Linden makes it official

June 11, 1988 was the day that Trevor Linden was drafted second overall by the Vancouver Canucks.

June 11, 2008 was the day that Trevor Linden officially retired from the NHL.

A lot can happen in 20 years, and we have all come to love Linden for what he has done in that time.

He is one of the most well-liked guys in the league, and the most popular player to suit up for the Canucks.

More importantly, he is one heck of a guy off the ice, doing so much for children's charities. He was recognized for this work, winning the King Clancy Memorial Trophy (1997) and the NHL Foundation Player Award (2008).

The league needs more guys like him.

Linden may not be completely done with hockey, as he is currently talking to the Canucks about remaining in the organization in some capacity.

So young he was...

The hockey world and the small province of New Brunswick were stunned today when Canucks defenceman Luc Bourdon was killed in a motorcycle accident. He was driving his motorcycle and lost control, hitting a transport truck head-on.

He was only 21 years old and showed great promise as a hockey player. Drafted 10th overall in 2005, he played for Canada at the WJC twice. His first tournament was in 2006, where he had 6 points in 6 games and won gold for Brent Sutter's team. He came back to the Maritimes and found himself moving from Val d'Or to Moncton. While with Ted Nolan's Wildcats team, he made it all the way to the Memorial Cup finals, where the team lost to the Quebec Remparts.

This year, Bourdon split the season between the Canucks and their AHL affiliate, the Manitoba Moose. He was a plus-7, with 2 goals, in 27 games with Vancouver and he showed great promise as an NHL defenceman. Teams thought so highly of him that Tampa Bay wanted him in a deal for Brad Richards, but then-GM Dave Nonis refused to let him go.

It's never easy to hear of someone losing their life at such a young age, especially when their future looked so bright.

One last standing ovation

He hasn't made any announcements, but everyone seems to know.

He flew his parents to Vancouver to see the final game of the Canucks' season, a game in which the fans all held banners declaring their appreciation for Linden.

Fans of the Vancouver Canucks love Trevor Linden. Heck, even fans of other teams acknowledge how special a player he is and was for that franchise. He was more of a Canuck than anyone else in Vancouver history.

And it seems that the 'Trevor Linden Era' is now over. Tonight appeared to be the last NHL game in Linden's career.

He may not have scored a goal tonight. In fact, his team lost 7-1 to Calgary, but he was named the number one star of the night because that is what the fans wanted. He came out and skated around the rink, saluting the fans as they stood and cheered for the man who was once their captain.

The Canucks took to the ice after the game and gave their jerseys to fans. The cameras seemed to be stuck on Linden as he signed his jersey and handed it over to a young woman before sitting down on the bench. CBC then trained their cameras on UFA Markus Naslund, who is not expected to return next season.

The Vancouver Canucks are losing a quiet, humble, honest and thoughtful player - a true leader - but he will soon return to GM Place to watch the team raise his number 16 to the rafters.




He did return to play Game 7, but lost the Cup to Messier's Rangers.

You'll be missed, Linden.

A sad day in Canada-land.

The Edmonton Oilers have finally been eliminated from the playoff race by...*gasp*...their hated provincial rivals, the Calgary Flames.

What a sad day. I really wanted the Oilers to sneak in and beat Detroit in round 1...again.

Who's next to fall? The Vancouver Canucks? They're currently in 9th...behind the Nashville "We sold all of our stars last summer and yet we don't suck" Predators.

How about the Ottawa Senators? The term 'Free Fall' does not even begin to describe what's going on there. They seem to be synonymous with the word 'shutout' -- and not in a good way.

That's one team that will blow up in the off-season.

Imagine if the only Canadian team to make the playoffs this year was the Habs? How sad would THAT be??

Leafs are d-o-n-e

You know it's bad when you're watching the Leafs-Sabres game and CBC breaks away to catch Markus Naslund's penalty shot in the Canucks-Stars game, and then CBC decides to not go back to the Leafs game.

Yep, that's the sign that the season is done in Toronto. Just givin' up on their team.

There were 3 games on HNIC tonight, and we in the Maritimes actually didn't get to see the entire Leafs-Sabres game! Imagine that...we saw the Habs shutout the Islanders 3-0. Those goalie kids are crazy in Montreal. Add up their ages and they are still younger than Hasek. haha

After the celebration in Montreal, CBC cut to the Leafs, who were desperate for a win to stay in the hunt. They were down 5-2 with more than 3 minutes left and Toskala on the bench for the extra attacker. Then Tallinder had to take the 180-foot shot and get the empty netter, his first goal in 82 games. The silence from the crowd was deafening. It was shortly thereafter that CBC went down to Dallas to see the Canucks hang on for a 4-3 victory.

That Willie Mitchell...what a warrior. He took a puck to the mouth in the third period, stayed on the ice, blocked a shot with his ankle, and when he went to the bench, his jersey was covered in blood. He stayed on the bench, got the trainers to stop most of the bleeding, and went back out to play. You could see the blood in his nose and mouth, but he played his heart out and helped his team earn the win. He may not be offensively gifted, but it's guys like that who will win you a Cup.

Tomorrow is Pens-Flyers on NBC. Big game if we hope to stay close to New Jersey for the division/conference lead.

Who's a dirtier player than Chris Simon?

My vote goes to Chris Pronger of the Anaheim Ducks.

In case you have been living under a rock, or you just didn't watch SportsCentre, Pronger stomped on Ryan Kesler's leg in Wednesday night's game against the Vancouver Canucks. It was very reminiscent of Chris Simon's stomp on Jarkko Ruutu's leg in December, except there is one teeny, tiny, microscopic difference.

Simon was suspended for 30 games. Pronger gets nothing.

Now, when I look at the video of the incident, I see Pronger look down at Kesler and try to stomp on Kesler's leg twice, catching him the second time. There is a point where Pronger's skate makes contact with Kesler's calf, lingers there, and then pushes it away as he skates off.



If you look carefully, Pronger is looking down towards the ice. He's not looking down the ice. His attention is directed towards his feet, or very close to them, so he must have known that Kesler's leg was there. Some argue that he was simply trying to untangle himself, but I don't believe it.

Now, the reason why I say that Pronger is dirtier than Simon is because of his 'superstar' status in the NHL. He is one of the best defencemen in the League and he is a future Hall of Famer. Simon is not - not in the least. While Pronger has a reputation of being dirty, with 7 suspensions to his name (including 2 during last year's playoffs), he will not receive the same type of scrutiny that Simon faces and he will not receive the same punishment.

Is there a chance that Pronger will not 'think twice' next time because the consequences are minimal? Yeah.

Will Pronger be given chance after chance after 245th chance simply because of his status? Will coaches, GMs, officials, and the NHL turn a blind eye because, at the end of the day, Pronger is a superstar who sells tickets? For sure, and because of that, more players will be hurt due to his absolute lack of respect.

After the Simon incident in December, we all wondered what would happen if 'a Chris Pronger' had done something like that.

Well, now we know what would happen.

Nothing.

I think the only way the NHL would care would be if the victim was not Kesler, but rather one of the biggest names in the game, someone bigger than Pronger - like Crosby or Ovechkin. But it shouldn't be that way.

The NHL has decided that they will not suspend Pronger, but I say we raise hell and call for a suspension anyway. They probably won't do it, but in light of the recent video that shows the incident more clearly (the one above, which was not made available until last night - after the NHL's ruling), perhaps the League will pay more attention to Pronger's activities on the ice and act accordingly the next time something like this happens, and believe me, it will happen.

Random stuff

The Vancouver Canucks finally found their offence and broke through Minnesota's defensive system to win Friday night's game 6-2. This was only the third win at home (in 10 attempts) for Vancouver.

The great thing about Vancouver's game was that the offence was spread out among the players - 6 goals by 6 players - rather than having the Sedin twins do most of the offensive work.

Defenceman Luc Bourdon, former Moncton Wildcat who was recently called up from the AHL, scored his first NHL goal - a power play tally late in the third.

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As the entire hockey world must know by now, the Anaheim Ducks placed backup goalie Ilya Bryzgalov on waivers yesterday. Apparently GM Brian Burke tried to trade Bryzgalov, but there were no takers.

"Ilya Bryzgalovhas won three playoff rounds for us and has played very well. But we've committed ourselves to two other goaltenders in Jean-Sebastien Giguere and Jonas Hiller. I told him if I couldn't find a place to play, I would put him on waivers. I gave his agent Don Meehan a time frame, and we're keeping our word to a player. As an organization, we find that to be important. He's a good kid, we know he'll get picked up and he'll play well wherever he goes. He's done his part for us over the last two seasons, and it's time we kept our word," said Burke.

That being said, I'd be absolutely shocked if Bryzgalov went unclaimed. He has a career GAA of 2.48, a 0.908 SV%, and a 26-23-7 record. He definitely helped the Ducks win the Cup last season when Giguere took time off to be with his family. Bryzgalov would be an asset to any organization looking for a goalie - and there are a few teams looking for a bit of an upgrade.

I could see Atlanta GM/Coach Don Waddell making a phone call or two. Perhaps Ray Shero? I guess we must wait and see what happens.

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Tonight: Pens and Rangers. There's only one player (that I can think of) that I truly dislike and that would be Sean Avery. I hope Laraque suits up and teaches Avery a lesson. Punk...

I'll be watching the Ottawa/Toronto game on HNIC. The "Battle of Ontario" has the potential of being a funny game...good times.

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Update: And Bryzgalov goes to......drum roll please......the Phoenix Coyotes! Alex Auld and Mikael Tellqvist have been splitting goaltending duties for Gretz, but Bryzgalov will likely become the number one goalie in Phoenix. Good on ya, Ilya. Just don't play like you did in knob hockey. Time to shut door, time to close 5-hole...

Canucks show off their new threads

The Vancouver Canucks unveiled their new uniforms on Wednesday before a crowd of 8,500 fans at GM Place.

Captain Markus Naslund (left), along with fan favourites Trevor Linden, Willie Mitchell, Kevin Bieksa, and Mattias Ohlund, modelled the uniforms for the crowd.

The logo on the front of the jersey is still the orca (yay), while the original hockey stick logo can be found on the shoulders.

The colour scheme is the same that was used 37 years ago, when the Canucks first entered the NHL - blue, green and white.

One glaring difference is the addition to 'Vancouver' above the orca logo. I'm not quite sure about this addition - it's a bit much on the front - but overall, the jerseys look good. I like the colour scheme and I like how the 'powers that be' kept the logos. A lot of fans really don't care for these new unis, but I think that they will mellow in the next few months.

After all, it's not like Vancouver reverted back to the red, orange and black of the 1980's.

Mr. Canuck to stay another season

The Vancouver Canucks announced today that they have re-signed Trevor Linden to a one year contract worth $600K (up to $900K with bonuses). My response: it's about time.

He's one of those guys who is the heart and soul of his team. He may not score in bunches like in past years, but his leadership and absolute commitment to the team make him a valuable player. He was one of the few players who actually showed up and played during the playoffs this past spring - maybe it can rub off on the Sedin twins?

I'm surprised that the Canucks took so long to re-sign Linden. Could he have thought about retirement and only recently decided to give it another go? Perhaps. In any case, the Canucks made a good move by signing Linden, and they certainly didn't break the bank to get him.

Pre-Season Predictions: Northwest Division

The race for the Northwest Division crown will be interesting this year. The Vancouver Canucks will certainly look to repeat this season, armed with Luongo in goal yet again. Luongo carried this entire team on his back this year, but especially in the playoffs. His teammates in front of him just couldn’t seem to find the net in the post-season, but Luongo somehow managed to get the team to the Western Conference Semi-Finals; it was a shame that the last goal against Luongo was a bad one. Look for this Montreal-born goalie to continue to be his brilliant self.

The Canucks have been relatively quiet this off-season, but I don’t think that they needed to necessarily make a lot of changes. Something that they do need is consistent scoring from their top forwards (hello Naslund and Sedin twins) – which was definitely absent in the playoffs. I expect that they will be fine during the season and they will make the playoffs, but they may want to add a little something at the trade deadline if they think they have a legitimate Cup contender.

Something Vancouver fans should be excited about: Bieksa’s going to be hanging around for awhile!

The Calgary Flames will certainly want to improve on their consistency this season by winning as many games on the road as at home. I think that the Flames have a really good team in place. They are solid in goal with Kiprusoff, their defense is looking good with shutdown guy Regehr, superstar-in-the-making Phaneuf, and the newly acquired Aucoin. And with Iginla leading the way, the Flames aren’t a bad team.

The big question mark that pops into my mind concerns new head coach Mike Keenan, who is certainly not a stranger to the NHL. If a good kick in the rear is what the Flames needed to play consistently, then Iron Mike is the guy to dish it out. But will Keenan go overboard and risk alienating the team? I guess this is where Iginla has to really step it up to rally the troops and keep them going. The Flames should be able to make the playoffs this year, but Keenan might ruin it all with his iron fist.

I think that fans of the Colorado Avalanche have something to be excited about this season. The Avs is one of many teams that missed the playoffs by thismuch, but they made a few big splashes in the free agent pool. Newcomer Scott Hannan improves the Avs defense; Ryan Smyth adds grit, leadership and offensive punch to a group of forwards that include youngsters Stastny and Wolski; and Budaj has proven himself worthy as a starting goaltender (although expect Theodore to make a push for that job).

The Avs have a history of success, and last year’s early end to the season should not be worrisome. The team is stocked with young talent, and they have the leaders to take them to the playoffs in 2008. Joe Sakic has led this team for 15 years, has won the Cup twice before, and still has more talent than most players in the NHL – I would not be shocked if he made another run for Lord Stanley’s Mug before he retired.

The Minnesota Wild is a team that I don’t know that much about, but I do know that they have some talent. Backstrom was very solid in net last season (you don’t win the Jennings Trophy by being a slacker) and I expect this trend to continue. They seem to favour a defensive style of play but they aren’t slouches up front, with the likes of Koivu, Rolston, and Gaborik. I think they are going to make it to the post-season, but I’m not sure if they can catch the Canucks and the Avs in the divisional race.

Finally, we come to the limping Edmonton Oilers. I feel really bad for this team and all the adversity and instability it has faced in the past 14+ months. They squeaked into the playoffs in 2006 and somehow made it all the way to Game 7 of the Finals before losing to Carolina. Not long afterward, Pronger bolted to Anaheim, Spacek left for Buffalo, and Peca wound up in Toronto. The Oilers had a tough season to begin with, but with injury trouble and the loss of Ryan Smyth, the team seemed to lose its heart and soul. Watching the Oilers play after losing Smyth was like watching a team that just simply gave up – and the fact that they only won 2 games illustrates that point.

MacTavish and the rest of his coaching staff will be fighting an uphill battle this year as they try to stabilize this team and develop some pride. There are a lot of young players in the Oilers’ dressing room - about 16 players have less than 3 years of NHL experience – so the veterans will really have to step up and lead the way through adversity. Without “Captain Canada” or Captain Smith in the lineup this season, leadership might just be the thing that will make or break the Oilers in 2007-08.

I have serious doubts that the Oilers will make the playoffs this coming season. Even though they were the Cinderella team that made it to the Finals in 2006, they are currently light years away from that team. Kevin Lowe made some serious mistakes with Smyth, and his escapades this summer are questionable (though understandable, in my opinion). If things get worse in the “City of Champions” – could they possibly get worse? – K.Lo. will certainly be shown the door.