Editing Vancouver Canucks (section)

===Brian Burke era (1998–2004)===

====West Coast Express years and the early years of the Sedins (1998–2006)====
After the Canucks finished the 1997–98 season last in the Western Conference,<ref>{{cite web|title=1997–1998 Regular Season|url=http://www.nhl.com/ice/standings.htm?season=19971998|access-date=May 31, 2011|publisher=National Hockey League}}</ref> former NHL vice president [[Brian Burke (ice hockey)|Brian Burke]] was named general manager in the summer.<ref>{{cite news|title=Plus: Hockey – Vancouver; Burke Rejoins Canucks as G.M.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/06/23/sports/plus-hockey-vancouver-burke-rejoins-canucks-as-gm.html|access-date=May 31, 2011|date=June 23, 1998|work=The New York Times}}</ref> Suffering their worst season since 1977–78 the [[1998–99 NHL season|subsequent year]],<ref name=seasons/> Keenan was fired midway through and replaced with [[Marc Crawford]] (who had won the Stanley Cup with the Colorado Avalanche in [[1996 Stanley Cup Finals|1996]]).<ref name="keenan fired"/> Meanwhile, Pavel Bure, unhappy in Vancouver, had withheld himself from the team and requested a trade at the beginning of the campaign. By January 1999, he was dealt to the [[Florida Panthers]] in a seven-player trade, which saw eventual five-time NHL All-Star [[Ed Jovanovski]] heading west. The trade also involved two draft picks. Finishing last in the Western Conference for a second straight year,<ref>{{cite web|title=1998–1999 Regular Season|url=http://www.nhl.com/ice/standings.htm?season=19981999|access-date=May 31, 2011|publisher=National Hockey League}}</ref> Vancouver possessed the third overall pick in the [[1999 NHL entry draft]]. Set on drafting highly touted Swedish forwards [[Daniel Sedin|Daniel]] and [[Henrik Sedin]], Burke orchestrated several transactions to move up to the second and third overall picks, with which he chose both players.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Sedin twins' dynamics changed draft|url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/hockey/nhl/1999/draft/news/1999/06/26/nhldraft_twins/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000930100925/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/hockey/nhl/1999/draft/news/1999/06/26/nhldraft_twins/|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 30, 2000|access-date=May 31, 2011|magazine=Sports Illustrated|agency=Associated Press|date=June 26, 1999}}</ref>

The Canucks began to show improvement in the [[1999–2000 NHL season|1999–2000 season]], finishing four points out of a playoff spot.<ref>{{cite web|title=1999–2000 Regular Season|url=http://www.nhl.com/ice/standings.htm?season=19992000&type=con|access-date=May 31, 2011|publisher=National Hockey League}}</ref> During the campaign, Mogilny was traded to the [[New Jersey Devils]] for forwards [[Denis Pederson]] and [[Brendan Morrison]]. With Bure gone and Messier in the last year of his contract, several previously under-achieving players began developing into key contributors for the team, most notably Markus Naslund and Todd Bertuzzi. In the off-season, Messier left the team and returned to the Rangers; during the team's September 2000 training camp, held in Sweden, Naslund was selected to replace Messier as captain, a position he held for seven seasons.<ref name="longest captaincy"/> As part of the team's stay in Sweden, they played exhibition games against Swedish and [[Finland|Finnish]] teams as part of the [[NHL Challenge]].

Under the leadership of general manager Brian Burke and head coach Marc Crawford,<ref name="Thornton2010">{{cite book|first=Patrick |last=Thornton|title=Sports Law|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9n9U_0i9ZOEC&pg=PA336|access-date=May 26, 2011|date=February 11, 2010|publisher=Jones & Bartlett Learning|isbn=978-0-7637-3650-7|page=336}}</ref> the Canucks once again became a playoff team. After qualifying for the postseason in [[2001 Stanley Cup playoffs|2001]] and [[2002 Stanley Cup playoffs|2002]] as the eighth and final seed in the Western Conference (losing to the eventual Stanley Cup winners Colorado Avalanche and [[Detroit Red Wings]], respectively),<ref name="playoff history"/> the Canucks became regular contenders for the [[Northwest Division (NHL)|Northwest Division]] title.

{{multiple image
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| image1 = Todd Bertuzzi (Canucks).jpg
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| image2 = Brendan Morrison.jpg
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| image3 = Markus Naslund 2005a.jpg
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| footer = [[Todd Bertuzzi]], [[Brendan Morrison]], and [[Markus Näslund|Markus Naslund]] during the Canucks [[2005–06 NHL season|2005–06 season]] opener. The three players formed the [[West Coast Express (ice hockey)|West Coast Express]], a hockey [[Line (ice hockey)|line]] that played from 2002 to 2006.
}}
Coinciding with the team's success in the early 2000s was the rise of power forward Todd Bertuzzi and captain Markus Naslund into high-scoring wingers and NHL All-Stars. Joined by centre Brendan Morrison during the [[2001–02 NHL season|2001–02 season]], the trio were nicknamed the "[[West Coast Express (ice hockey)|West Coast Express]]" (after the Vancouver [[West Coast Express|rail service of the same name]]) among Canucks fans and media.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/sports/story.html?id=7707b0e2-2f29-4893-a435-8b0fe6bdf7d0| title=Emotional time for Naslund| date=November 27, 2007| access-date=July 25, 2008| work=[[The Province]]| publisher=CanWest News| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110628213746/http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/sports/story.html?id=7707b0e2-2f29-4893-a435-8b0fe6bdf7d0| archive-date=June 28, 2011}}</ref> Over the next three years, Naslund ranked in the top five among league scorers and was a [[Ted Lindsay Award|Lester B. Pearson Award]] winner and [[Hart Memorial Trophy]] finalist in [[2002–03 NHL season|2003]].<ref name="2002 nhl leading scorers">{{cite web|title=2001–2002 Regular Season All Skaters Summary Total Points|url=http://www.nhl.com/ice/playerstats.htm?fetchKey=20022ALLSASAll&sort=points&viewName=summary|access-date=June 10, 2011|publisher=National Hockey League}}</ref><ref name="2003 nhl leading scorers">{{cite web|title=2002–2003 Regular Season All Skaters Summary Total Points|url=http://www.nhl.com/ice/playerstats.htm?fetchKey=20032ALLSASAll&sort=points&viewName=summary|access-date=June 10, 2011|publisher=National Hockey League}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=2003–2004 Regular Season All Skaters Summary Total Points|url=http://www.nhl.com/ice/playerstats.htm?fetchKey=20042ALLSASAll&sort=points&viewName=summary|access-date=June 10, 2011|publisher=National Hockey League}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Markus Naslund|url=http://www.legendsofhockey.net/LegendsOfHockey/jsp/SearchPlayer.jsp?player=11174|access-date=June 10, 2011|publisher=Hockey Hall of Fame}}</ref> Bertuzzi was also a top-five scorer in the league in 2001–02 and 2002–03.<ref name="2002 nhl leading scorers"/><ref name="2003 nhl leading scorers"/> During this span, Burke made a trade with the [[Washington Capitals]] to facilitate the return of Trevor Linden.<ref>{{cite web|title=Trevor Linden|url=http://www.legendsofhockey.net/LegendsOfHockey/jsp/SearchPlayer.jsp?player=10949|access-date=June 10, 2011|publisher=Hockey Hall of Fame}}</ref> The ex-captain returned to a markedly different Canucks team with a young core consisting of the aforementioned trio, defencemen [[Ed Jovanovski]] and [[Mattias Öhlund|Mattias Ohlund]], as well as goaltender [[Dan Cloutier]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Former Canuck captain Markus Naslund says having jersey retired an honour |url=http://www.thehockeynews.com/articles/34440-Former-Canuck-captain-Markus-Naslund-says-having-jersey-retired-an-honour.html |access-date=October 22, 2010 |date=July 8, 2010 |work=[[The Hockey News]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120313032544/http://www.thehockeynews.com/articles/34440-Former-Canuck-captain-Markus-Naslund-says-having-jersey-retired-an-honour.html |archive-date=March 13, 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 2002–03, the Canucks set a franchise record with a 10-game win streak but lost the division title to the Colorado Avalanche on the last day of the regular season. Individually, Naslund was surpassed the same night by Avalanche forwards [[Peter Forsberg]] and [[Milan Hejduk]] for the [[Art Ross Trophy]] and [[Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy]], respectively.<ref name="choked">{{cite news|url=http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/canucks-lose-northwest-now-face-blues-1.386808 | title=Canucks lose Northwest, now face Blues|publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|access-date=May 26, 2018 | date=April 6, 2003}}</ref> Entering the [[2003 Stanley Cup playoffs|2003 playoffs]] with the fourth seed in the Western Conference, the Canucks won their first playoff series in eight years, defeating the [[St. Louis Blues]] in seven games before losing to the [[Minnesota Wild]] in the second round.<ref name="playoff history"/> In both series, they were 3–1 comebacks; the Canucks rallied to beat the Blues, but lost their own 3–1 lead to the Wild, who had also come back from a 3–1 deficit in the first round, against the Avalanche.

Amidst a run for the team's first Northwest Division title the [[2003–04 NHL season|following season]], the Canucks received significant media attention for their involvement in a violent on-ice attack during a game against the Avalanche. On March 8, 2004, Bertuzzi grabbed Avalanche forward [[Steve Moore (ice hockey)|Steve Moore]] from behind and punched him in the head. As Moore fell to the ice, Bertuzzi landed on top of him; Moore suffered three fractured neck vertebrae, facial cuts and a concussion.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ctvnews.ca/steve-moore-still-recovering-from-bertuzzi-hit-1.232592 |title=Steve Moore still recovering from Bertuzzi hit |publisher=CTV.ca |date=March 9, 2007 |access-date=January 7, 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070318025304/http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20070309/steve_moore_070309/20070309?hub=Canada |archive-date=March 18, 2007}}</ref> [[Todd Bertuzzi–Steve Moore incident|The incident]] was in retaliation of a hit that Moore landed on Naslund during a previous game between the two teams.<ref>{{Cite news| url=https://www.usatoday.com/sports/hockey/nhl/canucks/2004-02-17-naslund-concussion_x.htm | work=USA Today | title=Naslund gets his bell rung | first=John | last=Mossman | date=February 18, 2004 | access-date=May 27, 2010}}</ref> For his actions, Bertuzzi was suspended by the NHL and [[International Ice Hockey Federation]] (IIHF) through to the start of the [[2005–06 NHL season|2005–06 season]]. He also faced legal action in [[Supreme Court of British Columbia|British Columbia court]], while Moore filed lawsuits against him and the Canucks organization in [[Colorado Supreme Court|Colorado]] and [[Ontario Court of Justice|Ontario]] courts.

The Canucks went on to win their first Northwest Division title that season, but lost in the first round of the [[2004 Stanley Cup playoffs|2004 playoffs]] to the Calgary Flames.<ref name="playoff history"/> After their elimination, Burke's contract as general manager was not renewed and he was replaced by assistant general manager and director of hockey operations [[Dave Nonis]]. At 37 years old, he became the youngest general manager in team history.<ref>{{cite news|title=Nonis is club's youngest-ever GM|url=https://www.espn.com/nhl/news/story?id=1796725|access-date=June 10, 2011|date=May 8, 2004|publisher=ESPN|agency=Associated Press}}</ref> Due to the [[2004–05 NHL lockout|NHL lockout]], the 2004–05 season was not played. Several Canucks players went overseas to Europe to play professionally, including Naslund and the Sedin twins, who all returned to their former Swedish team, [[Modo Hockey]].<ref>{{cite news|title=2004–05 Modo Hockey [SEL]|url=http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/leagues/seasons/teams/0014322005.html|access-date=April 18, 2010|publisher=Hockeydb}}</ref>