FanHouse TrevorLinden

Trevor Linden, one of the classiest and more generous professional athletes of all-time, has formally announced his retirement from the NHL after a career which saw him compile 867 points in 1,382 games.

While Linden's announcement is no surprise, it still feels like a rusty dagger through the heart. Hockey in Vancouver without Trevor Linden just doesn't feel 'right'.

"Today is an emotional and exciting day for me as an athlete and a person," said Linden. "It closes one chapter of my life, my playing career, while opening up another which I am very much looking forward to. The game of hockey has been good to me and I would like to thank my family, former teammates, coaches, managers, support staff and the incredible fans that have been so generous in their support of my career."

To those outside of Vancouver, I can understand why you might think the hubbub and fandom over Trevor was so overblown. For the second half of his career, Linden was paid generous salaries, but was truly nothing more than a solid 2nd-3rd line player. While most of Vancouver worshiped the guy, most fans outside of Vancouver rarely ever thought about the guy unless his name popped up in NHLPA matters.

Let me fill you in on why Trevor is so beloved by fans and peers, alike, and why he's one of the few sports figures that I would ever call a 'hero'.

Although Trevor Linden has not officially announced his retirement, it's pretty much all but certain that the most popular player in the history of the Vancouver Canucks has played his final game in the NHL.

All of the signs were there: Trevor flying in his parents for the game, the fans giving Linden a standing ovation after the game, kudos and handshakes from the opposing Calgary Flames, giving Linden the First Star, and lots and lots of tears.

There's no denying this city's affection for Trevor Linden, a city he embraced from the day he arrived at age 18, a gangly 18-year-old from Medicine Hat, Alta.

That's why, once more with feeling, the fans at GM Place gave their hero several rousing ovations, enveloping him in the type of adoration fans generally save for a final goodbye to their true loves.

"Maybe that's a hint," Linden joked afterward. "It was quite overwhelming, at the same time, I'm not surprised. I've been treated incredibly by the city of Vancouver for a long time and the fans of the team. For someone who doesn't like attention, it was a little difficult."

It's too bad that Linden, who played 1382 regular season and 124 playoff games, never got a chance to taste champagne from the Stanley Cup, and had to endure the disdain of coach Alain Vigneault for his farewell season.

Linden is one of the few sports personalities that one could seriously put a 'hero' tag on. Known for his tremendous charity work, Linden used his celebrity to benefit others, and was always a class act on and off the ice.

As you can imagine, plenty of hockey fans were touched, figuratively, by Trevor Linden over the years. The tributes are always flowing in ...

Joe Pelletier wonders if he'll ever watch hockey the same way again.
'Miss 604' attended the match and took some personal photos.
Yeah, who cares that the Flames won and Iginla got his 50th. Nobody in Vancouver, that's for sure.
Deb wants to jump off of a bridge. I hope she left me in her will.

Today's Video of the Day: A Soldier's Story about Trevor Linden.

One of the go-to plot-lines for the hockey media in the playoffs is to find that one veteran player who has yet to raise the Stanley Cup and then support his candidacy as a champion. Ray Bourque was the most famous case with the Avalanche in 2001, but these players are usually less legendary than battle-scarred veterans who've paid their dues to finally taste glory. Players like Glen Wesley, who played 1,311 regular-season games with four different teams before winning with the Hurricanes in 2006, and Dave Andreychuk, who held the NHL record for most regular-season game played without winning a Stanley Cup until the Lightning -- his sixth team in 22 seasons -- captured the chalice in 2004.

Teemu Selanne was the latest model last year, winning his first Stanley Cup in his 14th season. This postseason figures to feature several players, of varying degrees of celebrity and urgency, who could grab glory for the first time and lead someone like Bill Clement to bellow that we "gotta feel happy for" such-and-such or so-and-so:

Owen Nolan, Calgary Flames. Also known as "the Generation: Nordique player who didn't win a Cup with Colorado" (he was traded for Sandis Ozolinsh early in the 1995-96 season), here's a 16-season veteran that displays the kind of grit and determination that the media just eats up. His work-history is remarkable: former No. 1 overall pick, longtime captain for the Sharks, well over 1,000 games played and the greatest called shot in NHL All-Star Game history. Probability He'll End the Drought: Fair. If Calgary makes the postseason, it can be a dangerous team. But it takes consistency to win the Cup, and that's a foreign concept for the Flames.

Season series: 3-1 for Anaheim. Ducks outscored Vancouver 14-6

Team Records: Vancouver 49-26-7, 105 pts; Anaheim 48-20-14, 110 pts.

Ducks GM Brian Burke brings his new team to face his old team, the Vancouver Canucks, in a series that pits his very physical, aggressive squad against the patient and methodical team he used to manage.

Offense: The Canucks showed why they are the lowest scoring playoff team to make it to the show, as they were shutout three different times by the Stars, and went a woeful 3-for-37 on the Power Play. The Canucks rely heavily on the cycling ability of the Sedin twins, and are very adept at keeping the puck in the offensive zone, patiently waiting for opportunities. The Stars used this against the Canucks by allowing the Canucks to play on the outside, and not allowing any forwards to do damage in the Red Zone. The Linden-Smolinski duo found great chemistry together and utilized their fore-checking ability to provide some timely secondary offense.

Markus Naslund continues to struggle, and had only two points in the series versus Dallas. Taylor Pyatt was a revelation, chipping in five points in the first round and creating room for whatever line he played on.

The Ducks rely on two very different tactics to win games. The first is to utilize the speed of their finesse forwards such as Chris Kunitz, Andy MacDonald, Teemu Selanne, and Ryan Getzlaf to provide the bulk of the offense. Secondly, the Ducks have a whole lot of crashers and bangers that pound opposing defensive corps into submission and soften them up for the speedy guys. Brad May was suspended, so that takes him out of the equation. Still, watch out for the likes of Travis Moen, Rob Niedermayer, Corey Perry, George Parros, Shawn Thornton, and Dustin Penner. The Ducks can thug is up better than most teams in the league, while the Canucks have ... umm ... Jeff Cowan. There is some worry that the Ducks will have their way with the Canucks finesse forwards without much payback.

Vancouver hospitals were not overrun by injuries caused by people falling off the Canucks bandwagon, but plenty of people had to have their hearts restarted at one point in last night's 4-1 Canucks victory.

After the first period, when the Stars led 1-0, I was all but set to write the eulogy for the Canucks season. The Canucks couldn't score, and seemed afraid to lose.

Whatever coach Alain Vigneault said during the first intermission worked wonders, because the Canucks were a completely different team for the next two periods. It was as if Vigneault threatened to break their legs if they lost the game.

Thanks to the Canucks speed and aggressive style, they out-shot the Stars 26-11 in the final two frames, drew 10(!) penalties from the Stars, and actually scored on the Power Play ... TWICE!

I think I suffered some sort of heart attack when Mike Modano's 3rd period one-timer hit the crossbar and stayed out. You know he'll be seeing that image in his dreams all summer long.

Trevor Linden showed his true colours, scoring points 11 and 12 in the ninth Game Seven of his career. His deflection goal gave the Canucks a lead they would never lose, and now Trevor leads the Canucks in playoff scoring. Not bad for a 37-year old.

"As usual I was so nervous right up until the puck drops, just literally sick", said Linden, who added an assist on Bryan Smolinski's empty-net goal in the final minute, passing up the chance for an easy second goal.

Now, it's time for a little duck hunting. *quack*

Another Stars/Canucks game, and another 2-1 Canucks victory. This isn't a recording!

The newly formed line of Taylor Pyatt-Bryan Smolinski-Trevor Linden accounted for Game 3's OT winner, and also both of the Canucks' goals tonight as the Canucks took a commanding 3-1 series lead by sweeping the two games in Dallas.

It would almost a tale of two separate games as the first two periods were full of weak penalty calls, misfiring Power Plays (15 penalties in all) and many disjointed offensive efforts that lead to nary a goal.

The third period featured just one penalty, called at the end of regular to Roberto Luongo, and plenty of intense forechecking with quality chances at both ends. It's as if the NHL's head office called the refs during the intermission and told them to smarten up.

To open the offensive festivities, Mattias Ohlund potted his second of the playoffs as he wired a rebound, from a Smolinski shot bouncing off of the back boards, passed a flopping Marty Turco. The Stars answered back quickly, with a tally by Darryl Sydor (an uncredited assist to Markus Naslund on a bad giveaway). Just two minutes later, Linden put the Canucks back up for good with his first of the playoffs, banging in the puck in his usual blue-collar millionaire style.

Not all great plays produce goals, however. Willie Mitchell (pictured), not an offensive powerhouse, did his best work by saving a would-be Mike Ribeiro goal that would have made it 2-2.

When the replay slowed down on the overhead scoreboard and the Dallas Stars' home fans loudly registered their opinion, everyone on the Vancouver Canucks' bench paid no attention.

Defenseman Willie Mitchell said it didn't go in. And his word was good enough for them.

Officials agreed, too, ruling that Mitchell swept a trickling puck off the goal line with 2:33 left, preserving a 2-1 Vancouver victory Tuesday night and a 3-1 lead in this first-round series.

"Willie came to the bench and said it wasn't in," Canucks center Trevor Linden said. "You always ask the guy who made the play. He's not going to lie to you."

"He's a pretty honest guy," added Vancouver coach Alain Vigneault. "So I believed him."

Yeah, as if Mitchell would have just said, "Yeah, it went in. Don't even bother checking the video replay!"

Luongo, of course, was excellent stopping 26 of 27 shots. Suffice it to say, this game was quite similar to most Canucks games this year, save for the offensive struggles of the cycling Sedins.

Of note was the continued invisibility of Mike Modano and Brendan Morrow, who were shut off of the score-sheet yet again. Modano has just one lone assist in the series and has not looked dangerous in the last three contests. Morrow has not been his usual pesky self, either, and seems to have acquired Alexei Yashin disease along with Modano.