Every NHL team has had instances where the management group brought in a player in hopes of improving their roster or adding to the already great team, but sometimes that said player doesn’t last a very long time on the team and moves on from the city and the team on the double.

The Vancouver Canucks have had many of those types of players, especially in the years between 2015 and 2018. You can call those the “dark ages” of the Canucks, or the way I call them the “Willie Era”. Realistically, everyone has a name for that era of Canucks hockey. It shows you how atrocious those times were. A good analogy for that era of Canucks hockey would be a firefighter on his first day trying to put out a burning building… alone… and no idea how to use any of the tools he’s been given. That’s basically Jim Benning arriving in Vancouver.

In this article I’ve combined 7 forgotten Canucks players that played for the Canucks that will make you say “oh yea, I forgot about him. What’s he doing now?”. Some of these players had a very minor impact on the team and the city because they played such a negligible role. A great deal of these players were loved by Canucks fans, but there are a fair amount of players that were mildly disliked by the fans. (To put it nicely. This market is quite bleak.)

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Alex Burmistrov

2017

(Photo credit: Dan Toulgoet / Vancouver Courier)

One of the most forgettable NHL players of all time, and expressly one of the most unadorned Canucks’ of all time. Burmistrov interclasped with the Canucks back in 2018 after splitting his previous season between the Arizona Coyotes and the Winnipeg Jets. Burmistrov was latterly coming off of a 49 game season which saw him netting 5 goals and recording 16 points. Burmistrov joined the Canucks in hopes of reviving his already dying career. In the end, that didn’t work because he retired from the NHL midway through the regular season. Seems a bit harsh, but did the Canucks cause this?

Up until his NHL retirement Burmistrov saw himself in and out of the regular lineup. He averaged 11 minutes per game and was an average bottom six forward who didn’t put up significant numbers but better yet, was a mediocre defensive forward.

Alex Burmistrov’s time in Vancouver was over in the wink of an eye. He suited up in blue and green for a slender 24 games and ended up only recording six points and two goals. As mentioned earlier, Burmistrov wasn’t getting the promised 82 game season he wanted to have, and that inevitably caused him to announce his retirement from the NHL in December, halfway through his contract and the season, and he decided to go back to his homeland of Russia to play with AK Bars Kazan (and a short stint with Salavat Yulaev) where to this day he has been a consistent mid-teen point player.

Burmistrov will not be remembered as a Canuck, or as an NHL player as a matter of fact. It is a shame because Burmistrov was a good bottom 6 player who maintained a spot on the worst teams in the league. If he were to still be playing in North America, I wouldn’t be surprised if he cracked the Sabres roster. No offence Buffalo.

Alex Burmistrov was a player that can be described as “he was there for it”. He was the bare minimum for a player in Vancouver, and he did so-so. It’s too bad he won’t be returning to the NHL, because he was once drafted 8th overall by the Atlanta Thrashers in 2010 after a 65 point OHL season. He was always thought of as a promising prospect that could crack the roster on the second line. It obviously never worked out, and after 348 career games and 101 points, he went back home. Sometimes I think about if the Canucks were responsible for ending his career. Definitely something to think about.

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Emerson Etem

2015-16

(Photo credit: Anne-Marie Sorvin-USA TODAY Sports)

Emerson Etem joined the Canucks when he was acquired by them in a trade that saw Nicklas Jensen go to the New York Rangers and largely saw Etem come to Vancouver. With the Canucks Etem didn’t find success as he was said he would. Etem played a mere 39 games in Vancouver and he recorded 12 points. After the 2015-16 season ended, Etem was let go by the Canucks and he went back to his original team that drafted him, the Anaheim Ducks. After his short 3 games stint with Anaheim in 2016-17, he was sent down to the AHL and never found his rhythm ever again. That wasn’t due to performance though as Emerson was riddled with injuries. He could have been a great bottom six player but his injuries held him back. Etem’s last “real” stint in the NHL was with Vancouver.

Although it may seem like Etem wasn’t good enough to be kept by the organization, he was surprisingly average with Vancouver. I say that because back in 2015-16 the Canucks didn’t have many average players they were mostly crummy. Due to Vancouver being such a terrible team back in the 2016-17 season, he could maintain a spot on their third and fourth line and he made a respectable impact. Fans were outraged when the Canucks moved on from Etem, and to this day we wonder how it could have been for him if he stayed in Vancouver.

Nowadays, Etem doesn’t play hockey because of his injuries. His final pro game was back in 2018 with the LA Kings’ AHL team, the Ontario Reign. Etem scored 1 goal in 9 games and never played again. Emerson Etem had the potential to be a bona fide fourth liner, but painfully that didn’t happen.

For me personally, I have a deep root that will always remember Emerson Etem as a Canuck. I don’t know what it is, but I remember him playing with the Canucks a lot. I enjoyed watching him too. It really sucks the Canucks couldn’t hang on to him, but who knows what could have happened if he stayed. Maybe he could have had his breakout and handled to stay in the NHL, or maybe he could’ve been a 100 point player. Just kidding.

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Jack Skille

2016-17

(Photo Credit: NHLPA)

Another forgotten player from the dark ages of the Canucks is Jack Skille. It’s a name that’ll make you think “oh yea! Completely forgot he played here”. Skille suited up for only 55 games and recorded a short 9 points in those 55. Skille joined the Canucks in the 2016 NHL off-season after signing a one year deal worth 700,000$. Skille was recently coming off of a 14 point season with the Colorado Avalanche and the Canucks acquired him in hopes of buffing up their bottom six after letting go of, none other than, Emerson Etem. Skille’s time in Vancouver was short lived because he stayed in Vancouver for only one short year, which happened to be his last season in the NHL.

After his time in Vancouver, Skille left North America and joined Dynamo Minsk of the KHL. After leaving NA, Skille never found himself bouncing around the European Leagues like a beach ball at a public swimming pool.

Skille currently plays with Salzburg EC of the Austrian League and he has 20 points in 25 games there. It’s good to see an ex-Canuck finding success elsewhere.

Before leaving for Europe, Skille (most likely) finished his career in the NHL splitting time in the press box and on the fourth line in Vancouver. But before coming to Vancouver, Skille played for four other NHL teams across the league. Those teams included the Florida Panthers, the Chicago Blackhawks, the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Colorado Avalanche. Skille was used as an extra player in all aspects of his entire career, as he averaged 0.22 PPG throughout his career, or better yet a point every 4.3 games. (368 career games, 84 points).

So what happened after his career in the NHL? Well, Skille didn’t give up on his hockey career. In fact, since he couldn’t find success and skill (no pun intended), he went elsewhere to try and revive his career; that he did. He firstly signed a one year deal in the KHL where he played 41 games and got 25 points. He wanted a change of scenery the next year when he signed a single year deal with the Geneve Servette of the Swiss-A. He had a point every two games and quit on that organization to play in the german league where he had 10 points in 16 games. Now he plays in Austria. He’s an average non-NHL player, and he’s a good European hockey player. Will he ever be in the NHL again? Probably not. Will Skille continue to dominate Europe? I definitely hope so.

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Jussi Jokinen

2018

(Photo Credit: THW)

The Vancouver Canucks were one of the four teams that Jussi Jokinen played for back in the 2017-18 NHL season. You read that correctly, Jussi Jokinen played for four different NHL teams in the 2017-18 NHL season, and it’s a wild story.

Jokinen’s crazy 2017-18 journey began on June 30th, 2017 when Jokinen’s old team, the Florida Panthers, had waived him for the purpose of contract termination. Jokinen was also very recently their captain. Not too long later, Jokinen signed a one year deal with the Edmonton Oilers that would pay him 1.1 million dollars. Four months later the Edmonton Oilers would proceed to trade Jokinen to the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for a different veteran who happened to carry a larger cap space, but a better point percentage than Jokinen. It only took the Oilers 14 games to decide that Jokinen was no good for them and they moved on from him. Jokinen had only 1 point in those 14 games.

Jokinen’s time in Los Angeles was also very short. Jokinen played 18 games with LA and recorded 5 points in those 18. A step up from his time in Edmonton, but not good enough for the Kings.

On January 16th the LA Kings decided to send down Jussi Jokinen to the AHL, but first Jokinen needed to clear waivers. That didn’t happen.

Jussi Jokinen was claimed off of waivers a day later and joined the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Blue Jackets were looking to add to their bottom six, and they thought that Jokinen could be a solid fit. Did Jokinen go on to be a decent bottom six player and finish the season in Columbus and end of story? Nope.

Jokinen was traded a month later at the trade deadline to the Vancouver Canucks (along with current Canuck Tyler Motte) in exchange for Thomas Vanek. Jokinen had played a short 14 games in Columbus and had only 1 point, just like in Edmonton. When Jokinen first joined the Canucks, fans were not expecting too much from an aging, core player.

Jokinen played 14 games with Vancouver and had 4 goals and 10 points in those 14 and ended up proving people wrong. Surprisingly Vancouver didn’t offer him a contract especially after a decent bounce back. Out of the four teams that Jokinen played for in that hectic season, his best was in Vancouver. Jussi Jokinen never received a contract after the season ended and entered free agency. He managed to get a professional tryout contract with Detroit, but never made the team. Jokinen later signed in Switzerland where he had 12 points in 7 games and after that played for two seasons in his home country of Finland. After two years of dominance in the LIIGA, Jussi Jokinen announced his retirement from professional hockey.

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Marco Sturm

2011

(Photo Credit: Jae Hong/ CBC Sports)

Marco Sturm was the best German NHLer ever until Leon Draisaitl joined the league. Sturm was a consistent 40 point player throughout his 14 season career. Sturm will forever be known for his times in San Jose and Boston, but contrary to popular belief Sturm played for more than those two teams. He played for the LA Kings, the Washington Capitals, the Florida Panthers, and none other than the Vancouver Canucks all in a matter of two seasons.

The only Lilliputian detail is that he spent very little time in Vancouver. Sturm played only six games with the Canucks and had no points. Sturm played those six games in 2011-12, which also happened to be his final season in the NHL. Sturm would go on to play one season with the Cologne Sharks of the DEL, and then called it quits. Sturm’s time in Vancouver was the shortest out of anyone on this list. It was closer to the end of his NHL career where he never found a permanent home. Marco Sturm went through four teams in his last two seasons. It was his final desperation attempt at a Stanley Cup, which sadly never worked out for him. Although Sturm’s final career seasons weren’t impressive, he earned a spot as an assistant coach of the LA Kings where he has been working there since 2018. Although Sturm never played for too long in Vancouver, he was still a part of the team at one point. People tend to forget he was a Canuck, but that’s understandable considering Marco played only 6 games with the Canucks.

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Matt Bartkowski

2015-16

(Photo Credit: Derek Leung/Getty Images)

The Pittsburgh-born defenceman played one season in Vancouver, which oddly felt like an eternity. It honestly feels like he played in Vancouver longer than one year, but he didn’t. Bartkowski joined the Canucks back in 2015 on free agency day when he was signed to a one year deal. Before coming to Vancouver Bartkowski spent 5 seasons with the Boston Bruins as an extra defenseman, while having AHL stints throughout.

Bartkowski looked like a promising bottom defence piece after earning a spot on the full-time roster back in the 2013-14 season with the Bruins. Bartkowski played 64 games and had 18 assists for a total of 18 points. What’s fascinating is that Bartkowski played 130 games with the Bruins, and didn’t record a single goal in those 130. Meaning when he joined the Canucks in free agency, he was still in search of his first goal.

Matt made the team immediately as a bottom two defenceman. Bartkowski went on record a career high in “penalties in minutes” where he got 50. He also tied his career high in points with 18, and set a career high in goals with 6. Although the points were impressive considering Bartkowksi was a career 7th defenceman, he never got an offer from the team. It may have had to do with his -19. But then again, who even had a good +/- on the Canucks in 2015-16?

That off-season the Canucks decided it was time to move on from the defenceman. Both sides failed to agree on a contract as the Canucks weren’t willing to give up a lot of cash on the player and Bartkowski’s camp was asking for too much for the Canucks’ liking. Bartkowksi afterward inked a one year deal with his initial team, the Boston Bruins. Bartkowski failed to make the Bruins lineup and started the season in the AHL. His season was riddled with injuries causing him to miss a good chunk of the season. Matt played only 34 games that year in the AHL and recorded 10 points before joining Calgary . It was a steep fall from his 18 points in 80 games the season before.

Bartkowski finished that season with the Calgary Flames having 2 points in 24 games. The following season he served as a 7th defenseman in Calgary. He played 18 games and had 3 assists for a grand total of 3 points. Bartkowski was forced into free agency for the third time in his career in 2018-19. That's when he signed a contract with the Minnesota Wild. Since then, he’s stayed in Minnesota splitting time between the NHL and AHL. He’s played only 3 games with the Wild, but in those three games has had one goal. This season, he spent lots of time on the Taxi Squad. When the Wild needed him, they called him up. When they didn’t, he stayed in the AHL. Most recently, Bartkowski had 23 games with the Iowa Wild (Minnesota’s AHL team) and recorded 8 points.

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Derek Roy

2013

(Photo Credit: Derek Leung/Getty Images)

A forgotten NHLer, Derek Roy was one of the best third liners in the early 2010s and a spectacular Buffalo Sabres player. Roy played for 6 teams in his 738 game career. 12 of those games he spent with the Canucks. In the 2012-13 season Roy played with two teams, the Dallas Stars and the Vancouver Canucks. He started the season off in Dallas playing 30 games and having 22 points, and then joining Vancouver and there he played 12 games. In those 12 games Roy had 6 points for an average of 0.5 PPG, or better yet one point every two games.

Roy’s time in Vancouver was heavily short-lived, like all of the players on this list, and that’s why he’s such a forgotten player. Before Roy joined Vancouver, he earned his fame with Buffalo. He played in Buffalo for 8 seasons while being a constant 50 point player at the least. Roy had an insane patch at one point that saw him score 63 points, 81 points, 70 points and 69 points. Roy is one of the most underrated players of all time and is a top 5 Buffalo Sabre of all time. Roy was dominant until his final games in Buffalo, and once he left he became an average NHLer. He recorded 30 and 40 point seasons to be one of the best third line centermen in the NHL. That’s where he played in Vancouver.

After leaving Vancouver, Roy played with three other NHL teams (the Blues, Oilers and Predators) and finally played 6 years in Europe and then finally retiring from pro hockey in May of 2021. In those 6 seasons in Europe, Roy played in 4 different leagues. He played in the Swiss-A, the KHL, the SweHL, and the DEL. It’s wild to think that he never got a contract in the NHL. Roy’s last season in the NHL saw him record 32 points in 72 games. It isn’t high-scoring, but it’s worth giving him another shot. It is too bad that Roy never got to play in North America after 2015 because he could have made a serviceable bottom six piece.

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That concludes our 7 forgotten Canucks players list. These players never played in Vancouver for too long, but that’s what makes some of these players so treasurable. You don’t need to stay with one team your entire career to succeed there. Players like Jokinen had one final great run in the NHL thanks to teams like Vancouver that gave them chances. It’s always good to end on a positive note, and if Jokinen never got traded to the Canucks he wouldn’t have finished his career off with a bang. And the Canucks wouldn’t have Tyler Motte if it wasn’t for Jokinen, so we should be grateful to have him. Playing for the Canucks for half of a season won’t make you a favourable player, but that doesn’t make the player less of a Canuck when the story is written.