Linden

Vancouver, B.C. - The Vancouver Canucks announced today that they will host ‘Trevor Linden Night’ at General Motors Place on December 17th when they play the Edmonton Oilers. The night dedicated to the longtime Captain of the Canucks will be highlighted by a pre-game ceremony where Linden’s number 16 will be retired. Linden’s sweater will join Stan Smyl’s number 12 in the rafters at General Motors Place.

“Retiring a player’s sweater is one of the highest honours a club can pay to its most elite players and ambassadors,” said Chris Zimmerman, President and CEO, Canucks Sports & Entertainment. “Trevor embodies the qualities we strive for as an organization; character, hard working, commitment, generous and loyal. We are proud that his sweater will hang beside Stan Smyl’s at General Motors Place.”

“This is a tremendous honour and I am very grateful to the club,” said Linden. “To be drafted by the Canucks organization 20 years ago as an 18 year old and to now have my sweater retired is very humbling and rewarding.”

‘Trevor Linden Night’ will include a number of special guests and keynote speakers and will be an opportunity for Canucks fans to show their appreciation to Linden one more time. Linden’s number 16 will join Stan Smyl’s number 12 which was raised to the rafters at the Pacific Coliseum on November 3, 1991.

Linden, 38, retired as a Canuck on the 20th anniversary of his Draft day, June 11, 2008. He left the Canucks and the NHL after 19 seasons having recorded 867 career points (375-492-867) in 1382 regular season games with the Canucks, Montreal Canadiens, New York Islanders and Washington Capitals. In addition, Linden was a proven Playoff performer, in 124 Stanley Cup Playoff games, he recorded 99 points (34-65-99) and 104 penalty minutes. Of his 124 Playoff games, 118 came in a Canucks uniform, highlighted by his 25 points (12-13-25) in 24 games during the Canucks 1994 Stanley Cup run that concluded in a Game 7 versus the New York Rangers.

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Linden completed his NHL career among the all-time League leaders in a number of statistical categories. His 1382 regular season games rank 32nd on the all-time list. Linden’s 375 career goals rank tied for 94th all-time (Butch Goring) and his 867 career points place him 99th in NHL history.

After joining the Canucks in 1988 from the Medicine Hat Tigers, Linden enjoyed immediate success, finishing runner-up for the 1989 Calder Trophy and being named The Hockey News Rookie-of-the-Year. In his first eight NHL seasons, Linden recorded 30 or more goals six times.

In 1991-92, Linden, just 21 years old at the time, was named the Canucks captain, becoming the youngest captain in the NHL. Linden wore the “C” as Canucks captain for seven seasons, the second longest tenure as captain in club history. After spending his first 10 NHL seasons in Vancouver, Linden went on to play parts of five seasons with the Canadiens, Islanders and Capitals before returning for six more years in a Canucks sweater after he was re-acquired in November of 2001.

During his 19 seasons, Linden was a two-time NHL All-Star (1990-91, 1991-92) and represented Team Canada at the 1998 Winter Olympic Games in Nagano, Japan. He retires as the Canucks all-time leader in games played (1140), assists (415) and is second in goals (318) and points (733). His 118 games, 34 goals, 61 assists and 95 points in the Playoffs are all club records.

Just as impressive as his on-ice accomplishments are, Linden’s work in the community has been tireless over the past 20 years. Most recently Linden was named the recipient of the NHL Foundation Player Award which is awarded annually to the National Hockey League player "who applies the core values of hockey – commitment, perseverance and teamwork – to enrich the lives of people in his community". In 1997, Linden was awarded the King Clancy Memorial Trophy which is given annually to the NHL player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and who has made a significant humanitarian contribution in his community.

Linden is scheduled to appear at a press conference later this morning at 11:30am PST, which can be seen live on Canucks.com.