The Vancouver Canucks will celebrate its 40th anniversary this 2010-11 season with year-long plans to honour the team’s history in the National Hockey League. The new season kicks off this Oct. 9 against the Los Angeles Kings, the same team the Canucks faced back in 1970-71 for the franchise’s inaugural game.

Throughout the season, there will be a series of “signature nights” to mark the anniversary. These nights will “engage and encourage fan participation and salute the loyal and passionate Canucks fans.”

“This season promises to be very special for our fans and our organization,” said Mike Gillis, Canucks President and General Manager. “We have a number of exciting initiatives planned and we look forward to sharing these experiences with Canucks fans all season long.”

Plans for the upcoming season and details regarding the Canucks’ “signature nights” will be unveiled on Jul. 7 at the club’s annual Canucks Summer Summit.

Hockey fans in attendance to the Pittsburgh Penguins’ season home finale on Apr. 8 will receive a commemorative aluminum hockey ticket.

“The Penguins and Trib Total Media are looking forward to celebrating the final regular season game at Mellon Arena with our fans and this commemorative ticket,” said Penguins vice president of marketing James Santilli. “We are grateful to have the opportunity to work with a local company like Wendell August Forge that offers such unique products.”

The tickets are made by Grove City-based Wendell August Forge, USA’s oldest and largest forge. Each one-of-a-kind ticket is handmade by the local artisans and craftsmen.

Unbelievably, Wendell August Forge had to overcome a workshop fire days after the order was received. Fortunately, the company was able to retrieve some important equipment and transfer it to a temporary location to complete the Penguins order. A video depicting the story and highlighting the creation of these tickets can be viewed at penguins.nhl.com.

“When we received the order from the Penguins in early March, we were euphoric,” said Wendell August Forge’s president Will Knecht. “Days later, tragedy hit and our company’s immediate future was uncertain until the Penguins reached out to offer their support. This order is historic not only because it is the single-largest order in the Forge’s history, but will also be the first piece produced since the fire. I can assure you there is a lot of pride going into each ticket.”

The second of three new Los Angeles Kings bobbleheads will be distributed on Apr. 1 at the Kings home game. The three new bobbles are Simmonds on Feb. 10, Anze Kopitar on Mar. 14, and Ryan Smyth on Apr. 1. The new bobble series follows in the footsteps of the popular Luc Robitaille bobble that was distributed back on Dec. 5.

The 33-year old Smyth is in his first season with the Los Angeles Kings. Once named the Edmonton Oilers’ Most Popular Player, he has also spent time with the New York Islanders and Colorado Avalanche before joining the Kings. At the international level, Smyth won gold medals with Canada at the World Junior Championship, World Champion, World Cup of Hockey and Winter Olympics.

The second of three new Los Angeles Kings bobbleheads will be distributed on Mar. 14 at the Kings home game. The three new bobbles are Simmonds on Feb. 10, Anze Kopitar on Mar. 14, and Ryan Smyth on Apr. 1. The new bobble series follows in the footsteps of the popular Luc Robitaille bobble that was distributed back on Dec. 5.

The 22-year old Kopitar has been one of the NHL’s finest players this 2009-10 season. The Slovenian-born star was drafted 11th overall at the 2005 NHL Entry Draft, the same draft that produced Sidney Crosby and Carey Price. He then made his NHL debut in 2006-07, the same year in which his first NHL collectibles were released.

The final Milwaukee Admirals bobble will be distributed on Friday Mar. 5 to the first 5,000 fans in attendance to the Admirals-Rivermen game. The bobble, which features goaltender Chris Mason, is available courtesy Kohl’s and Lee Jeans. Previous Milwaukee bobbles this season were Abe Lincoln (in an Admirals’ jersey) in February and Nolan Yonkman in January.

The first 10,000 fans in attendance to the Mar. 4 Hurricanes match at the RBC Center will receive a Eric Staal bobblehead figure. The Staal figure is the last of four Carolina bobbles to be distributed at home games this season. The full series features Erik Cole, Chad LaRose, Tuomo Ruutu and Eric Staal.

The first 10,000 fans in attendance to the Mar. 3 Blackhawks-Oilers match at the United Center will receive a Jonathan Toews bobblehead figure. The bobbles are distributed courtesy Chicagoland & NW Indiana Chevy. The Toews figure is the last of four Chicago bobbles to be distributed at home games this season. The full series features Patrick Kane, Marian Hossa, Duncan Keith and Jonathan Toews.

The next collectible poster in the Colorado Avalanche’s alumni series will be available at the Avalanche’s home game on Monday Mar. 1. This poster features Valeri Kamensky. The 10-poster series features Joe Sakic, Alexei Gusarov, Shjon Podein, Uwe Krupp, Mike Keane, Adam Deadmarsh, Claude Lemieux, Curtis Leschyshyn, Mike Ricci and Valeri Kamensky. Each poster features artwork produced by Stephen Holland.

Kamensky was part of the Nordiques organization that moved to Colorado in 1995. He was also part of that first Stanley Cup championship in 1995-96.

The first of three new Los Angeles Kings bobbleheads will be distributed on Feb. 11 at the Kings home game. The three new bobbles are Simmonds on Feb. 11, Anze Kopitar on Mar. 14, and Ryan Smyth on Apr. 1. The new bobble series follows in the footsteps of the popular Luc Robitaille bobble that was distributed back on Dec. 5.

The 21-year old Simmonds is in his second season with the Kings. He was drafted 61st overall in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft and then won a gold medal at the 2008 IIHF World Junior Championship in Pardubice, Czech Republic. His NHL rookie cards were issued in 2008-09.

The Feb. 11 Simmonds bobble is distributed in conjunction with the Kings Black History Night. The Kings opponent on Feb. 11 is the Edmonton Oilers.

The first 10,000 fans in attendance to the Feb. 9 Hurricanes match at the RBC Center will receive a Tuomo Ruutu bobblehead figure. The Ruutu figure is the third of four Carolina bobbles to be distributed at home games this season. The full series features Erik Cole, Chad LaRose, Tuomo Ruutu and Eric Staal.