Editing Vancouver Canucks (section)

====2008–2010: Return to the playoffs====
After Nonis was fired and replaced with former player agent [[Mike Gillis]] in April 2008,<ref>{{cite web|publisher=National Hockey League|url=http://canucks.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=361395|title=Vancouver Canucks – News: Vancouver Canucks Name Mike Gillis General Manager|access-date=April 25, 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080630013153/http://canucks.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=361395|archive-date=June 30, 2008}}</ref> longtime Canucks captain [[Markus Naslund]], as well as [[Brendan Morrison]], were let go via free agency.<ref>{{cite news|title=Demitra heads to Vancouver with two-year, $8M deal|url=https://www.usatoday.com/sports/hockey/nhl/canucks/2008-07-10-demitra-signs_N.htm|access-date=June 10, 2011|date=July 10, 2008|work=USA Today|last=Allen |first=Kevin}}</ref> Also in the off-season, on May 29, 2008, the Canucks lost defensive prospect [[Luc Bourdon]] to a fatal motorcycle crash near his hometown of [[Shippagan, New Brunswick]].<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.espn.com/nhl/news/story?id=3417414|title=Canucks rookie Bourdon, 21, killed in motorcycle crash|agency=Associated Press|publisher=ESPN|date=May 29, 2008|access-date=May 29, 2008}}</ref>

[[File:Roberto Luongo 03-2009.jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[Roberto Luongo]] during the [[2008–09 NHL season|2008–09 season]], with a C visible on his [[goaltender mask]] denoting his captaincy. He was named captain of the Canucks in September 2008.]]
With Naslund's departure, Gillis announced on September 30, 2008, that [[Roberto Luongo]] had been named team captain, marking the first time since [[Bill Durnan]] of the Montreal Canadiens in [[1947–48 NHL season|1947–48]] that a goaltender had been named the captain of an NHL team.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hockeygoalies.org/awards/captains.html|title=Goaltenders who have served as NHL Captains|publisher=HockeyGoalies.org|access-date=September 30, 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080921231303/http://www.hockeygoalies.org/awards/captains.html|archive-date=September 21, 2008}}</ref> During the ensuing season, the Canucks retired their second jersey number in team history, hanging Linden's number 16 beside Smyl's number 12 in a pre-game ceremony on December 17, 2008.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=398691&navid=DL%7CNHL%7Chome|title=Linden prepares for his big night|access-date=December 17, 2008|publisher=National Hockey League|year=2008|last=Kreiser |first=John}}</ref> Later that month, the Canucks acquired unrestricted free agent [[Mats Sundin]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Sundin giving Canucks $1.4m discount|url=https://vancouversun.com/sports/Sundin+giving+Canucks+discount/1096801/story.html|access-date=December 19, 2008|date=December 19, 2008|work=The Vancouver Sun|location=Canada|publisher=Postmedia News|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081220225841/http://www.vancouversun.com/Sports/Sundin%2Bgiving%2BCanucks%2Bdiscount/1096801/story.html|archive-date=December 20, 2008}}</ref> The arrival of the former [[Toronto Maple Leafs]] captain and 500-goal scorer in the NHL came with high expectations. However, Sundin scored below his usual pace and retired in the subsequent off-season. The team finished the regular season with another Northwest Division title and the third seed in the Western Conference.<ref>{{cite web|title=2008–2009 Regular Season|url=http://www.nhl.com/ice/standings.htm?season=20082009&type=con|access-date=June 10, 2011|publisher=National Hockey League}}</ref> In the [[2009 Stanley Cup playoffs|2009 playoffs]], the Canucks swept their first round series against the sixth-seeded [[St. Louis Blues]] (the first four-game sweep in franchise history),<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=275983|title=Burrows, Luongo Lead Canucks Sweet of Blues|publisher=The Sports Network|date=April 22, 2009|access-date=December 9, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131011131542/http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=275983|archive-date=October 11, 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> but were defeated in six games by the fourth-seeded [[Chicago Blackhawks]] in the second round.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=278402|title=Kane's Hat Trick Helps Hawks Eliminate Canucks with 7–5 Win|publisher=The Sports Network|date=May 12, 2009|access-date=December 9, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131011130853/http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=278402|archive-date=October 11, 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In the [[2009–10 NHL season|2009–10 season]], the Canucks faced the longest road trip in NHL history, playing 14 games over six weeks, from January 27 to March 13, 2010.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Olympics put Canucks on record road grind|publisher=CBC Sports|url=http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/olympics-put-canucks-on-record-road-grind-1.819425|date=July 16, 2009|access-date=May 26, 2018|agency=The Canadian Press}}</ref> The schedule was a result of Vancouver hosting the [[2010 Winter Olympics]], which shut down the NHL for two weeks, facilitating General Motors Place's use for [[Ice hockey at the 2010 Winter Olympics|ice hockey during the games]].<ref>{{Cite news|last=Sekeres|first=Matthew|title=Canucks take one for the Olympic team|work=The Globe and Mail|date=July 16, 2009}}</ref> It marked the first time that an NHL market hosted an [[Winter Olympic Games|Olympics]] since the league allowed its players to compete in the games, beginning with the [[1998 Winter Olympics|1998 Games]] in Nagano. Among the several Canucks players named to their respective national teams, centre [[Ryan Kesler]] of the [[United States men's national ice hockey team|United States]] and goaltender Roberto Luongo of [[Canada men's national ice hockey team|Canada]] played against each other in the gold medal game; Luongo and Team Canada emerged with the win.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Luongo silences his critics |url=https://www.cbc.ca/sports/2.722/luongo-silences-his-critics-1.881324 |access-date=June 11, 2011 |date=March 1, 2010 |publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation |agency=The Canadian Press |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100305071146/http://www.cbc.ca/olympics/hockey/story/2010/02/28/spo-canada-luongo.html |archive-date=March 5, 2010}}</ref>

As the NHL season resumed, [[Henrik Sedin]] went on to become the first Canucks player to win the Art Ross and Hart Memorial Trophies as the league's leading scorer and most valuable player, respectively.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Sekeres |first1=Matthew |title=Henrik Sedin wins scoring title |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/hockey/henrik-sedin-wins-scoring-title/article4314490/ |website=The Globe and Mail |access-date=November 22, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200922171112/https://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/hockey/henrik-sedin-wins-scoring-title/article4314490/ |archive-date=September 22, 2020 |date=April 11, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Sedin first Canuck to win Hart as NHL MVP |url=https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/nhl-awards-2/ |website=Sportsnet.ca |access-date=November 22, 2023 |date=June 23, 2010}}</ref> He achieved the feat with a franchise-record 112 points, surpassing Pavel Bure's mark of 110 set in 1991–92.<ref name="single-season points"/> Vancouver won the Northwest Division title and finished third in the Western Conference for the second-straight year. They opened the playoffs by defeating the sixth-place [[Los Angeles Kings]] in six games, but were once again eliminated by Chicago in six games, who went on to win the Stanley Cup [[2010 Stanley Cup Finals|that year]], the following round in six games.<ref>{{cite web|title=2010 NHL Playoffs Summary|url=https://www.hockey-reference.com/playoffs/NHL_2010.html|access-date=June 11, 2011|publisher=Hockey-Reference.com|archive-date=May 10, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130510085918/http://www.hockey-reference.com/playoffs/NHL_2010.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>