Today Trevor Linden officially announced his retirement from professional hockey.

When I first came to Vancouver I found it difficult to understand the awe he was held in by Vancouverites – even the ones who didn’t like hockey. Having been used to the overpaid, immature, self-centered and frequently obnoxious brats that pass for professional footballers in the UK I firmly believed that sports stars were only to be admired on the field of play.

Trevor was a very good hockey player. Tough, committed and skillful he was an elite power forward in his time. He was also an inspirational leader and mentor who could, and often did, carry the team on his back. He is a very modest man who is quick to acknowledge his good fortune in life, making millions playing the game he loves. Realizing his good fortune, he is tireless in giving back to his community: in support and fundraising for charity, and in the time, kindness and generosity to the ordinary people he meets who have been less fortunate than himself.

I think I understand now, he says he loves Vancouver and the feeling is mutual. He is everything you could hope your sports hero to be. A very fine hockey player, and a much, much finer man.

Have a good one Captain Canuck.

I know nothing about him. I'm not a hockey fan. But I enjoyed reading your post.

A class individual on and off the ice, he played 19 seasons in the NHL 16 of them with the Vancouver Canucks.

He sounds a nice man. More power to his elbow I say.

A lot of you don't know this, but, Trevor Linden used to have sex with Kirk McLean's wife and blame it on Jeff Brown. One day after McLean confronted him in the Canucks locker room, Linden denied the affair by saying, "it wasn't me... Brownie did it. Ain't that right, Brownie?" while pointing at Jeff Brown. A helpless Brown could do nothing but stare at his feet as an awkward silence filled the room. The silence was then broken by Linden's exclamations of, "that's what I thought! That's right! Who's the captain?! That's what I thought!" as he pointed his finger to his chest.

Sadly, to this day it is Brown's name and not Linden's that has remained tarnished from this incident.
One of the few people who knew the truth and chose to act on it was Mike Keenan. Keenan, a huge Jeff Brown fan, subsequently banished Linden to Long Island during his stint as Canucks head coach in order to exact revenge.

You couldn't make it up!

<Or could you?>

[QUOTE=JonboyE;6458353]Today Trevor Linden officially announced his retirement
I think I understand now, he says he loves Vancouver and the feeling is mutual. He is everything you could hope your sports hero to be. A very fine hockey player, and a much, much finer man.

Have a good one Captain Canuck.

Can wholly reitrerate this sentiment after 16 seasons and 1400 career NHL games , Linden truly deserves , the Captain Canuck title best wishes for a well deserved retirement

Well, actually, he did make it up.

I will just point that Brown was traded to Hartford during the 1995-1996 season by Pat Quinn (and that Keenan was not involved with the team until the 1997-1998 season) and let everyone else make their own minds up about the truthfulness of the rest of the story.

A good attempt at a wind up.

That is complete and utter crap, and I happen to know a lot about that particular situation. Talk about poisonous, what is your problem?

Classy through and through. Does so much more than you can imagine, in the community, and especially at Children's Hospital and Canuck Place.

From today's Vancouver Sun:

The first thing he did in the rest of his life was donate money to charity. Old habits.

Some things about Trevor Linden will never change, even as his job does.

For the first time in his life, the 38-year-old is out of hockey. He announced Wednesday he is retiring from the Vancouver Canucks, two decades after his draft selection changed the franchise and launched Linden towards a godly status not likely to be seen again by an athlete in our city.

Immediately after his packed, televised press conference at General Motors Place, Linden handed over to the Canucks' charity the $25,000 he received last month from the National Hockey League as part of a humanitarian award. It won't be Linden's last act of community service even if he never skates another shift in the NHL.

"No, I don't think that will stop," Linden's wife, Cristina, said.

"During my time at Nike ... I got to spend time with Michael Jordan, Lance Armstrong and Tiger Woods," Canuck president Chris Zimmerman said. "They are extraordinary people. But I have never met another athlete with a bigger heart than Trevor Linden."

That heart, which pumped life into the Canucks and hope into countless lives through Linden's devotion to helping sick children, was remarkably composed on Wednesday. There were no tears from Linden, no emotional pauses as he spoke about retiring and not knowing what he will do with the rest of his life ...

… Linden would argue he is owed nothing, and that if there's a debt it's his, not the Canucks'. Among hockey highlights, Linden cited his first game, the Canucks' 1994 run to the Stanley Cup final, his 1998 Olympic appearance for Canada, his 2001 re-acquisition by former general manager Brian Burke, and his final game on April 5, when Linden received several spontaneous standing ovations, was named the game's first star and had a chance to wave goodbye to fans.

"Although it should have been me saluting you, thank you for making me feel so special," Linden said near the start of his press conference, speaking directly to fans. "I will never forget it."

You have to love the man.