Fans entering Rogers Arena on Monday, February 7th had the opportunity to rub shoulders with Canucks Alumnus, Moe Lemay. The former Canucks forward was on hand to meet fans and sign autographs before the current Canucks took on the Ottawa Senators.

Named after his father’s favourite player, Maurice Richards, it came as no surprise that Maurice “Moe” Lemay worked his way to the NHL. Moe Lemay was drafted by the Vancouver Canucks in 1981 and the year that followed would be a memorable one. On Jan. 2nd, 1982, he was a member of the first ever Canadian World Junior team to win gold, on Jan. 29th he signed his first NHL contract with Vancouver, on Feb. 10th he played his first NHL game, and on Feb. 17th he recorded his first NHL goal and assist.

Lemay’s career in North America continued until 1989 when he retired from the NHL. He played 317 NHL games split between the Vancouver Canucks, Edmonton Oilers, Boston Bruins and Winnipeg Jets. On March 10th, 1987, Lemay was traded from Vancouver to Edmonton for Raimo Summanen. That year, the Oilers went on to win the Stanley Cup and Lemay had his named engraved on the coveted trophy.

Following his retirement from the NHL, the Saskatoon native moved to Europe where he played for more than a decade in Austria, Switzerland and Germany. He currently runs hockey development programs for youth and is a member of the Canucks Alumni Association.