Top 10: Trevor Linden Moments, #10-6

I had thought about starting this blog for a number of months, but the impetus for me actually doing so came from my desire to express my appreciation of the greatest Vancouver Canuck, Trevor Linden. The first ever post on 'Nucks and Pucks came last June, on the occasion of Trevor's retirement - and now, on the day that his jersey is raised to the rafters of GM Place, I present my Top 10 Trevor Linden Moments. This first part presents moments 10-6.

Number 10

St. Louis Blues vs. Vancouver Canucks

Linden hits Jeff Norton through the glass

Unfortunately I couldn’t track down the date for this massive hit, but I believe it was during the 1995 playoffs, when Vancouver defeated St. Louis in their opening round series. No need for a description here, the video speaks for itself. Simply awesome.

Number 9

January 21, 1998 – Phoenix Coyotes vs. Vancouver Canucks
Linden fights for his Captain

In what looked at the time to be his last game ever as a Canuck, Trevor Linden valiantly defended Mark Messier after a Coyote player took liberties with him. This, despite the fact that Messier had taken over the captaincy from Linden and been the reason for bringing in Mike Keenan as coach. Keenan verbally assaulted Linden in the dressing room, and was eventually responsible for trading the Canucks icon to the New York Islanders. That Linden would defend Messier despite these circumstances speaks volumes about his character and his dedication to the Canucks.

Number 8

1988-89 Season – Trevor Linden’s Rookie Season

Linden Makes NHL All-Rookie Team

Linden finished his rookie season with 30 goals and 29 assists, good enough to earn him a spot on the NHL All-Rookie Team. Check out this vintage of clip of TL in his rookie year. I have a serious love/hate for those canary duds!

Number 7

April 23, 2007 – Dallas Stars vs. Vancouver Canucks

Western Conference Quarter-Finals, Game 7

Linden nets the game winner as the Canucks advance to the second round. The Canucks lost in the second round to the Anaheim Ducks, who would go on to win the Cup that season. Linden finished the 2007 playoffs, the last of his career, with seven points to tie for the team lead.

Number 6

May 24, 1994 – Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Vancouver Canucks

Western Conference Final, Game 5

After Greg Adams’ dramatic double-overtime goal sent the Canucks to the Finals, Linden skated forward to accept the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl, which the Canucks earned for winning the Western (formerly Campbell) Conference. Accompanying Linden was the widow of Arthur Griffiths, the former owner of the Canucks. After hugging Mrs. Griffiths, Linden picked up the trophy only to have the lid fall off. This memorable moment of levity only enhanced the importance of this historic moment, which marked only the Canucks’ second trip to a Stanley Cup Final.

Okay, let's lay off Toronto already

This posting only loosely relates to hockey, and has zero real connection to the Canucks. Regardless, I felt like weighing in anyway.

As regular readers know, I am more than happy to take the occasional potshot at Toronto, and in particular the Maple Leafs. Or spend a week doing so. This Toronto-bashing is largely in jest and is intended to be good-natured. It is definitely done with the hopes of encouraging friendly banter, such as that which appeared in the comments section of some of my blog postings about the Canucks/Leafs rivalry. I don't really bear more than a weak West Coast grudge towards Toronto - I did, after all, choose to live in the city for seven years.

In today's Globe and Mail Jeff Blair manages to slam every Toronto sports franchise, as well as the NFL's Buffalo Bills, in an article about the Bills first regular season game in Toronto - a 16-3 loss to the Miami Dolphins.

The headline of Blair's article is "Another losing team calls Toronto home," and the first paragraph reads:

"Note to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell: Can we please pick another team? Seriously. As it is, we're chock full of teams that don't make the playoffs."

Okay, I can see how this is kinda funny. But if I was a Toronto sports fan (I guess I sort of am, as I cheer for the Blue Jays and the Rock, and tacitly support the Raptors) I would be pretty pissed off.

Sure TO had a rough 2007-08: the Leafs missed the playoffs again; the Blue Jays did well, but not well enough to make the playoffs on baseball's toughest division; the Rock missed the playoffs for the first time in franchise history; the Argos had an abysmal 4-14 season, despite the presence of a number of ex-NFLers; the Raptors flamed out in the first round of the playoffs; and Toronto FC miss the post-season for the second straight season.

But I sure can't criticize. I mean the Canucks missed the playoffs too, and the BC Lions folded to the Stamps in the Western Division Final. So where does Blair get his smugness from? Why does he feel the need to kick Toronto sport while it's down? Maybe he's a Bostonian, and thus can trash talk about other cities based on the recent success of the Celtics, Patriots and Red Sox. But somehow I doubt it.

I guess I'm bothered by the fact that what should be celebrated as a significant moment in Toronto sports history - after all, this was the first NFL regular season game held in Canada, as well as a chance for the many Bills fans in Ontario to see their team play in their own backyard - gets the shaft because Blair decided that he wanted to use it as a vehicle to diss Toronto.

And c'mon, we all know that Toronto bashing is only really fun when it involves the Canucks whooping the Leafs. Which, by the way, will be going down for the second time this season on February 21. Stay tuned for the trash talk - but in the meantime, lay off Toronto for a bit, kay?

Proper levels of pugnacity, testosterone, truculence and belligerence?

I had a random thought today: at one point (2005-06) the Canucks roster featured four of the more hated players in the game: Jarkko Ruutu, Matt Cooke, Alex Burrows and (oh yeah, him) Todd Bertuzzi.

While Brian Burke was no longer the GM at this point, his right hand man Dave Nonis had taken over the reigns. The squad still had Burke's fingerprints all over it though. And we all know what Brian Burke wants in a hockey team: "proper levels of pugnacity, testosterone, truculence and belligerence. That's how our teams play." That, and polysyllabism.

Given the amount of peskiness and cheap-shottery on this 05-06 squad (a 24-year old rookie named Kevin Bieksa also played half the season, racking up 77 penalty minutes in 39 games) how were the Canucks not the absolutely most reviled team in the NHL?

I figure it must be the fact that there were four affable, neutral Swedes on the team as well. Everyone loves the Swedes, right?

Top 5: People to Feel Sorry For So Far in 2008-09

5. It is hard to feel sorry for any Calgary Flames player or fan. Ever. That being said, you gotta sympathize with Brandon Prust just a little bit for being on the wrong end of this Rick Rypien beating:



4. J.P. Barry is no longer just Mats Sundin's agent, he is also the unintended manager of the Waffle House that is Sundin's indecision on his hockey future. Barry has been forced to defend his client's inaction on multiple occasions since July, and you get the feeling that he knows little more than the rest of us about what is going on inside Mats' glorious, bald head. However, no one will be feeling sorry for him if Sundin accepts that $20 million, 2 year offer from the Canucks. 4% of $20 million is what, $800,000? That's a pretty decent slice of pie to go along with the waffle Barry has been forced to digest since the summer.

3. Did Darren McCarty really need to be reminded of his struggles with alcoholism by George W. Bush? I mean sure it was meant in a complimentary way, but imagine getting called out on that kind of sensitive issue by the US President, at a celebration of your Stanley Cup championship no less. Oh yeah, and a month later the Red Wings put him on waivers and sent him to the minors. When he got recalled he hurt his groin. Not a great start to the season.

2. Mike van Ryn. No, not for getting traded from Florida to one of the only teams that could conceivably be worse than the Panthers this season - rather for being on the receiving end of Milan Lucic's best Trevor Linden impression:



1. Sarah Palin's as-yet-unborn sixth child.