Trevor Linden facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Trevor Linden
Linden with the Vancouver Canucks in 2008
Born	(1970-04-11) April 11, 1970 (age 55) Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada
Height	6 ft 4 in (193 cm)
Weight	220 lb (100 kg; 15 st 10 lb)
Position	Centre/Right wing
Shot	Right
Played for	Vancouver Canucks New York Islanders Montreal Canadiens Washington Capitals
National team	Canada
NHL Draft	2nd overall, 1988 Vancouver Canucks
Playing career	1988–2008

Trevor John Linden (born April 11, 1970) is a famous Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He also used to be the president of hockey operations for the Vancouver Canucks. Trevor played for 19 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL). He played as a centre and right wing for four different teams. These teams were the Vancouver Canucks, New York Islanders, Montreal Canadiens, and Washington Capitals.

Before joining the NHL in 1988, Linden helped his junior team, the Medicine Hat Tigers, win two Memorial Cup championships in a row. He was chosen for two NHL All-Star Games. Trevor also played for the Canadian Olympic team in 1998 and in the 1996 World Cup of Hockey. People always saw Trevor as a great leader, both on and off the ice. He became the captain of the Canucks when he was just 21 years old. This made him one of the youngest captains ever in the league! Fans even called him "Captain Canuck". He led the Canucks to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1994, where they played a very close seven-game series.

Trevor was also elected president of the National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA) in 1998. He held this important job for eight years. He helped a lot with talks during the 2004–05 NHL lockout, working with the team owners. Off the ice, Trevor Linden is known for his charity work. He won the King Clancy Memorial Trophy in 1997 for his leadership and good deeds. He also received the NHL Foundation Player Award in 2008. Trevor retired from hockey on June 11, 2008. This was exactly 20 years after he was first drafted into the NHL. The Canucks honored him by retiring his jersey number 16. This means no other Canucks player will ever wear that number again.

On April 9, 2014, Trevor Linden became the president of hockey operations for the Vancouver Canucks. He stayed in this role until July 2018.

Trevor Linden's Early Years

Trevor Linden was born on April 11, 1970, in Medicine Hat, Alberta. His grandfather, Nick van der Linden, came to Canada from the Netherlands in 1929. Trevor was a very good athlete. Even though hockey was his main sport, he also played baseball, golf, volleyball, basketball, and speed skating. He was a great student and was even asked to play hockey for Princeton University. But Trevor decided to stay in Medicine Hat. He wanted to play for his local junior team, the Medicine Hat Tigers in the Western Hockey League (WHL). Trevor had grown up watching the Tigers and looked up to Lanny McDonald, a famous player who played there before joining the NHL.

Trevor joined the WHL Tigers for the last five games of the 1985–86 season. He scored two goals in those games. The next season, when he was 16, he became a full-time player for the Tigers. In his first full WHL season, Linden scored 36 points in 72 games. He then helped Medicine Hat win their first Memorial Cup as Canadian junior champions. The next year, Linden had an amazing 110 points in 67 games. He led the Tigers to win their second Memorial Cup title in a row!

At the 1988 NHL Entry Draft, the Vancouver Canucks chose Linden second overall. He was picked right after Mike Modano.

Becoming an NHL Star

Leading the Vancouver Canucks (1988–1998)

Linden played his first NHL game on October 6, 1988, when he was just 18 years old. He scored his first goal on October 18, 1988. Later, on November 17, he scored his first hat-trick (three goals in one game). Linden finished his first season tied for the most goals on his team (30). He was the first Canucks rookie to score 30 goals. Fans even voted him as The Hockey News' rookie of the year. The Canucks made the playoffs that year for the first time in three years.

In his second NHL season, Linden was second on the team in goals (21) and points (51). The next year, he was one of three Canucks players who shared the captaincy. Linden led the team with 37 assists and 70 points. He also played in his first NHL All-Star Game, where he was the youngest player. When he was 21, he became the only captain of the team. This made him the youngest Canucks captain ever. That season, Linden led the Canucks in scoring for the second year in a row with 75 points. He helped the Canucks win their first division title since the 1974–75 season.

Linden started his career as a natural winger. But in October 1992, he began learning to play as a centre. The Canucks repeated as division champions that year. They set new team records for wins and points. For the third season in a row, Linden scored more than 30 goals and 70 points.

In the 1993–94 season, Linden scored 32 goals. This was the fifth time in six seasons he had scored at least 30 goals. Even though they were the seventh-ranked team in the playoffs, the Canucks reached the Stanley Cup Finals! This was the first time in 12 years and only the second time in team history. Many people thought the Canucks would lose to the New York Rangers. But the Canucks fought back from being down 3-1 in the series. They pushed the series to a seventh and final game. In Game 7, Linden scored two goals, but the Canucks lost 3-2. It was later found out that Linden had played through the finals with broken ribs!

In the 1995–96 season, Linden had his best year ever with 33 goals, 47 assists, and 80 points. On February 27, 1996, he played in his 437th game in a row. This broke the team record. The next season, his amazing streak of 482 games in a row ended. At the end of that season, the NHL gave Linden the King Clancy Memorial Trophy. This award recognized his good work in the Vancouver community.

At the start of the 1997–98 season, the Canucks brought in Mark Messier, a famous player, and Mike Keenan, a new coach. There were some problems between Linden and Keenan. Eventually, Linden was traded. He had 7 goals and 21 points in 42 games with the Canucks that season.

Playing for Other Teams (1998–2001)

Linden was traded to the New York Islanders on February 6, 1998. He played 25 games with the Islanders, scoring 10 goals and 7 assists. The next year, Linden was second on the team with 47 points. On May 29, 1999, the Islanders traded Linden to the Montreal Canadiens. Linden was excited to play in Montreal, which he called the "center of hockey."

In Montreal, Linden was often injured. He played in 50 games in his first season, scoring 30 points. The next year, he played in 57 games and scored 33 points. He was traded again, this time to the Washington Capitals. With Washington, Linden reached the playoffs for the first time in four years during the 2000–01 season.

Back with Vancouver (2001–2008)

After playing 28 games over two seasons with the Capitals, Linden had only scored four goals and three assists. On November 10, 2001, the Capitals traded Linden back to the Canucks! This was a very exciting moment for fans. Linden scored 34 points with Vancouver in 64 games. He played his 1,000th regular season game on March 26, 2002. In his first playoff series back with Vancouver, he scored a goal and four assists in six games.

The 2002–03 season was Linden's first full season back with the Canucks since 1996–97. On November 25, 2002, Linden scored his 263rd goal with the Canucks. This broke former captain Stan Smyl's team record for most goals. He finished the year with 19 goals and 22 assists for 41 points.

The next season, Linden broke more Canucks records. On February 16, 2004, he played in his 897th game as a Canuck, passing Smyl again. On March 8, Linden got his team-record 674th point with the Canucks, also passing Smyl. He played in all 82 games that season. After a year off during the 2004–05 NHL lockout, Linden again played in all 82 games during the 2005–06 season. Linden became the first player to play 1,000 games with the Canucks on April 13, 2006.

Linden during a pre-game warm-up in November 2007

In the 2006–07 season opener, Linden scored the winning goal. This made him the first Canuck to score 300 goals with the team. He helped the Canucks reach the second round of the playoffs. He scored two game-winning goals in the first round. This included the goal that won the series against the Dallas Stars in Game 7. This was Linden's sixth Game 7 goal in his playoff career! He finished the playoffs with 7 points in 12 games, leading his team. This made Linden the Canucks' all-time leader in playoff goals (34), assists (61), and points (95).

Trevor Linden's number 16, along with Stan Smyl's number 12, Markus Näslund's number 19, Pavel Bure's number 10, Daniel Sedin's number 22, and Henrik Sedin's number 33 are the only six retired jersey numbers in Vancouver Canucks history.

After thinking about it all summer, Linden signed a one-year contract with the Canucks in August 2007. This season was not his best, and he was sometimes not chosen to play. In the 59 games he played, he scored seven goals and five assists. On November 8, 2007, he got his 412th assist with the Canucks, passing Smyl once again. He finished his career with 415 assists as a Canuck. This was the team record until Henrik Sedin passed him in 2010. Linden played his last NHL game on April 5, 2008. Even though Vancouver lost, Linden was named the game's first star. He skated a lap around the arena to a standing ovation from the fans.

On June 11, 2008, Trevor Linden announced his retirement. He left as the Canucks' leader in games played (1140) and assists (415). He was also second in goals to Markus Näslund. Soon after, Vancouver City Council said they would honor Linden by making the day his jersey was retired "Trevor Linden Day" in Vancouver.

The Canucks retired Linden's jersey number, 16, in a special ceremony on December 17, 2008. He became only the second Canuck to have his jersey retired, joining former captain Stan Smyl.

Life Off the Ice

Personal Life

In 1995, Linden married Cristina Giusti. In 2017, they had their first child, a son named Roman Matthias Linden. Trevor's younger brother, Jamie Linden, also played ice hockey. After his playing career, Trevor became interested in real estate. He is now a property developer with his brother Jamie. Linden also loves cycling and often mountain bikes in the Squamish and Whistler areas. In 2007, he even competed in the Trans Alp bike race, a 600 km race across the European Alps.

Linden helped create and launch Club 16 – Trevor Linden Fitness, a fitness club. He has also worked with a developer to build residential and commercial projects.

NHLPA President

Since 1990, Linden was a player representative for the National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA). This meant he was the contact person between his teammates and the NHLPA. He liked being involved in the business side of hockey. Because of this, Linden was chosen as president of the NHLPA in June 1998. As president, Linden was very involved in talks with the NHL about a new agreement. These talks ended the 2004–05 lockout. He even had a final meeting in January 2005 to try and save the NHL season.

Connection to Vancouver

Trevor Linden with the Canucks in 2004

Trevor Linden played for the Canucks for a very long time (1,140 games). He also has a strong connection to the city of Vancouver and does a lot of charity work. This has made him one of the most loved and respected players by fans in the team's history. When he returned to the Canucks in 2001, it was a very emotional moment for both fans and players. He is still often called "Captain Canuck," even though he hasn't been captain since 1997. In his final NHL game on April 5, 2008, the Vancouver crowd gave Linden a huge standing ovation.

Community Work

Besides hockey, Linden has done a lot of charity work. He mostly works with children. He often visits the BC Children's Hospital and Canuck Place, a place for children who are very sick. In 1995, he started the Trevor Linden Foundation to raise money for local charities. He also hosts a yearly golf event to raise money for BC Children's Hospital. When he received the Order of British Columbia in 2003, he was called a "hockey player and humanitarian." Linden said his brother, Dean, inspired him to do charity work.

Because of his efforts off the ice in Vancouver, Linden has won two awards from the NHL. These are the King Clancy Memorial Trophy (1997) and the NHL Foundation Player Award (2008). These awards are given to players who make big contributions to their community. Linden also took part in the 2010 Winter Olympics torch relay in Vancouver. On December 30, 2010, it was announced that Linden would become a Member of the Order of Canada. This was for his "sportsmanship and community engagement as a respected leader both on and off the ice."

Management Career

On April 9, 2014, Trevor Linden was named the president of hockey operations for the Canucks. He was hired the day after the previous manager was fired. On May 1, 2014, Linden fired the head coach. He then hired Jim Benning, a former Canuck and teammate, to be the new general manager. On June 23, 2014, Benning hired Willie Desjardins as the new head coach. On July 25, 2018, Linden left the Canucks organization.

Playing for Team Canada

Trevor Linden

Medal record
Representing Canada
Men's ice hockey
World Junior Championships
Gold	1988 Soviet Union	Ice hockey
World Championships
Silver	1991 Finland	Ice hockey
World Cup
Silver	1996 World Cup of Hockey	Ice hockey

Trevor Linden played in five international tournaments for Team Canada. His first time on the world stage was at the 1988 World Junior Championships. Canada won this tournament, and Linden scored one goal. His first big international tournament was the 1991 World Championship. He helped Canada win the silver medal.

In the 1996 World Cup, Linden helped Canada finish in second place. Two years later, Linden was chosen to be on Team Canada for the 1998 Nagano Olympics. Even though he injured his knee just weeks before, he played in all six games. He scored one goal, which tied the semi-final game against the Czech Republic with only 67 seconds left! Canada finished fourth in the tournament. Later that summer, he played in the 1998 World Championships.

Career Statistics

Regular Season and Playoffs

International Play

All-Star Games

• All stats taken from NHL.com.

Awards and Honors

Canadian Honors

NHL Awards

WHL and CHL Awards

Vancouver Canucks Team Awards