Trevor Linden

[Slegr]

I used to have the most respect for Trevor Linden. He was untouchable to me, and perhaps the greatest Canuck of all time. 

But the fallout from his Presidency position and his wiping his hands of anything to do with the Canucks now has given me different feelings about him.

It feels like even Pavel Bure is more willing to talk Canucks these days. 

I get that there was a fallout between Linden and ownership. but to me, while Linden may think he's being admirable by keeping his mouth shut on it all and simply walking away, it doesn't come across as the leader who many folks believe he is. The Canucks team transcends any ownership. Aquaman said it himself the other night, referring to himself as a steward rather than owner of the team. 

Linden should get over himself and be willing to still be a part of the big moments with this organization. Stan Smyl is here. The Sedins are here. Can it really be such a bad place with them here? Others such as Naslund don't shy away from the opportunity to speak about the Canucks players or the organization. 

Quite frankly, the more Linden keeps himself hidden from it all, the less respect I have for him as a true leader.

[BPA]

Uh...maybe Linden has other stuff going on??

 

Did Linden say he'll never have anything to do with the Canucks anymore??  I must have missed that.

 

I mean, I'm a fan and love the Canucks.  But even I have priorities (family first) over the Canucks.

 

 

[shiznak]

Some things are never meant to be shared.

 

Maybe things turned so sour between ownership and him, that he doesn’t want to bad mouth the organization that he loves and cared for his entire career? Airing out his dirty laundry was never his motto.
 

I think there’s this huge myth that Linden was a vocal leader in the locker room, but we never really saw any proof of that from behind the scene or heard stories from people who were closed to him. This is the guy who got two injections in his ribs, and never said a word to his teammates about it.
 

Linden was more of a leader on the ice and in the community. This is why he’s cherished in this city. 

Edited December 7, 2021 by shiznak

[wallstreetamigo]

[wallstreetamigo]

I imagine in this scenario Linden just strolling in, kicking in the door to the board room, and saying:

 

[nynuck]

Linden left the organization 3 years ago. Why would he step up as a leader of or be a part of big moments of an organization he's longer part of?

Edited December 7, 2021 by nynuck
bad maths

[goalie13]

22 minutes ago, Slegr said:

Linden should get over himself and be willing to still be a part of the big moments with this organization. Stan Smyl is here. The Sedins are here. Can it really be such a bad place with them here? Others such as Naslund don't shy away from the opportunity to speak about the Canucks players or the organization. 

Quite frankly, the more Linden keeps himself hidden from it all, the less respect I have for him as a true leader.

How do we even know if Linden has been invited back to the party?  The difference between Linden and Naslund (and others) is that Linden was the president of the team for a short while.  If he started showing up now, that's all people (especially the media) will be asking about.  It is smarter, and classier, for him to not take the focus away from the team by staying away for now.

 

[#Canucks]

The owners chose Benning over Linden. I doubt Linden wants back in & I do not blame him. Linden wanted to go the development route and the owners and Benning wanted a "quick" turn around. Hindsight is beautiful isn't it?!

[erkayloomeh]

5 minutes ago, #Canucks said:

The owners chose Benning over Linden. I doubt Linden wants back in & I do not blame him. Linden wanted to go the development route and the owners and Benning wanted a "quick" turn around. Hindsight is beautiful isn't it?!

Doesn't sound right to me. Aqua hired Linden before Linden hired Benning

They didn't talk about that stuff beforehand?

 

Do we know this or are we speculating? 

[King Heffy]

Linden owes the team nothing.  Let him persue his business interests and enjoy his family.

[JM_]

58 minutes ago, Slegr said:

I used to have the most respect for Trevor Linden. He was untouchable to me, and perhaps the greatest Canuck of all time. 

But the fallout from his Presidency position and his wiping his hands of anything to do with the Canucks now has given me different feelings about him.

It feels like even Pavel Bure is more willing to talk Canucks these days. 

I get that there was a fallout between Linden and ownership. but to me, while Linden may think he's being admirable by keeping his mouth shut on it all and simply walking away, it doesn't come across as the leader who many folks believe he is. The Canucks team transcends any ownership. Aquaman said it himself the other night, referring to himself as a steward rather than owner of the team. 

Linden should get over himself and be willing to still be a part of the big moments with this organization. Stan Smyl is here. The Sedins are here. Can it really be such a bad place with them here? Others such as Naslund don't shy away from the opportunity to speak about the Canucks players or the organization. 

Quite frankly, the more Linden keeps himself hidden from it all, the less respect I have for him as a true leader.

 

if the Sedins take a more prominent role, and maybe even co-PHO in a couple of years, then I could see Linden having a more prominent role on the team. 

 

I'm not sure he's "hidden" just moved on. 

[86Viking]

1 hour ago, Slegr said:

I used to have the most respect for Trevor Linden. He was untouchable to me, and perhaps the greatest Canuck of all time. 

But the fallout from his Presidency position and his wiping his hands of anything to do with the Canucks now has given me different feelings about him.

It feels like even Pavel Bure is more willing to talk Canucks these days. 

I get that there was a fallout between Linden and ownership. but to me, while Linden may think he's being admirable by keeping his mouth shut on it all and simply walking away, it doesn't come across as the leader who many folks believe he is. The Canucks team transcends any ownership. Aquaman said it himself the other night, referring to himself as a steward rather than owner of the team. 

Linden should get over himself and be willing to still be a part of the big moments with this organization. Stan Smyl is here. The Sedins are here. Can it really be such a bad place with them here? Others such as Naslund don't shy away from the opportunity to speak about the Canucks players or the organization. 

Quite frankly, the more Linden keeps himself hidden from it all, the less respect I have for him as a true leader.

If we win the Stanley Cup, Linden will be a part of it. If we go on a deep playoff run, I am sure we will see him at a game. I think the owner without saying it yesterday kind of admitted things went on too long before change.

 

Linden is not under contract with the team, he has a life and probably wants to enjoy it. I was hoping maybe Donnie & Dhali would have former Canucks from yesteryear on their show as guests like Linden albeit unlikely, Ronning, McLean, Lumme, Courtnall etc but so far they havent had too many of them. Gino was on and Hansen who is on 650 as well, even Juice would be nice to hear from...I know he is on HNIC but to talk to a Vancouver based show about the Canucks would still be worth a listen too.

[Sell.the.team]

Linden was given a crappy deal here.  Ownership had a crisis on their hands after their former President's winning cup team had unexpectedly started to fade into oblivion while their core was still young enough to continue to compete.  Fans were rightfully pissed and ownership went into damage control.  They took the easy way out by putting a friendly, likeable face front and center.  All he had to do was hire a smart guy to take over and work with and ride their coat tails to the promised land.... if only it were that easy...

 

The problem with the plan was Linden had absolutely zero experience as a hockey executive.  The fact that he had zero experience tells me he really wasn't that interested in being a hockey exec to begin with.  While other former franchise players (Sakic, Blake, Yzerman, Shanahan...to name a few) have had great success at the executive level, all those guys paid their dues at the corporate level for several years before rising to the top.  Linden was just handed the keys with no experience.

 

Benning was many things for this team... he did a lot of good.... a lot of bad.... but one thing for sure was he was the perfect guy for Linden (at least at the start).  He was able to come in and run the show but was humble enough to do so whilst maintaining the illusion that Trevor was the head honcho in charge.  Say what you want about JB (I have a lot of negative things to say myself), I never questioned his commitment or work ethic. 

 

I think the problem was Trevor was out of his element from day 1, and and after awhile he started to disagree with JB and ownership who were so desperate to win ASAP.  The rumor was TL believed we needed more time and should continue the rebuild whereas Benning and ownership disagreed.  It is not surprising that ownership sided with JB, who was committed to winning right away (as he was mandated by ownership to do and for which his job depended on).  On the flip side, I don't think TL was really that vested in putting in the time or energy needed to be President of hockey operations.  It is not surprising at all that TL as eventually thrown to the wolves once he was unwilling to maintain the status quo.

 

I was not a fan of bringing in TL... I didn't think he deserved his promotion nor was qualified.  But the fact remains he was given a very raw deal and was exploited by ownership to do the impossible.  He deserved better.  They appear to be doing a better job with the Sedin's, letting them come in in a lesser, more advisory role.  Hopefully they are given lots of time to learn, prove themselves, and actually earn their place before being thrust into a very high level in the organization... I am skeptical this will happen given the current state of things and our history, however.

Edited December 7, 2021 by The.Burrowers

[Baggins]

1 hour ago, Slegr said:

I used to have the most respect for Trevor Linden. He was untouchable to me, and perhaps the greatest Canuck of all time. 

But the fallout from his Presidency position and his wiping his hands of anything to do with the Canucks now has given me different feelings about him.

It feels like even Pavel Bure is more willing to talk Canucks these days. 

I get that there was a fallout between Linden and ownership. but to me, while Linden may think he's being admirable by keeping his mouth shut on it all and simply walking away, it doesn't come across as the leader who many folks believe he is. The Canucks team transcends any ownership. Aquaman said it himself the other night, referring to himself as a steward rather than owner of the team. 

Linden should get over himself and be willing to still be a part of the big moments with this organization. Stan Smyl is here. The Sedins are here. Can it really be such a bad place with them here? Others such as Naslund don't shy away from the opportunity to speak about the Canucks players or the organization. 

Quite frankly, the more Linden keeps himself hidden from it all, the less respect I have for him as a true leader.

Linden isn't a sports reporter, employed analyst, or have any current association with the team. Why would he, as a private citizen, insert himself into the goings on of the franchise. To me that would just be attention seeking. Something Linden hasn't exactly been since retiring. He's too classy for that.

[#Canucks]

1 hour ago, erkayloomeh said:

Doesn't sound right to me. Aqua hired Linden before Linden hired Benning

They didn't talk about that stuff beforehand?

 

Do we know this or are we speculating? 

I cant find the article but it was clear there was a disconnect between Linden (The President) & Benning (GM). This was also referenced by Aquilini in his latest Media conference, stating "There has to be a good relationship between the GM & Pres., otherwise it doesn't work".

[Drakrami]

You don't know what happened between closed doors, what rifts there are. Under those circumstances, how do you even have the qualifications to comment? What you think Linden should be doing is just your expectations of him. Linden can carry on living his personal life without awkward fans thinking he should step out and say something about the Canucks (even though he actually has no position?). So you are imagining Linden should just call up some reporters and say Trevor Linden is holding a press con on his opinions about the Canucks? May be Linden is just enjoying life. 

[Primal Optimist]

2 hours ago, Slegr said:

I used to have the most respect for Trevor Linden. He was untouchable to me, and perhaps the greatest Canuck of all time. 

But the fallout from his Presidency position and his wiping his hands of anything to do with the Canucks now has given me different feelings about him.

It feels like even Pavel Bure is more willing to talk Canucks these days. 

I get that there was a fallout between Linden and ownership. but to me, while Linden may think he's being admirable by keeping his mouth shut on it all and simply walking away, it doesn't come across as the leader who many folks believe he is. The Canucks team transcends any ownership. Aquaman said it himself the other night, referring to himself as a steward rather than owner of the team. 

Linden should get over himself and be willing to still be a part of the big moments with this organization. Stan Smyl is here. The Sedins are here. Can it really be such a bad place with them here? Others such as Naslund don't shy away from the opportunity to speak about the Canucks players or the organization. 

Quite frankly, the more Linden keeps himself hidden from it all, the less respect I have for him as a true leader.

I was never on the Linden wagon, so your post just rings true to what I have been saying for years. Linden was never my Canucks Hero...he may have cost us a cup by playing so hurt, we will never know, but maybe a fully healthy lineup in that final game could have actually won it? lol. Always thought of Linden as greedy and self-important.

[Slegr]

Lots of defenders of Linden’s attitude on here, which is fine, but for me, it’s a bit classless. He needs to put his squabble with management aside. He is not an ordinary citizen. He is supposedly one of the Canucks greatest leaders. That inherently comes with some responsibilities, or at least it would for genuine leaders who still live in the community. For instance, when Pavel Bure is celebrated in Vancouver a few years ago, he skips out because of “work”. When the Canucks were in the playoff run in the bubble , plenty of former Canucks weighed in, but not him. He is watering down his own legacy by letting his feud with management override some basic acts that a former captain and teammate should be performing. It’s not classy, and sure he can hide away and be an average Joe for the rest of his years, but at the risk of how people will start seeing him as such.

Edited December 7, 2021 by Slegr

[awalk]

This went straight from thought to post with zero buffer time didn't it.

[MeanSeanBean]

This seems like a lot of assumptions to be making to judge another person. You have zero idea what went on behind closed doors. For all we know Trevor hasn't been contacted at Aqua doesn't want him back at all after how things ended. In hindsight, Trev was entirely correct. Aqua has already shown to have a difficult time admitting he's wrong.

 

The fact that you have less respect for Captain Canuck based off assumptions that you have no idea if they are even true or not seems completely wild to me. If anything, this whole thing has given me more respect for Linden then I already had, which I didn't think was possible.