Even as we say “Congratulations” to the Chicago Blackhawks, who beat the Canucks 4 games to 2 to advance to the Conference Finals in the 2009 NHL Playoffs, we want to say a big “Thank you” to the Vancouver Canucks, winners of the Northwest Division, for the excellent season they had!

Though the Vancouver Canucks finished a mere 10 points behind Northwest Division winners the Minnesota Wild, they ended the 2007-08 season at the bottom of the division. Determined to turn things around for the 2008-09 season, quite a few off-season changes were made. General Manager and Senior Vice President Dave Nonis was fired and replaced with Mike Gillis, a retired NHL player for the Colorado Rockies and the Boston Bruins. Many Canucks from last season won’t be returning this season: promising young prospect Luc Bourdon was killed in a tragic motorcycle accident, Markus Naslund left for the New York Rangers, Brendan Morrison joined the Anaheim Ducks and veteran Trevor Linden retired. Though the losses were a blow to the team, they’ve wasted no time in filling the roster back up. The necessity for a high-scoring wing was filled by the acquisition of Pavol Demitra from the Minnesota Wild, and the offense was further strengthened when Steve Bernier came over from the Buffalo Sabres. They still have arguably the best goalie in the world, Roberto Luongo, and just having him means they’ll be contenders for a playoff berth at the very least. Tickets to General Motors Place never last long, so don’t wait, get your Vancouver Canucks tickets today and watch the team dominate the 2008-09 season!