Top 50 Canucks players of all time: #12 – Stan Smyl

Join us this summer as we count down the top 50 Vancouver Canucks players of all time! #12: Stan Smyl

In many ways, it’s fitting that Stan Smyl sits 12th on our list. After all, Steamer’s number 12 was the first jersey retired by the Vancouver Canucks and raised to the rafters originally at Pacific Coliseum and later at Rogers Arena.

Smyl truly did everything for the hockey club in his astonishing 45-year association with the organization. As a player, he was a captain, a leader, a scorer and a feared competitor. Drafted by the Canucks in the third round in 1978 out of the successful New Westminster Bruins program, Smyl spent all 13 seasons of his NHL career in Vancouver – eight of them with the C on his jersey. Statistically, his best season was 1982-83 when the Edmonton native scored 38 times and added 50 assists, finishing 20th in the NHL scoring race. The previous season, he had nine goals and nine helpers in 17 playoff games as the upstart Canucks reached the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in franchise history.

In 1979-80, Smyl accomplished the rare feat of leading the Canucks in goals, assists, points and penalty minutes. Overall, Smyl sits fourth in franchise goals (262) and assists (411) and fifth in games played (896) and points (673). He is also third in career penalty minutes with 1556. Following his exemplary career, Smyl served as an assistant coach at the NHL level and as a head coach in the minors. He also worked in various management roles for the Canucks, and was even an interim general manager briefly in 2021.

Prior to the 2023-24 season, Smyl announced that he was transitioning from his day-to-day involvement with the Canucks to an ambassadorial role, which would allow him to scale back his duties while still remaining attached to the hockey club.

Without question, Stan Smyl is one of the faces of the franchise. And the foundation was built on hard work and leading by example on the ice, as well as later behind the bench and in the front office. Smyl retired from playing in 1991.

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
#18 – Jyrki Lumme
#17 – Elias Pettersson
#16 – Alex Burrows
#15 – Alexander Mogilny
#14 – Mattias Ohlund
#13 – Thomas Gradin