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 Trevor Linden will see his No. 16 hoisted to the rafters on Wednesday evening before the Canucks-Oilers matchup. (FILE PHOTO) |
For only the second time in Vancouver Canucks' NHL history, a player's jersey will be raised to the rafters.
It was Stan Smyl's No. 12 on Nov. 3, 1991. "Steamer's" original banner is on display at the B.C. Sports Hall of Fame next door at B.C. Place Stadium.
Wednesday night it'll be Trevor Linden's No. 16 in the Garage.
Face-off against the Edmonton Oilers is 7:30 p.m., but the emotional ceremony gets underway 90 minutes earlier at 6 p.m. Doors open at 5 p.m. and fans are encouraged to be seated by 5:45 p.m. Sportsnet will carry the ceremony live. Canada's Storyboard, the giant screen on Canada Place's south side, will also show the ceremony.
As a tribute to one of Vancouver's favourite sports heroes, we bring you 16 things to talk about when you talk about Linden.
1 The Draft: Canucks' superboss Pat Quinn chose Trevor Linden second overall after the Minnesota North Stars picked Mike Modano to begin the draft at the Montreal Forum on June 11, 1988.
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2 A year to remember and forget: 1988 was when Wayne Gretzky won a fourth Stanley Cup, got married and was traded to the Los Angeles Kings in hockey's biggest deal on Aug. 9. Sprinter Ben Johnson won 100-metre gold on Sept. 24 at the Seoul Olympics, but was disqualified for steroids.
3 Immediate impact: Linden was runner-up for the Calder trophy after his rookie season. He was promoted to captain in 1991-1992. Then 21, he was the youngest C-wearer in the league.
4 Sweet: Who are the NHL's other great 16s? Bobby Clarke, Marcel Dionne, Brett Hull, Pat LaFontaine and Henri Richard.
5 Sweeter: Linden spent 16 of 19 NHL seasons as a Canuck.
6 Spring splendor: Linden had 99 points in 124 playoff games.
7 1994: Linden had 25 points in 24 games during the 1994 playoffs.
8 Hall of fame candidate: On statistics alone, Linden deserves induction. His 1,382 career games are 32nd all-time and his 375 goals are 94th, tied with Butch Goring. His 867 career points are 99th best.
9 Awards: The 1997 King Clancy Memorial Trophy winner for on and off-ice leadership shared the 2008 NHL Foundation Player Award with Tampa Bay's Vincent Lecavalier.
10 Great eight: Linden has done good deeds for charities such as Canuck Place, B.C. Children's Hospital, Camp Goodtimes, Ronald McDonald House of B.C., Canadian Cancer Society, B.C. Cancer Foundation, Kids Help Phone and the Michael Cuccione Foundation.
11 Adventure racing: Linden wore jersey 203 with teammate and personal trainer Peter Twist in the Sea2Summit Cypress Bowl to Jericho Beach adventure race on Aug. 7, 2004. They were runners-up in the male duo category.
12 Retired number: Linden's jersey will become the second Canucks' retired jersey. Stan Smyl's No. 12 is the other. No. 11 was taken out of circulation after Wayne Maki's 1974 cancer death. Mark Messier courted controversy when he donned it in 1997.
13 Scoring: Linden's first goal was Oct. 18, 1988 against Kelly Hrudey and the New York Islanders. His last came in a pair on March 30, 2008 in a 6-2 win over Calgary.
14 Goodbye, hello: Linden was traded Feb. 6, 1998 to the Islanders for Todd Bertuzzi, Bryan McCabe and a third round pick, which was converted into Jarkko Ruutu in the 1998 draft. After stints on Long Island and in Montreal, the Washington Capitals dealt Linden to Vancouver on Nov. 10, 2001 for the Canucks' 2002 first rounder.
15 Politics: Linden became an NHL Players' Association rep in 1990 and was elected president in June 1998. He was part of an effort to salvage the lockout canceled 2004-2005 season. Despite his declaration that players would never accept a salary cap, the owners won.
16 World stage: Linden has a 1988 world junior gold medal and silvers from the 1991 world championship and the 1996 World Cup of Hockey. He was on Canada's 1998 Olympic team in Nagano where he scored to force overtime in the eventual loss to the Czech Republic.