Top 50 Canucks Players of All Time: #18 – Jyrki Lumme

Join us this summer as we count down the top 50 Vancouver Canucks players of all time! #18: Jyrki Lumme

The first Finn to ever play for the Montreal Canadiens would find the most success in his career with the Vancouver Canucks.

Jyrki Lumme was drafted in the second round of the 1986 NHL Entry Draft by the Habs, coming off their 23rd Stanley Cup. The defenceman wouldn’t come to North America until the 1988-89 season, though, splitting time between Sherbrooke and Montreal in his first year. However, Lumme never really fit in with the Canadiens and was shipped off the following season in 1990 to the Canucks in exchange for a 1991 second-round pick from the St. Louis Blues.

It was found money for Vancouver. Lumme slotted right in next to Paul Reinhart on the Canucks’ top defensive pairing and put up 10 points in 11 games, a sign of things to come. The defenceman would continue to improve, putting up 32 points in 80 games in his first full season on the West Coast. Then came back-to-back 44-point seasons, where Lumme would claim his first Babe Pratt Trophy as Vancouver’s best defenceman.

A smooth and silky skater, Lumme was one of the Canucks’ most potent offensive defencemen to date. His wrister, coupled with shifty dekes, made him incredibly fun to watch on the back end, and that added dimension provided Vancouver with plenty of punch. He wasn’t just one-dimensional either – the Finn was more than reliable in his own end as well, a backhander that always seemed to be able to clear the zone of pressure. Lumme ended up being a key part of that Canucks team that made it to the 1994 Stanley Cup Finals, falling to the New York Rangers in seven games.

By the time 1997 rolled around, Lumme walked in free agency. He departed as the franchise’s all-time leading scorer among defencemen in goals with 83 and points with 321. These marks have since been surpassed, but Lumme was the first Canuck defender who truly made a splash offensively, becoming a revered figure in Vancouver. One could only wonder how much more media attention he could’ve gotten playing in a bigger market.

It’s fitting that Lumme finishes in the top 20 of this countdown. A pioneering figure in many ways, the defenceman is a player many older fans have fond memories of and continues to be a Canuck legend.

Our previously ranked top 50 Canucks of all time:

#50 – Curt Fraser
#49 – Dave Babych
#48 – Martin Gelinas
#47 – Chris Oddleifson
#46 – Jannik Hansen
#45 – Ivan Boldirev
#44 – Gary Smith
#43 – Jacob Markstrom
#42 – Orland Kurtenbach
#41 – Harold Snepsts
#40 – Darcy Rota
#39 – Thatcher Demko
#38 – Geoff Courtnall
#37 – Dennis Ververgaert
#36 – Petri Skriko
#35 – Dan Hamhuis
#34 – Doug Lidster
#33 – Patrik Sundstrom
#32 – Brendan Morrison
#31 – Richard Brodeur
#30 – Sami Salo
#29 – André Boudrais
#28 – Kevin Bieksa
#27 – Don Lever
#26 – Bo Horvat
#25 – Brock Boeser
#24 – Dennis Kearns
#23 – Ed Jovanovski
#22 – Greg Adams
#21 – Cliff Ronning
#20 – JT Miller
#19 – Tony Tanti