Presidents' Trophy 2011
The Canucks' first and only Presidents' Trophy—a silver monument to 117 points of near-perfect hockey, and a bittersweet reminder of what almost was.
The Presidents' Trophy is awarded annually to the NHL team that finishes the regular season with the best overall record. For the Vancouver Canucks, the 2011 trophy represents the first—and to date, only—time the franchise has claimed the league's top regular-season honour. It stands as a landmark achievement in the club's history, capping a dominant campaign that saw the team lead the league in both goals scored and fewest goals allowed, a rare feat that underscored their balanced excellence.
- Role
- Regular-season championship trophy
- Affiliation
- National Hockey League
- First awarded
- 1985–86 NHL season
- Canucks won
- 2010–11 season
- Canucks points total
- 117 points (54-19-9 record)
- League rank
- 1st overall in NHL
Lore & Background
The Presidents' Trophy remains a point of pride and controversy among Canucks fans, as the team's inability to convert regular-season supremacy into a Stanley Cup has been a source of debate. Yet the 2011 trophy is a testament to a season of sustained excellence, with the Canucks winning the Northwest Division title and earning home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs. It is the only time the franchise has finished atop the NHL standings since the trophy's inception in 1986. The sting of falling one game short of the Cup in the Final has only deepened the trophy's mythos: it's cherished as proof of a dominant peak, but also serves as a what-if that haunts every fan who remembers the Game 7 loss to Boston.
In Their Own Story
The arena hummed with anticipation as the final seconds ticked off the clock. On the ice, the Canucks had just sealed a 3-1 win over the Wild, but the real prize was about to be announced. The public address system crackled: 'Ladies and gentlemen, the Vancouver Canucks have clinched the Presidents' Trophy!' The crowd erupted, a wave of blue and green washing over the stands. Henrik Sedin, his face split by a rare wide grin, raised his stick to the rafters. For a moment, the weight of decades without a Stanley Cup lifted—this was validation, a promise of something greater. The team gathered at center ice, arms around each other, as the trophy was brought out. It gleamed under the lights, a silver monument to 82 games of relentless pursuit.
Reader's Guide
The Presidents' Trophy is awarded to the NHL team with the best regular-season record. The Vancouver Canucks won it for the first and only time in the 2010–11 season, finishing with 117 points. The trophy was clinched on April 2, 2011, with a 3-1 home win over the Minnesota Wild. The defining moment came late in the third period, when Roberto Luongo made a sprawling pad save on a point-blank shot by Wild forward Cal Clutterbuck, preserving the lead and sparking the celebration that followed.
Did You Know?
- The Canucks are the only team from the 1970 expansion class to have won the Presidents' Trophy.
- The 2011 Canucks led the NHL in both goals for and goals against, a feat achieved by only a handful of teams in NHL history.
- Henrik Sedin's 94 assists in 2010–11 set a franchise single-season record that still stands.
- The Canucks' 117 points in 2010–11 are the most in franchise history.
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