Linden sets Canucks scoring mark
Canadian Press
3/8/2004
VANCOUVER (CP) - Trevor Linden picked up a pair of assists in the second period against the Colorado Avalanche on Monday night to become the leading scorer in the 34-year history of the Vancouver Canucks.
The first assist gave Linden 674 regular-season career points on 290 goals and 484 assists, one point more than Stan Smyl who retired after the 1990-91 campaign.
Linden earned the assists on goals 52 seconds apart by Brad May. They were the first two goals of the game for Vancouver and cut into a 5-0 Colorado lead.
On the assist that set the record, Linden dumped the puck to the end boards where it was retrieved by Matt Cooke, who fired a pass to May at 7:24 of the period.
They were timely points for Linden, who was enduring a 12-game points drought _ his longest offensive slump of the season. He last picked up a point Feb. 5 with a power-play goal in a 4-0 victory over the New Jersey Devils.
The record-setting points were followed by a standing ovation. A brief video tribute followed during a TV timeout.
Smyl, who now coaches the Canucks' Manitoba Moose AHL farm club, had 262 goals and 411 assists for 673 points. He has held the Canucks' career scoring record since passing Thomas Gradin in 1987.
Linden, who turns 34 on April 11 and is in his 16th NHL season, was mentored by Smyl when he entered the league and later followed him as captain of the Canucks.
The six-foot-four, 220 pound native of Medicine Hat, Alta., was the Canucks' first pick and second-overall in the 1988 entry draft.
His record-breaking point came in his 906th game as a Canuck, also a club record. He reached Smyl's 673 points in two fewer games but needed 10 more to break it.
Smyl played all his games in a Vancouver uniform and his retired No. 12 hangs from the GM Place rafters.
Now in his 13th season with the Canucks, Linden was traded by Mike Keenan to the New York Islanders in 1997-98 and later played for the Montreal Canadiens and the Washington Capitals.
He was reacquired from Washington on Nov. 10, 2001, by Vancouver GM Brian Burke, who had earlier fired Keenan.
Linden, who led the Canucks to a Game 7 Stanley Cup final loss to the New York Rangers in 1994, entered the season as the club's leading scorer in the playoffs with (32-56) 88 in 99 post-season games.
While the spotlight now shines on Canuck stars Markus Naslund and Todd Bertuzzi, Linden has quietly been putting together solid seasons in a defensive role.
Last year he had his best campaign in four years with 19 goals and 22 assists for 41 points.
He averages more than 16 minutes of ice time a game and entered the game Monday with 12 goals and 17 assists for 29 points this season.
Cheers,
Aquaman