I haven’t had a lot of time to check out the other Canucks blogs that I read very often lately, so on the eve of what I’m sure will be the continuation of the winning streak, I thought I’d take a spin around and see who’s been posting what lately.

So, without further delay….

• You may not have realized (and I count myself in that group until I read Crashing the Goalie) that Kyle Wellwood is currently leading the NHL in shooting percentage.  I also wasn’t aware that the Canucks had a league-leader in each of their first three decades of existence – the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s. 
• Mike the Yankee Canuck posted over on Nucks Misconduct that Sean Avery has now cleared waivers (surprise, surprise), and is speculating on what a line of Avery, Darcy Hordichuk and Alex Burrows would be like.  God, please, no…
• Alix, the Humming Giraffe is confused after the Canucks latest victory over the Blackhawks, but she does write a great summary.
• Over at Canucks and Beyond, Alanah is writing regarding what might happen at the trading deadline, which is only 30 days away. Okay, that wasn’t really a Canucks post, but I already covered the Nucks Misconduct announcement, and I’m not really into Trevor Linden for Valentine’s Day. 

June 11, 1988 was the day that Trevor Linden was picked second in the NHL Entry Draft by the Vancouver Canucks, right behind Mike Modano.  Twenty years later, Linden’s number became the second to be retired by the Vancouver Canucks.

Sure, there were those few years after he got traded to the Islanders that he bounced around a bit (3 teams in 3 years), but the Canucks were lucky to get him back from Washington in 2001, and this is where he finished his career last season.  Where he belongs.

And obviously he wasn’t as productive in his final years, but then, neither was Wayne Gretzky.  But that’s not the point here.  In the last twenty years, no one has embodied what it means to be a Canuck more than Trevor Linden.  Maybe not ever.  Not Kirk McLean.  Not Pavel Bure.  The only one who comes close would be Stan Smyl.

So it’s probably fitting that the first player to pay tribute to Linden last night was The Steamer himself.  Last night’s ceremony to retire Linden’s jersey wasn’t over the top like it could have been, but the Canucks showed a great deal of class, having both Jim Robson and John Shorthouse MC the whole thing.  And to bring back former teammates Harold Snepts, Garth Butcher, Cliff Ronning, Kirk McLean and Geoff Courtnall made it even better.

When Brian Burke was installed as the GM in Toronto, he made it clear that the Leaf players were going to be doing community service, or Burke would find them someplace else to play.  The same was expected of players when he was in Vancouver.  But that was never an issue with Linden, as the community service that he’s done is almost legendary in the NHL.  I remember watching a segment on the TV about how he purchased a suite at GM Place, and provided tickets to low income kids to let them experience attending NHL games.

Or the work that he did for Canuck Place, visiting with kids and families at a time when any bright spot in their day would help.  This wasn’t something that was talked about a whole lot.  Linden wasn’t doing it because he wanted to get into the press, or to make himself look good.  He did it because it was the right thing to do, and because he wanted to help in anyway that he could.

For myself, the three most memorable moments in Linden’s career were the 1994 Finals against the Rangers, when Linden was playing inured, but still helped to carry the Canucks through; his first game coming back to Vancouver from Washington.  The reaction of the fans was unbelievable; and finally, the reaction after what turned out to be his final game.  The fact that he was awarded the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd star, even though the Canucks lost 7-1 was the first step.  But the send-off from Jarome Iginla and the rest of the Calgary Flames showed that it wasn’t just those in Vancouver appreciated what he’s done for the game.

No he’s not going to wind up in the Hockey Hall of Fame, but when the Canucks retired the number, it was the highest honour that the Canucks could pay to their former captain. 

Thank you, Trevor, for everything that you’ve done for the city of Vancouver, both on and off the ice.

While the Canucks retired Trevor Linden’s number last night, this post is going to be about the game.  I’ll have another post that’s Linden specific a little later today.  Even though many gave the Canucks up for dead when Roberto Luongo went out, they seem to be able to find ways to keep winning despite some shaky performances from both Cory Schneider and Curtis Sanford.

And while they didn’t stay completely out of the penalty box, it was really only Mathias Ohlund’s penalty late in the third, which lead to an Edmonton powerplay goal came at a really inopportune time.  That gaol got the Oilers to within one with just a minute and change to play.  Thankfully they were able to get it back as Janik Hansen was able to put one into the empty net with just seconds left to seal the deal.

They did get bit by the injury bug again, losing a pair of defencemen in Shane O’Brien and Sami Salo, who was playing in his first game after sitting out the last three due to injury.  The Canucks need Salo’s cannon of a shot, but why does he have to be such a china doll so often?  This isn’t really what they need when they have to play the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday night.  A team that gave the Ollers their worst pounding at home this decade.

Thankfully they’ll be spending more time at GM Place for the forseeable future, with only one trip out of town in the next seven games.  Unfortunatley, that trip out of town will take them to San Jose.  But we’ll deal with that when we get to it.

Chicago is up next, and the Canucks FanZone will have the live blogging covered.  I’ll be participating there, so come on by and participate.

It’s hard not to be optimistic about the coming season based on what the Canucks have done over the last couple of weeks. Keeping that momentum going and having a positive start to the season could make all the difference to how it all turns out in the end.

For Luc Bourdon. For Trevor Linden.

It starts now.

Was that a spectacular flame-out or what?  Evidently the Canucks couldn’t even muster the pride to show up for their last game against the Flames, showing their fans that they really didn’t seem to care a whole lot about the season after all.  Any team that’s in a fight to make the playoffs and goes 1-7 to finish out the season when every game is against divisional rivals certainly doesn’t deserve to make the playoffs.  Maybe not even next year.

I kind of thought that they would have won the game against Edmonton, making the last game of the season really mean something, and then get blown out anyway, but, no, they eliminated themselves even earlier.  It’s not an earth-shaking revelation to say that major changes are going to have to be made during the off-season, but more on that in another post.

Realistically, there was only one reason to watch Saturday’s game. 

Trevor Linden.

Regardless of how anyone thought he might have slowed down in the last few years, or that he wasn’t as productive as he’d been in the past, I don’t think anyone could argue the fact that there’s no one who has given more to this organization in the last 19 years than Trevor Linden.  When he was playing in New York, Montreal or Washington, things just didn’t feel right. 

He didn’t say it officially the other night, but after the game was over, you just got the feeling that you were watching him play his last game in the NHL, especially from the reactions of his teammates.

Despite the fact that the NHL has had to deal with some very ugly incidents this year, two of the classiest moments I’ve seen in the game of hockey in the last few years occurred on Saturday night.  First, with the Canucks losing 7-1, the NHL saw fit to award Linden the first star in the game.  Second was Jarome Iginla, getting every player on the Flames to shake Linden’s hand at the end of the game. 

I’ve heard a rumour that Linden could be moving upstairs in the Canucks organization.  Maybe an assistant GM?  Maybe that’s a bit too much too soon, but time will tell.  Without a doubt, his #16 will be the second number to be retired by the Canucks.

Thoughts from others:

• Hell of a guy, hell of a career – YankeeCanuck
• One More Time With Feeling – Canucks Hockey Blog
• Canucks Fan Appreciation 2008 – Miss604.com

Thanks, Trevor.

I seem to remember a time when it seemed like the Canucks always played Philadelphia on New Year’s Eve.  But not lately.  The Flyers haven’t been here since December 31, 2001.  The last time that the Flyers lost here, the Canucks still played at the Pacific Coliseum.  Trevor Linden was a *rookie* for God’s sake.

However, this is not 1989.  But it’s hard to come up with predictions on a game when the Canucks haven’t played their opponent in almost three years.  Last year the Flyers were horrible.  And at 1 – 1 for this year, there’s just so many question marks that I don’t really know where to begin.  Admittedly they’ve made a number of changes, getting Martin Biron at the trade deadline this year, as well as Daniel Briere.  And Jason Smith.  So theoretically they almost couldn’t help but improve from last year.

But with the constant change in the dressing room, and the fact that the Canucks finished so much higher in the standings last year, it’s hard not to go with the locals.

According to PhillyBurbs.com, R.J. Umberger is scheduled to play his very first game at GM Place tonight.  Only thing is, it’s a member of the Flyers.  Umberger was the 16th pick overall by the Canucks in the 2001 draft.