Editing Vancouver Canucks (section)

====NHL application====
With the intention of attracting an NHL franchise, Vancouver began the construction of a new modern arena, the [[Pacific Coliseum]], in 1966 (with the arena opening in January 1968).<ref>{{Cite news|title=Pacific Coliseum |url=https://www.cbc.ca/sports/2.722/pacific-coliseum-1.950086 |access-date=May 25, 2011 |date=January 13, 2010 |publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100324115802/http://www.cbc.ca/olympics/venues/story/2010/01/12/spo-venue-pacificcoliseum.html |archive-date=March 24, 2010}}</ref> The WHL's Canucks were playing in a small arena at the time, the [[Vancouver Forum]], situated on the same [[Pacific National Exhibition]] grounds as the Coliseum. Meanwhile, a Vancouver group led by WHL Canucks owner and former Vancouver mayor [[Frederick Hume|Fred Hume]] made a bid to be one of the six teams due to [[1967 NHL Expansion|join the league in 1967]], but the NHL rejected their application.<ref name="ImlachYoung1986">{{cite book|first1=Punch |last1=Imlach|first2=Scott |last2=Young|title=Heaven and Hell in the NHL|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AtDSULmiROwC&pg=PA19|access-date=May 26, 2011|date=January 1, 1986|publisher=Formac Publishing Company|isbn=978-0-88780-141-9|page=19}}</ref> Bid leader [[Cyrus McLean]] called the denial a "cooked-up deal", referring to several biases that factored against them. Speculation long abounded afterwards that the bid was hindered by [[Toronto Maple Leafs]] president [[Stafford Smythe]]; after a failed Vancouver-based business deal, he was quoted as saying that the city would not get an NHL franchise in his lifetime.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cbc.ca/archives/a-damn-disgusting-nhl-expansion-that-excluded-vancouver-1.4997621|title=A 'damn disgusting' NHL expansion that excluded Vancouver|date=February 9, 2019}}</ref> Additionally, along with the [[Montreal Canadiens]], Smythe purportedly did not wish to split [[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation]] (CBC) hockey revenues three ways rather than two.<ref>''Total Hockey'', ed. Dan Diamond (1998), Andrews McMeel, p. 251.</ref>

Less than a year later, the [[Oakland Seals]] were in financial difficulty and having trouble drawing fans. An apparent deal was in place to move the team to Vancouver, but the NHL did not want to see one of their franchises from the expansion of 1967 move so quickly and vetoed the deal. In exchange for avoiding a lawsuit, the NHL promised Vancouver would get a team in the next expansion round.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.nhl.com/news/this-date-in-nhl-history-september-11/c-281652022 | title=Sept. 11: NHL announces expansion to Buffalo, Vancouver for 1970–71}}</ref> Another group, headed by [[Minnesota]] entrepreneur [[Tom Scallen]], made a new presentation and was awarded an expansion franchise for the price of $6 million (three times the cost in [[1967–68 NHL season|1967]]).<ref>Rossiter 1994, p. 27.</ref> The new ownership group purchased the WHL Canucks, and brought the team into the league with the [[Buffalo Sabres]] as expansion teams for the [[1970–71 NHL season|1970–71 season]].

In preparation for joining the NHL, the WHL Canucks had brought in players with prior NHL experience. Six of these players ([[John Arbour]], [[George Gardner (ice hockey)|George Gardner]], [[Len Lunde]], [[Marc Reaume]], [[Ted Taylor (ice hockey)|Ted Taylor]] and [[Murray Hall (ice hockey)|Murray Hall]]) would remain with the club for its inaugural NHL season. The rest of the roster was built through an expansion draft.