The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. They are members of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Canucks play their home games at Rogers Arena, formerly known as General Motors Place, which has a capacity of 18,860. Mike Gillis is the team's president and general manager, Alain Vigneault is the coach and they are captained by centre Henrik Sedin. They won the Campbell Bowl as Western Conference playoff champions in 2011 and have won the Presidents' Trophy, having recorded the best regular season record in the NHL for the past two seasons (2010–11 and 2011–12).

The Canucks joined the league in 1970 as an expansion team along with the Buffalo Sabres. In its NHL history, the team has advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals three times, losing to the New York Islanders in 1982, the New York Rangers in 1994 and the Boston Bruins in 2011. The Canucks have won the Presidents' Trophy in back-to-back seasons as the team with the league's best regular season record in the 2010–11 and 2011–2012 seasons. They won three division titles as a member of the Smythe Division from 1974 to 1993, and six titles as a member of the Northwest Division from 2003 to 2012.

Vancouver (/vænˈkuːvər/) is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. The 2011 census recorded more than 603,000 people in the city, making it the eighth largest among Canadian cities. The metropolitan area, with more than 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country and the most populous in Western Canada. With 5,249 people per square kilometre (13,590 per sq mile), the City of Vancouver is the most densely populated Canadian municipality among those with 5,000 residents or more. Vancouver is one of the most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities in Canada, with 52% for whom English is not their first language.

The original settlement, named Gastown, grew around the Hastings Mill logging sawmill and a nearby tavern, both established in 1867. Enlarging to become the townsite of Granville, with the announcement that the railhead would reach the site it was renamed "Vancouver" and incorporated as a city in 1886. By 1887, the transcontinental railway was extended to the city to take advantage of its large natural seaport, which soon became a vital link in a trade route between the Orient, Eastern Canada, and London. As of 2009, Port Metro Vancouver is the busiest and largest port in Canada, and the most diversified port in North America. While forestry remains its largest industry, Vancouver is well known as an urban centre surrounded by nature, making tourism its second-largest industry. Major film production studios in Vancouver and Burnaby have turned Metro Vancouver into the third-largest film production centre in North America after Los Angeles and New York City, earning it the film industry nickname, Hollywood North.

Jonathan "John" Tortorella (born June 24, 1958) is an American ice hockey coach for the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League (NHL). Tortorella was previously the head coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning and he led the team to the 2004 Stanley Cup championship. Tortorella became head coach of the Lightning on January 6, 2001 and stayed on until his firing on June 3, 2008 after six and a half seasons, having compiled a 239–222–36–38 record. The firing took place four years after the team's Stanley Cup victory.

Tortorella has been credited by East Coast Hockey League founders Henry Brabham and Bill Coffey with coming up with the name for the league during a league meeting at a Ramada Inn in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. At the time Tortorella was the head coach of Brabham's Virginia Lancers, but left the Lancers to become the assistant coach of the American Hockey League's New Haven Nighthawks before the ECHL's inaugural season in 1988.

Tortorella attended Concord-Carlisle High School in Concord, Massachusetts, and he is listed on the school's athletic Hall of Fame wall (1976). John's brother Jim Tortorella is also listed on the wall.

Matt Greene (born May 13, 1983) is an American professional ice hockey defenseman who currently plays for the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League. Greene currently serves as an alternate captain for Los Angeles.

Greene was drafted in the 2nd round (44th overall) by the Edmonton Oilers in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft. Prior to his professional career, he played for three seasons with the University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux. In 2004–05, Greene captained the Sioux to the NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Championship game, losing to the University of Denver Pioneers 4–1.

Due to his talent, Greene was encouraged to leave college hockey after only three seasons to start a professional career. After a successful training camp with the Oilers prior to the 2005–06 season, Greene signed a pro contract with Edmonton and was assigned to their AHL farm team in Des Moines, the Iowa Stars. He made his NHL debut with the Edmonton Oilers on December 30, 2005 versus the Nashville Predators, and scored his first NHL point on January 25, 2006 in Anaheim, assisting on an Ales Hemsky goal.

Kevin Francesco Bieksa (born June 16, 1981) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman who currently plays for the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League (NHL), serving as an alternate captain for the Canucks during away games. After a three-year career in the Ontario Junior Hockey League (OPJHL) with the Burlington Cougars, Bieksa was awarded a scholarship to Bowling Green State University. He was a one-time All-CCHA honourable mention during his four-year tenure with the Falcons of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA). He graduated from the university with a bachelor's degree in finance and was a two-time CCHA All-Academic honourable mention in 2003 and 2004. Following his freshman year, Bieksa was selected 151st overall by the Canucks in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft and joined their minor league affiliate, the Manitoba Moose of the American Hockey League (AHL), upon graduating. He earned AHL All-Rookie Team honours in his first and only full season with the Moose, before joining the Canucks as a regular member in 2005–06. He is known as a physical and aggressive defenceman.