Linden's jersey headed to the rafters

by James Mirtle on Dec 17, 2008 2:39 PM CST Comment 11 comments

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I think I said pretty much all there was to say on Trevor Linden this summer when he officially retired, but with his jersey heading to the rafters at GM Place tonight, others are opining on what No. 16 means to the franchise:

Joe Pelletier says the rink in Vancouver gets a heart tonight
The Humming Giraffe is raising her drink to Linden
Yankee Canuck says "he could emerge from a coffee shop with a bag full of severed left feet and everyone would go 'awww Trev'”
NHL.com has a couple great articles here and here
The Vancouver Sun has a look at Linden's roots in Medicine Hat

As a franchise, Vancouver has never really had many highlights, but Linden's one of them. He is Mr. Canuck.

This game will have incredible ratings back home.

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What an opponent

There are very, very few opposing players who come into Madison Square Garden and leave with the Ranger fans’ respect. After 1994, Trevor had it. Even with his atrocious stint as a member of the Islanders couldn’t take it away. He was the consument warrior and his efforts that magical summer did not go unappreciated, even among the opposition. Where we have Adam Graves, Vancouver has Linden and they both set the standard for hockey players on and off the ice very, very high. The Canucks are doing a great thing for a great man tonight and I, for one, can’t wait to watch it.

I have a blog too! www.scottyhockey.com
Let's Go Rangers!

by Scotty Hockey on Dec 17, 2008 3:16 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

As a neutral observer

And as a fan of an Eastern Conference team, it’s a shame I didn’t get to see Linden play more. So I may not truly appreciate how much he meant to that franchise.

But I know how great of a man and a hockey player he was, and that’s good enough for me.

Congratulations, Trevor. You deserve this night.

by Afino on Dec 17, 2008 3:22 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Well deserved. He was awesome in NHL 94.

Follow the Penguins on SBN @ Pensburgh.com

by FrankD on Dec 17, 2008 3:58 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

That he was.

Lighthouse Hockey: an SB Nation New York Islanders blog with hip issues.

by Dominik on Dec 17, 2008 10:32 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Just for the record...

… The Humming Giraffe is raising HER glass :P

Trevor’s a class act all the way.

by Heather B. on Dec 17, 2008 4:03 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

I wonder how many articles will be written deriding the decision to retire Linden’s jersey? I guess that only flies when you’re going after the Leafs.

This is a good example of why these kinds of ceremonies are so personal to each franchise. I know that Linden was a third-line grit guy for the majority of his career but my friends that are Canucks fans idolize the guy.

Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs blog and a group therapy session.

by PPP on Dec 17, 2008 4:25 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Well … I’m fine with any team retiring whoever they want, but Linden did have a much longer and more productive career than Clark. He played 600+ more games and had 300 more points.

Linden was basically a 30-goal guy for the first nine years of his career, not a plumber. I’m not sure how his hands disappeared so fast.

by James Mirtle on Dec 17, 2008 5:15 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Linden was basically a 30-goal guy for the first nine years of his career, not a plumber. I’m not sure how his hands disappeared so fast.

A thorough Mike Keenan beating and a banishment to Milbury’s Island?

I always figured it was a combo of the injuries plus the 40 days and 40 nights wandering through NYI/Mon/D.C. He was such a Canuck at heart, it was like rehab and being away from “home” took his mojo. That season really is the demarcation between star Linden and wise old vet Linden. By the time he returned, even if the mojo was available they didn’t need him to be a top-line guy.

Lighthouse Hockey: an SB Nation New York Islanders blog with hip issues.

by Dominik on Dec 17, 2008 10:31 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Lucky with Injuries

Longevity will get a lot of regular players past supermen like Clark ;)

Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs blog and a group therapy session.

by PPP on Dec 18, 2008 8:25 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

I have always thoght

by tbell61 on Dec 17, 2008 7:25 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

I meant to say

I have always thought this is what makes hockey so different from the other sports…when you honor someone by raising their number to the rafters, it really means something, almost like a member of your family…I know that’s how we felt in St Louis about Federko and Sutter, guys that mean little to most of the rest of the hockey world, but are like gods in that city…as you said, PPP, every team has guys like that

by tbell61 on Dec 17, 2008 7:27 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs