BUF HFD MTL QUE Total Calgary 1–2 3–0 2–1 1–2 2–1 9–6–0 Edmonton 1–2 2–1 2–1 3–0 3–0 11–4–0 Los Angeles 1–2 1–2 2–1 0–3 0–3 4–11–0 Vancouver 1–2 3–0 0–2–1 2–1 1–2 7–7–1 Winnipeg 1–2 2–1 1–1–1 1–2 1–0–2 6–6–3 Vs. Patrick Division 1986–87 NHL records Team NJD NYI NYR PHI PIT WSH Total Calgary 2–1 2–0–1 2–1 2–1 2–1 2–1 12–5–1 Edmonton 2–1 2–0–1 3–0 1–2 2–1 1–2 11–6–1 Los Angeles 2–1 2–1 0–2–1 2–1 2–1 3–0 11–6–1 Vancouver 0–2–1 2–1 1–2 1–2 0–1–2 0–3 4–11–3 Winnipeg 3–0 1–1–1 2–1 1–2 2–1 1–1–1 10–6–2

Schedule and results

Preseason

The Canucks released their pre-season schedule on July 5, 1986.^[3]

1986 preseason
Preseason: 2–5–0 (home: 2–3–0; road: 0–2–0) Game Date Visitor Score Home Decision Attendance Record Recap 1^[a]^[b] September 20 Vancouver 4–2 Los Angeles - — – 2^[b] September 20 Vancouver 4–5 Los Angeles Young 4,132 0–1–0 3^[a]^[c] September 21 Los Angeles 2–7 Vancouver - — – 4^[c] September 21 Los Angeles 5–2 Vancouver Gamble 1,750 0–2–0 5^[d] September 23 Los Angeles 5–6 Vancouver Caprice 3,154 1–2–0 6 September 26 Vancouver 3–5 Winnipeg Caprice 9,184 1–3–0 7 September 27 Calgary 8–6 Vancouver Young 7,104 1–4–0 8 September 28 NY Rangers 6–5 Vancouver Brodeur 7,175 1–5–0 9 October 5 Winnipeg 1–5 Vancouver Young 8,696 2–5–0
Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Tie (1 point) Notes: ^a Game was played by the rookie squad. ^b Game was played at Memorial Arena in Victoria. ^c Game was played at Cowichan Community Centre in Duncan. ^d Game was played at Frank Crane Arena in Nanaimo.

Regular season

The Canucks released their regular season schedule on July 17, 1986.^[4]

1986–87 regular season[5]
October Game Result Date Score Opponent Record 1 W October 11, 1986 4–3 St. Louis Blues (1986–87) 1–0–0 2 L October 13, 1986 1–7 Quebec Nordiques (1986–87) 1–1–0 3 L October 15, 1986 2–3 @ New Jersey Devils (1986–87) 1–2–0 4 L October 16, 1986 2–6 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1986–87) 1–3–0 5 L October 18, 1986 1–4 @ Minnesota North Stars (1986–87) 1–4–0 6 W October 22, 1986 5–1 Boston Bruins (1986–87) 2–4–0 7 T October 24, 1986 2–2 OT Chicago Blackhawks (1986–87) 2–4–1 8 L October 26, 1986 2–3 @ Edmonton Oilers (1986–87) 2–5–1 9 L October 28, 1986 2–5 Washington Capitals (1986–87) 2–6–1 10 L October 31, 1986 2–6 Edmonton Oilers (1986–87) 2–7–1
November Game Result Date Score Opponent Record 11 L November 2, 1986 3–5 Montreal Canadiens (1986–87) 2–8–1 12 T November 4, 1986 2–2 OT @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1986–87) 2–8–2 13 L November 5, 1986 2–3 @ Washington Capitals (1986–87) 2–9–2 14 W November 7, 1986 7–6 @ Buffalo Sabres (1986–87) 3–9–2 15 W November 8, 1986 5–3 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1986–87) 4–9–2 16 L November 11, 1986 3–5 @ Calgary Flames (1986–87) 4–10–2 17 L November 12, 1986 3–4 Hartford Whalers (1986–87) 4–11–2 18 L November 14, 1986 2–3 Winnipeg Jets (1986–87) 4–12–2 19 W November 18, 1986 5–0 Calgary Flames (1986–87) 5–12–2 20 L November 21, 1986 5–8 New York Rangers (1986–87) 5–13–2 21 L November 22, 1986 2–5 @ Edmonton Oilers (1986–87) 5–14–2 22 W November 25, 1986 11–5 Los Angeles Kings (1986–87) 6–14–2 23 W November 26, 1986 5–3 @ Los Angeles Kings (1986–87) 7–14–2 24 L November 29, 1986 3–6 Winnipeg Jets (1986–87) 7–15–2
December Game Result Date Score Opponent Record 25 L December 2, 1986 2–4 Chicago Blackhawks (1986–87) 7–16–2 26 L December 5, 1986 3–4 New York Islanders (1986–87) 7–17–2 27 W December 7, 1986 3–1 @ Winnipeg Jets (1986–87) 8–17–2 28 L December 9, 1986 3–6 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1986–87) 8–18–2 29 L December 11, 1986 2–4 @ Boston Bruins (1986–87) 8–19–2 30 T December 13, 1986 2–2 OT @ Hartford Whalers (1986–87) 8–19–3 31 W December 14, 1986 7–3 @ Chicago Blackhawks (1986–87) 9–19–3 32 L December 17, 1986 4–5 Detroit Red Wings (1986–87) 9–20–3 33 L December 19, 1986 2–4 @ Edmonton Oilers (1986–87) 9–21–3 34 L December 20, 1986 3–5 Calgary Flames (1986–87) 9–22–3 35 W December 23, 1986 6–4 Los Angeles Kings (1986–87) 10–22–3 36 W December 27, 1986 4–2 Philadelphia Flyers (1986–87) 11–22–3 37 L December 30, 1986 3–7 Edmonton Oilers (1986–87) 11–23–3
January Game Result Date Score Opponent Record 38 T January 2, 1987 3–3 OT Los Angeles Kings (1986–87) 11–23–4 39 L January 4, 1987 2–4 @ Winnipeg Jets (1986–87) 11–24–4 40 L January 6, 1987 2–3 @ Quebec Nordiques (1986–87) 11–25–4 41 W January 7, 1987 3–2 OT @ Montreal Canadiens (1986–87) 12–25–4 42 T January 10, 1987 2–2 OT @ New Jersey Devils (1986–87) 12–25–5 43 L January 11, 1987 3–8 @ New York Rangers (1986–87) 12–26–5 44 L January 14, 1987 0–4 @ Los Angeles Kings (1986–87) 12–27–5 45 W January 16, 1987 9–5 Calgary Flames (1986–87) 13–27–5 46 W January 17, 1987 4–3 @ Calgary Flames (1986–87) 14–27–5 47 L January 19, 1987 4–5 @ Winnipeg Jets (1986–87) 14–28–5 48 W January 21, 1987 5–3 New York Rangers (1986–87) 15–28–5 49 L January 23, 1987 0–6 Pittsburgh Penguins (1986–87) 15–29–5 50 T January 27, 1987 4–4 OT Edmonton Oilers (1986–87) 15–29–6 51 L January 28, 1987 3–7 @ Edmonton Oilers (1986–87) 15–30–6 52 L January 30, 1987 3–4 New Jersey Devils (1986–87) 15–31–6
February Game Result Date Score Opponent Record 53 L February 1, 1987 3–4 Minnesota North Stars (1986–87) 15–32–6 54 W February 3, 1987 4–2 @ Calgary Flames (1986–87) 16–32–6 55 W February 4, 1987 4–1 New York Islanders (1986–87) 17–32–6 56 T February 6, 1987 2–2 OT St. Louis Blues (1986–87) 17–32–7 57 L February 8, 1987 2–3 Calgary Flames (1986–87) 17–33–7 58 T February 14, 1987 3–3 OT @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1986–87) 17–33–8 59 W February 17, 1987 4–3 @ St. Louis Blues (1986–87) 18–33–8 60 L February 18, 1987 3–7 @ Minnesota North Stars (1986–87) 18–34–8 61 L February 20, 1987 3–6 Washington Capitals (1986–87) 18–35–8 62 W February 22, 1987 3–2 Toronto Maple Leafs (1986–87) 19–35–8 63 L February 24, 1987 0–2 @ Calgary Flames (1986–87) 19–36–8 64 L February 26, 1987 4–5 @ Detroit Red Wings (1986–87) 19–37–8 65 L February 28, 1987 6–8 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1986–87) 19–38–8
March Game Result Date Score Opponent Record 66 W March 1, 1987 4–2 @ Buffalo Sabres (1986–87) 20–38–8 67 L March 4, 1987 5–8 Edmonton Oilers (1986–87) 20–39–8 68 W March 6, 1987 4–1 Montreal Canadiens (1986–87) 21–39–8 69 L March 8, 1987 2–5 @ Los Angeles Kings (1986–87) 21–40–8 70 W March 10, 1987 7–4 Detroit Red Wings (1986–87) 22–40–8 71 W March 13, 1987 6–4 Buffalo Sabres (1986–87) 23–40–8 72 W March 17, 1987 4–2 Quebec Nordiques (1986–87) 24–40–8 73 W March 20, 1987 6–5 OT Winnipeg Jets (1986–87) 25–40–8 74 L March 22, 1987 2–3 @ Winnipeg Jets (1986–87) 25–41–8 75 W March 26, 1987 5–2 @ New York Islanders (1986–87) 26–41–8 76 L March 28, 1987 1–2 @ Boston Bruins (1986–87) 26–42–8 77 L March 29, 1987 4–7 @ Hartford Whalers (1986–87) 26–43–8
April Game Result Date Score Opponent Record 78 W April 1, 1987 8–3 @ Los Angeles Kings (1986–87) 27–43–8 79 W April 3, 1987 6–4 Winnipeg Jets (1986–87) 28–43–8 80 W April 5, 1987 5–2 Los Angeles Kings (1986–87) 29–43–8
Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Tie (1 point)

Player statistics

Awards and records

Transactions

Draft picks

Vancouver's draft picks at the 1986 NHL entry draft held at the Montreal Forum in Montreal.

Round	#	Player	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team (League)
1	7	Dan Woodley	United States	Portland Winter Hawks (WHL)
3	49	Don Gibson	Canada	Winkler Flyers (MJHL)
4	70	Ronnie Stern	Canada	Longueuil Chevaliers (QMJHL)
5	91	Eric Murano	Canada	Calgary Canucks (AJHL)
6	112	Steve Herniman	Canada	Cornwall Royals (OHL)
7	133	Jon Helgeson	United States	Roseau High School (USHS-MN)
8	154	Jeff Noble	Canada	Kitchener Rangers (OHL)
9	175	Matt Merten	Canada	Stratford Cullitons (WOJBHL)
10	196	Marc Lyons	Canada	Kingston Canadians (OHL)
11	217	Todd Hawkins	Canada	Belleville Bulls (OHL)
12	238	Vladimir Krutov	Soviet Union	CSKA Moscow (USSR)
S2	10	David Gourlie	Canada	University of Denver (WCHA)

See also

• 1986–87 NHL season

References

1. Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 153. ISBN 9781894801225.
2. "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
3. "Training Camp Not Far Off". The Vancouver Sun. Vancouver, BC. Vancouver Sun Staff Reporter. July 5, 1986. p. Blades insert page 7. Retrieved August 7, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "Canucks' Schedule". The Vancouver Sun. Vancouver, BC. Vancouver Sun Staff Reporter. July 17, 1986. p. F4. Retrieved August 7, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "1986-87 Vancouver Canucks Schedule". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved March 25, 2025.