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102-641: Before the 1967–68 season , the NHL was made up only of a single division . From the 1967–68 season through the 1973–74 season , the NHL was made up of two divisions (as opposed to conferences), the East Division and the West Division . Following the 1973–74 season, the NHL again realigned. The East and West Divisions were renamed the Prince of Wales and Clarence Campbell Conferences, respectively. At

204-578: A pre-game ceremony December 17, 2008, prior to playing the Edmonton Oilers. Linden became the second Canuck to have his jersey retired, joining former captain Stan Smyl, whose jersey number, 12, was retired in 1991. Earlier in the day, the Canucks changed the number of the entrance gate for players and VIPs from Gate 5 to Gate 16 in honour of Linden. In 1995, Linden married Cristina Giusti,

306-735: A 2008 Stanley Cup victory. Scott Stevens hoisted the Prince of Wales Trophy during the Devils' other two Stanley Cup-winning seasons in 1995 and 2003. In 2009, 2016, and 2017, Sidney Crosby and other members of the Pittsburgh Penguins carried and posed with the Prince of Wales Trophy before going on to win the Stanley Cup. At the close of the 2010 Eastern Conference finals, Philadelphia Flyers captain Mike Richards picked up

408-686: A 3–1 series deficit to defeat the Philadelphia Flyers in seven games; the Devils would go on to defeat the Dallas Stars (who touched but did not lift their conference trophy) in the Stanley Cup Finals. Stevens then also touched the trophy in 2003, after defeating the Ottawa Senators in seven games. Not only touching, Stevens picked up the trophy and made his team take a photo with it. The Devils went on to defeat

510-729: A 5–4 upset win over the Boston Bruins. On January 10, Connelly—who would finish the season with 35 goals to lead his team and the West Division—had a hat trick in a 6–4 win over the West Division power, the Philadelphia Flyers and Masterton was the architect on all three goals. Tragedy struck the league on January 13, 1968. In a game at the Metropolitan Sports Center in Bloomington, Minnesota ,

612-528: A February 16, 2004, game against the Colorado Avalanche , he played in his 897th game as a Canuck, passing Smyl. On March 8, once again playing the Avalanche, Linden had two points, including his team-record 674th point with the Canucks, a mark also previously held by Smyl. For the first time in five years, he played in all 82 games, recording 36 points. After a year-long break from hockey during

714-583: A competitive imbalance in the Finals, but also guaranteed that an expansion team would at least reach the Finals. All series but Bruins-Canadiens had a game postponed after the Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. on April 4. The Canadiens drew the third-place Boston Bruins in the first round. The Bruins, making their first appearance in the playoffs since 1959, were swept in four games. In

816-514: A fundraiser for BC Children's Hospital. When he was awarded the Order of British Columbia in 2003, the citation referred to him as a "hockey player and humanitarian". Linden has cited his brother, Dean, as being the inspiration for undertaking his charitable work, telling him to use his power as a hockey player. In testament to his efforts off the ice in Vancouver, Linden has been a recipient of

918-485: A guy that plays hard all the time. He's a leader. He's a guy that's a good, honest, hard player to play against. He's not cheap. We have a lot of respect also for what he's done for us off the ice as a group of players. I'm not sure if it's his last for sure, but if it is, it definitely was an honor to play with him." — Jarome Iginla talking about Linden after an April 5, 2008, game, Linden's final game The following season, Linden broke several more Canucks records. In

1020-582: A long-time member of the Canadiens organization was unable to spur the Blues to an upset, but they made it a hard-fought series, with each game being decided by one goal and two going to overtime. However, the Canadiens, led by Jean Beliveau and Henri Richard , were not to be denied and swept the series in four games. Despite this, the exceptional performance of the heavy underdog Blues impressed and surprised most hockey fans who were expecting an utter blowout by

1122-544: A mental image of my hockey career, there is absolutely no doubt I would be wearing the uniform of the Vancouver Canucks in it." —Trevor Linden Linden's long tenure with the Canucks (Linden holds third most games played in franchise history at 1,140), deep attachment to the city of Vancouver and history of charitable community service and involvement have made him one of the most beloved and respected players among fans in franchise history. His 2001 return to

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1224-576: A nervous breakdown, and the season was marred by contract disputes and tension with the high-strung coach, Punch Imlach . A late season charge failed to win a playoff berth. In the West Division, the Philadelphia Flyers became the first regular season champion of the expansion clubs. While their offense was poor (career minor-league Leon Rochefort led the team with just 21 goals), ex-Bruins' goaltenders Bernie Parent and Doug Favell showed surprising form. Behind such hardnosed players as Gary Dornhoefer , Ed Van Impe , Larry Zeidel and Forbes Kennedy ,

1326-506: A six-time Stanley Cup winner, and manager/head coach Mike Keenan , who were, respectively, captain and head coach of the New York Rangers when they defeated Vancouver in the 1994 Stanley Cup Finals . Keenan's hiring was as a result of Pat Quinn being dismissed as general manager, and Keenan also assumed the title of bench boss by firing head coach Tom Renney early in the season. According to some accounts, Linden initially gave up

1428-910: A team photo with the Campbell Bowl after winning Game 7 of the 2015 Western Conference finals against the Anaheim Ducks at the Honda Center in Anaheim. The Blackhawks would end up defeating the Tampa Bay Lightning in six games in the 2015 Stanley Cup Finals . In 2018, Capitals captain Alexander Ovechkin hoisted the Wales trophy after winning the Eastern Conference finals, before ultimately defeating

1530-546: A third-round pick in 2003 (later traded to the Edmonton Oilers , who selected Zack Stortini ). Linden scored 34 points with Vancouver in 64 games, which included his 1,000th regular season game on March 26, 2002, against the Los Angeles Kings . In his first playoff series with Vancouver in six years, he scored a goal and four assists in six games. The 2002–03 season was Linden's first full season with

1632-554: A trip to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1994 , where they lost in seven games. In 1998, he was elected president of the National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA), a position he held for eight years. As President, he played an instrumental role in the 2004–05 NHL lockout , including negotiations with league owners. Off the ice, Linden has taken an active role in charities, and was awarded

1734-492: Is a list of notable players who played their last game in the NHL in 1967–68 (listed with their last team): Hockey Night in Canada on CBC Television televised Saturday night regular season games and Stanley Cup playoff games. HNIC also produced Wednesday night regular season game telecasts for CTV . Games were typically not broadcast in their entirety until the 1968–69 season , and were typically joined in progress. This

1836-780: The 1988 NHL Entry Draft , the Vancouver Canucks selected Linden second overall, after the Minnesota North Stars selected Mike Modano . Linden made his NHL debut on October 6, 1988, against the Winnipeg Jets , aged 18. He scored his first goal on October 18, 1988, against Kelly Hrudey of the New York Islanders and later, on November 17, he scored his first hat-trick against the Minnesota North Stars. Linden finished

1938-528: The 1993–94 season , Linden scored 32 goals, the fifth time in six seasons he had scored at least 30, but his points total fell to 61 as the Canucks finished 12 points behind the division leader. Although they were the seventh seed in the playoffs, the Canucks reached the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time in 12 years and second time in team history. Considered the underdogs against the Presidents' Trophy -winning New York Rangers captained by Mark Messier ,

2040-581: The 1994–95 season before finishing his hockey career in the minor leagues. Together with Trevor, Jamie is now a property developer, something they developed an interest in while growing up in Medicine Hat. Trevor had indicated that after his playing career was finished, he would like to become more involved in real estate. Linden is also an avid and competitive cyclist, frequenting the local Squamish and Whistler area to mountain bike, in addition to participating in various races. Most significantly, in

2142-407: The 1995–96 season , Linden had 33 goals, 47 assists and 80 points, the most he has ever collected in all three statistical categories. On February 27, 1996, he played in his 437th consecutive game, breaking the team record previously held by Don Lever . The following season marked the end of Linden's ironman streak; between October 4, 1990, and December 3, 1996, he appeared in 482 consecutive games,

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2244-469: The 2004–05 NHL lockout , in which he actively participated in new collective agreement negotiations on behalf of the National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA), Linden again appeared in all 82 games during the 2005–06 season , scoring 7 goals and 16 points. Linden became the first player to play 1,000 games with the Canucks on April 13, 2006, when they faced the San Jose Sharks . In

2346-550: The 2006–07 season opener, on October 5, 2006, Linden scored the game winner against the Detroit Red Wings to become the first Canuck to score 300 goals with the team. After notching 25 points in 80 games, he helped the Canucks reach the second round of the playoffs. He scored two game-winning goals in the first round, including the series-winning goal against the Dallas Stars in Game 7 of their first-round matchup, which

2448-711: The California Golden Seals in 1970. As a result of the expansion, the League reorganized its teams into two divisions, placing the Original Six teams into the East Division and the expansion franchises into the West Division. The NHL, furthermore, increased its regular season schedule from 70 to 74 games per team with each team playing 50 games against opponents within its own division (10 against each divisional opponent) and 24 games with teams in

2550-624: The King Clancy Memorial Trophy ( 1997 ) and the NHL Foundation Player Award ( 2008 ), honours awarded by the NHL to players for significant contributions in his community. Linden took part in the 2010 Winter Olympics torch relay when the flame was in Vancouver before the opening ceremony . On December 30, 2010, it was announced that Linden was to be invested as a Member of the Order of Canada . He

2652-400: The King Clancy Memorial Trophy for leadership on the ice and humanitarian contributions off the ice in 1997 , as well as the NHL Foundation Player Award in 2008 . Linden retired on June 11, 2008, 20 years to the day after he was drafted into the NHL. Linden's jersey number 16 was retired by the Canucks on December 17, 2008, the second number retired by the team. On April 9, 2014, Linden

2754-736: The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim four games to three in the 2003 Stanley Cup Finals . In 2002, the Carolina Hurricanes hoisted the Prince of Wales Trophy after they won their conference title; the Hurricanes lost their Finals series with the Detroit Red Wings four games to one. Steve Yzerman , captain of the Red Wings during their 1997, 1998 and 2002 Stanley Cup victories, picked up the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl each time, to

2856-789: The National Football League , and Major League Baseball use geographic-based names for their divisions. Therefore, the Campbell Conference became the Western Conference and the Wales Conference became the Eastern Conference. The winner of the Eastern Conference finals still receives the Prince of Wales Trophy , while the winner of the Western Conference finals still receives the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl . The only exception to this practice

2958-421: The Pittsburgh Penguins finished fifth, led by former Ranger star Andy Bathgate . Behind an elderly roster—nine of their top ten scorers and both of their goaltenders were over thirty—they could neither muster much offense nor defence. The Minnesota North Stars had their bright moments despite finishing fourth in the West Division. On December 30, 1967, Bill Masterton and Wayne Connelly each scored goals in

3060-733: The Quebec Nordiques (both losses), and the Dallas Stars' totals include two conference finals appearances as the Minnesota North Stars (one win; subsequent Stanley Cup Finals loss). The Arizona Coyotes' only conference finals appearance was in 2012 as the Phoenix Coyotes. The Columbus Blue Jackets and the Seattle Kraken remain the only active NHL teams to have never advanced to the conference finals. 1967%E2%80%9368 NHL season The 1967–68 NHL season

3162-650: The Stanley Cup against the new St. Louis Blues , in four games. This season saw the NHL expand from the "original six" teams by adding six new franchises , including the St. Louis Blues , California Seals , Philadelphia Flyers , Minnesota North Stars , Pittsburgh Penguins , and Los Angeles Kings . On December 8, 1967, the California Seals were renamed the Oakland Seals before being renamed again to

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3264-699: The Vancouver Canucks . He spent 19 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL), playing centre and right wing with four teams: the Vancouver Canucks (in two tenures; the first and last), New York Islanders , Montreal Canadiens and Washington Capitals . Before joining the NHL in 1988 , Linden helped the Medicine Hat Tigers of the Western Hockey League (WHL) win consecutive Memorial Cup championships. In addition to appearing in two NHL All-Star Games , Linden

3366-490: The "centre of hockey", was an exciting prospect to Linden after his time spent with the Islanders, where the arena was usually half-filled when he played there. With Montreal, Linden was often injured and only appeared in 50 games during his first season, scoring 30 points. The next year, he appeared in 57 games, scoring 33 points. While with the Canadiens, he signed a four-year contract worth $ 15 million. However, he

3468-472: The Blues, led by goaltender Glenn Hall and coached by future Hall of Fame coach Scotty Bowman in seven games, while the second-place Los Angeles Kings lost to the fourth-place Minnesota North Stars in seven games. The Blues would defeat the North Stars in seven games to advance to their first final. The Blues faced the Canadiens for the Stanley Cup. Blues coach Bowman,

3570-536: The Canadiens, to the point that their goaltender Glenn Hall , who helped lead the team to the Cup Finals, was named the MVP of the playoffs. Note: GP = Games played; G Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes Source: NHL. Note: GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; SO = Shutouts The NHL began tracking

3672-536: The Canucks before the February Olympic break, Linden had 7 goals and 21 points. Linden was traded to the New York Islanders on February 6, 1998, in exchange for Todd Bertuzzi , Bryan McCabe and the Islanders' third-round pick (used to select Jarkko Ruutu ) in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft . After the conclusion of the Olympics, in which he participated, Linden joined the Islanders and played 25 games with

3774-428: The Canucks initially fell behind three games to one but pushed the series to seven games. In Game 7, Linden scored twice (the next player to get two goals in a game seven was Alex Tanguay in 2001), but the Canucks lost 3–2. Linden finished second on the team in playoff scoring, with 12 goals and 25 points. It was revealed afterwards that Linden had played through the finals with broken ribs and torn rib cartilage. In

3876-468: The Canucks since 1996–97 , though Linden sprained his knee in the season opener and had to miss two weeks. He returned in time to be honoured for his 1,000th career game, which he achieved the season before. As he did not want to distract the team from the playoff race, Linden asked for the ceremony to be delayed. On November 25, 2002, against the Minnesota Wild , Linden scored his 263rd goal with

3978-559: The Canucks training camp in October 1992. Canucks head coach Pat Quinn initiated the switch in response to the losses of centres Anatoli Semenov and Petr Nedvěd during the off-season. The Canucks repeated as Smythe Division champions that year, setting franchise records for wins and points with 46 and 101 respectively. For the third-straight season, Linden surpassed 30 goals and 70 points, finishing with 33 goals and 72 points. In

4080-459: The Canucks was an emotional event for fans and players alike, with Linden admitting he was too excited to sleep the night before his first game back. He is still often referred to affectionately as "Captain Canuck", despite not having captained the team since 1997. On April 5, 2008, the Canucks' final game of the 2007–08 season , the Vancouver crowd gave Linden a standing ovation before the start of

4182-463: The Canucks, breaking former captain Stan Smyl 's team record for most goals. He finished the year with 19 goals and 22 assists for 41 points, his highest goal total in seven seasons, and his highest points total since 1998–99 . "The career he's had, a lot of us watched him when we were younger, and the runs he's had when he first broke in. He's played for so long, and also playing against him, he's

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4284-444: The East Division lead. Paced by Gump Worsley , who had 6 shutouts and a 1.98 goals against average and backstopped the team to the fewest goals allowed in the league, they managed to keep first place thereafter. Worsley, for the first time, made the first all-star team. On February 24, 1968, Rogie Vachon of Montreal was the victim of four goals by Rod Gilbert , who set an NHL record with 16 shots on goal. Eddie Giacomin again led

4386-525: The Flyers refused to sign his contract, followed by Earl Ingarfield and Al MacNeil also refused to sign, then Tim Horton of Toronto, Norm Ullman of Detroit and Kenny Wharram and Stan Mikita of Chicago. Led by Alan Eagleson , the new National Hockey League Players' Association was up and running. All twelve of the League's member teams played games on the same day for the first time on October 18, 1967, competing in six scheduled games — the most

4488-769: The League had ever scheduled on one day. On October 11, 1967, Jean Beliveau scored his 400th career goal on goaltender Hank Bassen of the Pittsburgh Penguins . This also happened to be the first game in Penguins franchise history. The Canadiens stumbled out of the gate. In their first west coast road trip, the Seals beat them 2–1 and the Kings beat them 4–2. The Habs lost quite a few more and were in last place by December. But by January, Jean Beliveau began to score and others were inspired also. The Habs got very hot, winning 12 consecutive games and then put together 10 more wins to take

4590-752: The NHL. After one season playing with the Medicine Hat Midget Tigers of the Alberta Midget Hockey League (AMHL), Linden joined the WHL Tigers for the final five games of the 1985–86 regular season , where he scored two goals; he also appeared in six playoff games, scoring one goal. The next season, at age 16, he made the team full-time. In his first full season in the WHL, Linden had 36 points in 72 games, and then had 9 points in 20 playoff games, including two goals in

4692-442: The Oakland Seals were in town to play the North Stars and Bill Masterton led a rush into the Oakland zone. Two defencemen, Larry Cahan and Ron Harris braced for the old fashioned sandwich check and as Masterton fired the puck into the Seals zone, the two hit Masterton hard but cleanly. Masterton flipped backwards and hit his head on the ice. He was removed to a Minneapolis hospital where doctors were prevented from doing surgery by

4794-438: The Ottawa Senators touched and picked up the Prince of Wales Trophy, respectively, but Anaheim Ducks captain Scott Niedermayer never came close to the Campbell Bowl; the Ducks won the Stanley Cup in five games. Steve Yzerman, captain of the Detroit Red Wings during their 1997, 1998, and 2002 Stanley Cup victories, picked up the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl each time, though his successor Nicklas Lidstrom did not touch it en route to

4896-465: The Rangers in the quarter-final round, but lost in the semi-final round to eventual Stanley Cup champion Montreal Canadiens. Roger Crozier felt the strain of goaltending and walked out on Detroit. He came back, but the Red Wings finished last anyway, despite a potent offense led by Gordie Howe , Alex Delvecchio and Norm Ullman . Even a late season trade of Ullman and Paul Henderson for Toronto star Frank Mahovlich and future Blues star Garry Unger

4998-460: The Stanley Cup Finals. Stamkos picked up the Prince of Wales Trophy again in 2021 after the Lightning defeated the New York Islanders in the semifinals, and Tampa Bay defended the Stanley Cup by defeating the Montreal Canadiens in five games. Legend: CF = Conference finals; SCF = Stanley Cup Finals; bolded year denotes win; italicized denotes active series Note: The Colorado Avalanche's totals include two conference finals appearances as

5100-424: The Stanley Cup is the true championship trophy, and only it should be hoisted. However, in 1994, Stephane Matteau , then of the New York Rangers , admitted that he tapped the Wales Trophy with his stick's blade before the overtime period in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals. Matteau subsequently scored the game-winning goal in double overtime against the New Jersey Devils . Following the game, Mark Messier ,

5202-430: The Vegas Golden Knights in five games to win the Stanley Cup. In 2020, Tampa Bay Lightning captain Steven Stamkos and his teammates lifted the Prince of Wales Trophy after winning the Eastern Conference finals. Head coach Jon Cooper stated "we win a trophy, we pick it up", while Victor Hedman acknowledged that not touching the trophy in 2015 "didn't work". The Lightning went on to defeat the Dallas Stars in six games in

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5304-414: The Wales Trophy. Jonathan Toews , Chicago Blackhawks captain, did not touch the Campbell Bowl, and the Blackhawks went on to defeat the Flyers in six games for the 2010 Stanley Cup. In 2012, Los Angeles Kings captain Dustin Brown and the rest of the team refused to touch the Campbell Bowl after winning the conference finals against the Phoenix Coyotes. The team did not take the Campbell Bowl trophy on

5406-448: The West Division. Glenn Hall may have been deemed too old by the Black Hawks, which left him unprotected in the expansion draft, but not for the St. Louis Blues , who rode his five shutouts to a third-place finish. A surprising benefit was their leading scorer, previously unheralded Red Berenson (with only 45 points in 185 previous NHL games) who exploded into stardom, more than doubling his career total in only 55 games. By contrast,

5508-414: The captain of the Rangers, picked up and raised the Wales Trophy after it was awarded to the team. After winning the Western Conference, Vancouver Canucks captain Trevor Linden lifted the Campbell Bowl. The Rangers prevailed over the Canucks in a seven-game series to win the Cup. Scott Stevens and Martin Brodeur hoisted the conference trophy as well in 2000, after the New Jersey Devils came back from

5610-425: The championship game, helping Medicine Hat win their first Memorial Cup as Canadian junior champions. The next year, Linden had 110 points in 67 games and led the Tigers to their second consecutive Memorial Cup title. During the 1988 WHL playoffs, Linden set a WHL playoff record by scoring the fastest goal from the start of a game, seven seconds into a 6–5 Tigers win over the Saskatoon Blades on April 15, 1988. At

5712-417: The conference finals. Another tradition (or rather superstition) that is prevalent among today's NHL players is that no player should touch the Cup itself until his team has rightfully won the Cup. Adding to this superstition is some players' choice to neither touch nor hoist the conference trophies ( Clarence S. Campbell Bowl and Prince of Wales Trophy ) when these series have been won; the players feel that

5814-490: The day of being drafted into the NHL by the Canucks, Linden announced his retirement, leaving as the franchise leader in games played with the Canucks (1140) and assists (415, since surpassed by Henrik Sedin), and second in goals to later captain Markus Näslund . Shortly after, Vancouver City Council stated it would honour Linden by declaring the date of his jersey retirement to be Trevor Linden Day in Vancouver. The Canucks retired Linden's jersey number, 16, from circulation in

5916-481: The delight of the home fans in Joe Louis Arena . The superstition held true in 2004, as Jarome Iginla of the Calgary Flames grabbed the Campbell Bowl, but Dave Andreychuk of the Tampa Bay Lightning refused to touch the Prince of Wales Trophy; the Lightning won the Stanley Cup in seven games. The Campbell Bowl would not be picked up on the ice again until it was won by the first-year Vegas Golden Knights in 2018. In 2007, Daniel Alfredsson and Wade Redden of

6018-432: The eventual Stanley Cup champion Calgary Flames . In his sophomore NHL season, Linden finished second on the team in goals (21) and points (51) and finished third in assists (30). The following year, he was one of three Canucks to share a rotating captaincy, the others being Doug Lidster and Dan Quinn . Linden led the team with 37 assists and 70 points, and made his first appearance in an NHL All-Star Game , where he

6120-440: The eventual Cup finalists, 2006 as the eventual Cup champions, 2009, 2019 and 2023). The original Winnipeg Jets never appeared in the conference finals, and after moving to become the Phoenix Coyotes the franchise did not even win a playoff series until the 2012 Stanley Cup playoffs when they advanced to the conference finals. Of the 32 teams in the NHL, only the Columbus Blue Jackets and Seattle Kraken have never appeared in

6222-579: The expansion draft, and drafting Rick Pagnutti first overall in the amateur draft. This season, the NHL also added a new player award called the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy , named in honour of Bill Masterton who died on January 15, 1968, after sustaining an injury during a game (the first time an NHL player had ever died directly as a result of an on-ice injury). There were a large number of holdouts this year. Three New York Ranger players, including Rod Gilbert , Arnie Brown and Orland Kurtenbach were fined $ 500 by their team. However, Ed Van Impe of

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6324-419: The final game of his NHL career on April 5, 2008, against Calgary. Despite Vancouver losing 7–1, Linden was named the game's first star and skated a lap around GM Place to a standing ovation and received handshakes from the Calgary players. "A guy who tried to work hard and do what's right." —Trevor Linden, on what he wants his legacy to be On June 11, 2008, after 19 seasons in the NHL and 20 years to

6426-421: The first and third and the second and fourth place teams in each respective division pairing off in a divisional semi-final series. The winners of the latter would then compete in their respective divisional final series and a berth in the Stanley Cup finals. All series would be best-of-seven contests. The 1967 NHL Expansion Draft was held on June 6, at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal , Quebec to fill

6528-435: The first official conference finals were held in 1982. Beginning in the 1993–94 season , the names of conferences and divisions were changed to reflect their geographic locations. At the instigation of then-new NHL commissioner Gary Bettman , the NHL made the change to help non-hockey fans better understand the game, as the National Basketball Association uses geographic-based names for their conferences and divisions, and

6630-448: The league with 8 shutouts, and led the Rangers to second place, bolstered by Jean Ratelle 's emergence into stardom. Boston obtained Phil Esposito , Ken Hodge and Fred Stanfield in a blockbuster trade with Chicago. This trade, as shown over time, heavily favored the Bruins. This, coinciding with the rise of Bobby Orr , led to an improvement in Boston's play, and the Bruins led the league in scoring behind Esposito's 84 points and made

6732-402: The longest in the league at the time. His team record was later broken in 2007 by Brendan Morrison . In his 49 games that season, he scored 9 goals and 31 assists. At the conclusion of the season, the NHL recognized Linden's contributions to the Vancouver community and awarded him the King Clancy Memorial Trophy. At the start of the 1997–98 season , the Canucks added free agent Mark Messier,

6834-409: The opposite division (4 games per opponent). The newly created Clarence S. Campbell Bowl was awarded to the team that finished first in the West Division during the regular season, the Prince of Wales Trophy was likewise awarded the East Division first-place team. A new format for the playoffs would also be introduced which would see the top four teams in each division qualify for the post-season with

6936-523: The other East series, the second-place Rangers faced off against the fourth-place Chicago Black Hawks. The Black Hawks, led by Bobby Hull and Stan Mikita defeated the Rangers in six to set up a Montreal-Chicago East Division showdown. The Black Hawks could not provide another upset, and lost to the Canadiens in five games, giving Montreal their only defeat of the playoffs. In the West, all four teams played their first playoff series. The first-place Philadelphia Flyers lost their first-ever playoff series to

7038-417: The owner of Basquiat, a Vancouver boutique. In 2017, the Lindens had their first child, son Roman Matthias Linden, named after Cristina's father Romano and Linden's Canuck teammate Mattias Ohlund . In 2004, Linden was baptized as a Roman Catholic . Linden's younger brother, Jamie Linden , also played ice hockey. After a lengthy junior career in the WHL, Jamie played four games with the Florida Panthers in

7140-408: The plane back to Los Angeles. Instead, Tim Leiweke , president and CEO of Anschutz Entertainment Group (the parent of the Los Angeles Kings), drove the trophy in his car trunk from Phoenix to Los Angeles and showed it to the more-than 10,000 fans that waited at LAX Airport to show their support to their Stanley Cup finalists, who went on to win the Stanley Cup. In 2015, the Chicago Blackhawks took

7242-415: The playoffs are highlighted in bold The first-place vs. third-place and second-place vs. fourth-place playoff format that had been in place for the previous 25 seasons was retained within the East and West Divisions, with the winners of the division finals facing off in the Stanley Cup Finals. As the Original Six formed the East Division and the expansion teams formed the West Division, this resulted in

7344-474: The playoffs for the first time in four years, in the 2000–01 season . After 28 games over two seasons with the Capitals, Linden had scored only four goals and three assists. On November 10, 2001, the Capitals traded Linden, along with a second-round draft pick in either 2002 or 2003 (used to select Denis Grot ), to the Canucks in exchange for their first round pick in 2002 (used to select Boyd Gordon ) and

7446-550: The playoffs for the first time in nearly a decade. Though he missed action with a knee injury, Orr still won the Norris Trophy as the league's top defenceman. By contrast, the Chicago Black Hawks fell into a tailspin, and despite the scoring heroics of Bobby Hull and Stan Mikita , were hard pressed to make the playoffs. Mediocre team defence and goaltending was the culprit. However, they were able to beat

7548-512: The plus-minus statistic this season. It measures the difference between the number of goals scored by a player's team while a player is on the ice against the number of goals scored by the opposing team. Power play goals do not count toward the statistic; it does include short-handed goals scored by the opposing team during power plays. The following is a list of notable players who played their first NHL game in 1967–68 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs): The following

7650-556: The rosters of the six expansion teams. The 1967 NHL Amateur Draft was then held one day later at the same hotel. Under the agreement signed with the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA), all players who graduated from junior hockey became eligible for the amateur draft this year, and the minimum age of players subject to amateur draft was changed to 20. The Kings had the first overall picks in both drafts, selecting Terry Sawchuk first overall in

7752-493: The season tied for the team lead in goals (30) and second for points (59). He was the first Canucks rookie to score 30 goals and came within one point of tying Ivan Hlinka 's team record of 60 points as a first-year player, set in 1981–82 (the record was later tied by Pavel Bure in 1991–92 ). Linden also became the first rookie to win the Cyclone Taylor Award , given to the Canucks' most valuable player. He

7854-438: The seriousness of the head injury. Early on the morning of January 15, 1968, Bill Masterton died. He was the first—and as of 2023, the only—player to die as the direct result of injuries suffered in an NHL game, the only such incident in a senior game since 1907 . Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes Note: Teams that qualified for

7956-576: The successor to the Canada Cup , Linden helped Canada to a second-place finish with a goal and an assist over eight games. Two years later, Linden was selected as a member of Team Canada in the 1998 Nagano Olympics . Though he injured his knee only weeks before, he played in all six games, scoring one goal, a game-tying marker with 67 seconds left against the Czech Republic that sent the semi-final game to overtime. Canada finished fourth in

8058-613: The summer of 2007, Linden competed in the Trans Alp bike race, a 600 km race across the European Alps . Linden and racing teammate John Ramsden finished 48th out of the 122 competing two-man teams over the eight-day competition. Linden was involved in the creation and recent launch of Club 16 – Trevor Linden Fitness. Linden has also partnered with Vancouver developer Howard Airey, principal of Airey Development Group, to build two residential/commercial development projects. He

8160-456: The team captaincy to Messier out of respect, but later regretted the move as he felt Messier's invasion of the dressing room was hostile. Friction developed between Linden and Keenan early in the season. As the relationship worsened, Keenan claimed that it was evident Linden would be traded. After a 5–1 loss to the St. Louis Blues , Keenan openly blamed Linden for the loss, a moment Linden refers to as his "darkest time". Playing in 42 games with

8262-566: The team showed the first glimmers of the "Broad Street Bullies" of future years. The Los Angeles Kings were a team that writers predicted to finish last in the new West Division. Owner Jack Kent Cooke had purchased the American Hockey League 's Springfield Indians for $ 1 million to bolster the Kings roster. Surprisingly, the Kings finished second, just one point out of first. Bill Flett scored 26 goals, while Eddie Joyal scored 23 goals, adding 34 assists for 57 points and

8364-643: The team. He scored 10 goals and 7 assists for 17 points to finish the season, with a combined 17 goals and 21 assists for 38 points in 67 games. The following year, his first full season in three years, Linden was second on the team with 47 points, and third with 18 goals. However, on May 29, 1999, the Islanders traded Linden to the Montreal Canadiens for a first-round draft pick in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft (used to select Branislav Mezei ), mostly for financial reasons. The thrill of playing in Montreal ,

8466-616: The third period. Once the game ended, the crowd again rose to their feet in recognition of Linden. In addition to hockey, Linden has also undertaken a considerable amount of charitable work. Working primarily with children, he has made frequent appearances at the BC Children's Hospital and Canuck Place, a hospice for terminally ill children. In 1995, he inaugurated the Trevor Linden Foundation to raise money for local charities and also hosts an annual golfing event as

8568-480: The time, the new conferences and divisions had little to do with North American geography and geographical references were removed. Furthermore, all playoff teams were seeded regardless of conference. Beginning in the 1981–82 season , the conferences and the playoffs were realigned. The NHL was hoping to reduce travel costs in the face of a struggling economy and high energy prices. The regular season and playoffs were also altered to emphasize divisional match-ups. Thus,

8670-405: The world stage at the 1988 World Junior Championships , a tournament Canada won, where he scored one goal. His first senior international tournament was the 1991 World Championship , in which he contributed one goal and four assists in ten games as Canada won the silver medal. Linden was also invited to training camp for the 1991 Canada Cup roster, but was released early. In the 1996 World Cup ,

8772-458: Was Linden's sixth Game 7 goal of his playoff career. He finished the playoffs with a team-leading 7 points in 12 games. This made Linden the Canucks' all-time leader in playoff goals (34), assists (61) and points (95). After taking the summer to decide if he would return for another season, Linden signed a one-year contract with the Canucks in August 2007. The season was not ideal for Linden, who

8874-483: Was a healthy scratch 23 times. In the 59 games he played, he scored seven goals and five assists, by far the lowest totals in his career. Against the Calgary Flames on November 8, 2007, he earned his 412th assist with the Canucks, surpassing Smyl once again. He finished his career with 415 assists as a Canuck, which stood as the all-time mark until Henrik Sedin surpassed him on March 14, 2010. Linden played in

8976-445: Was a member of the 1998 Canadian Olympic team and participated in the 1996 World Cup of Hockey . Throughout his career, Linden was recognized as a respected leader on and off the ice. He was named captain of the Canucks at age 21, making him one of the youngest captains in league history. In that capacity, Linden was nicknamed " Captain Canuck " and led the team to back-to-back Smythe Division titles in 1992 and 1993, followed by

9078-571: Was actively involved in negotiations with Gary Bettman and the NHL on a new collective agreement that ended the 2004–05 lockout . This included a final meeting in January 2005 between Linden and Harley Hotchkiss , the chairman of the NHL Board of Governors, in an attempt to avoid losing the NHL season. Despite this meeting, a result was not found in time to keep the NHL from cancelling the 2004–05 season . "If somebody asked me to come up with

9180-527: Was also the spokesperson for ClearlyContacts.ca. As a player representative to the National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA) since 1990, Linden was responsible for being the contact between his teammates and the NHLPA. He saw the experience as a chance to be involved in the business side of the sport. In light of this service, Linden was elected president of the NHLPA in June 1998. Consequently, Linden

9282-454: Was cited "[f]or his ongoing sportsmanship and community engagement as a respected leader both on and off the ice." On April 9, 2014, he was named the president of hockey operations for the Canucks, replacing Mike Gillis in that role. Linden was hired by the Canucks the day after Gillis was fired, following a season where the team failed to become a playoff contender. On May 1, 2014, Linden fired head coach John Tortorella . Jim Benning , who

9384-527: Was his top priority, he also participated in baseball, golf, volleyball, basketball and speed skating. An excellent student in school, he was recruited by Princeton University to play for their hockey team. Instead, Linden chose to stay in Medicine Hat and play with the local major junior team, the Medicine Hat Tigers of the Western Hockey League (WHL). Linden grew up watching the Tigers and idolized Lanny McDonald , who played in Medicine Hat before he joined

9486-548: Was named president of hockey operations for the Vancouver Canucks, a position he held until July 2018. Trevor Linden's grandfather, Nick van der Linden, emigrated to Canada from the Netherlands in 1929. He ran a construction company until his son Lane (Trevor's father) replaced him in 1979. Trevor was born on April 11, 1970, in Medicine Hat, Alberta to Lane and Edna Linden. Linden was a skilled athlete; while hockey

9588-638: Was named to the NHL All-Rookie Team , and finished second to Brian Leetch , of the New York Rangers , in voting for the Calder Memorial Trophy , awarded to the rookie of the year. Fans voted him as the winner of The Hockey News ' rookie of the year award. The Canucks made the playoffs in the 1988–89 season , for the first time in three years, and Linden scored seven points in the Canucks' seven-game series loss to

9690-410: Was the 51st season of the National Hockey League . The league expanded to 12 teams, putting the new six in the newly created West Division, while the " Original Six " were all placed in the newly created East Division. The regular season schedule was expanded to 74 games per team and featured the first time all twelve teams played games on the same day on October 18, 1967. The Montreal Canadiens won

9792-439: Was the pandemic-affected 2020–21 season that was played without conferences. The league decided in June 2021 to award the trophies (one per team) to the two victors of the Stanley Cup semifinals. After that season, the league revived the conferences for the 2021–22 season . The Hartford Whalers never advanced to a conference final, however after they relocated to become the Carolina Hurricanes , they did so five times (2002 as

9894-539: Was the second leading scorer in the West Division. Among the expansion teams, the Kings had the best record against the established teams, going 10–12–2 vs. the Eastern Division. Oakland, predicted to finish first, fell far short of the mark, amidst poor attendance. Defenceman Kent Douglas , a former Calder Memorial Trophy winner, played far below expected form and was traded to Detroit for Ted Hampson and defenceman Bert Marshall . The Seals finished last in

9996-476: Was the second season under the U.S. rights agreement with CBS . This season, CBS aired Saturday afternoon games between December 30 and January 20, then Sunday afternoon games from January 28 through March. The network then aired Sunday afternoon playoff games. Trevor Linden Trevor John Linden CM OBC (born April 11, 1970) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former president of hockey operations and alternate governor of

10098-414: Was the youngest player. At age 21, he was made sole captain of the team, becoming the youngest Canucks captain. That season, Linden led the Canucks in scoring for a second straight year with 75 points (31 goals and 44 assists), leading the Canucks to their first division title since the 1974–75 season . A natural winger early in his career, Linden began learning to play at the centre position during

10200-565: Was then serving as assistant general manager of the Boston Bruins , and a former Canuck and teammate of Linden in his playing career, was hired by Linden to replace Gillis as the Canucks' general manager on May 23. On June 23, 2014, Benning hired Willie Desjardins as the 18th head coach in Canucks history. On July 25, 2018, Linden parted ways with the Canucks organization. Throughout his hockey career, Linden appeared in five international tournaments for Team Canada . He first appeared on

10302-409: Was too little, too late. However, on March 24, 1968, Mahovlich became only the 11th player to score 300 goals as he scored both his 300th and 301st goals in a 5–3 win over the Boston Bruins. Meanwhile, the defending Cup champion Toronto Maple Leafs , still steady on defence in front of elder statesman Johnny Bower and backup Bruce Gamble , had numerous problems. Mahovlich spent time in hospital with

10404-566: Was traded for the third time in his career, this time to the Washington Capitals , going with Dainius Zubrus , and the New Jersey Devils ' second-round draft pick in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft (later traded to Tampa Bay, who selected Andreas Holmqvist ) in exchange for Richard Zedník , Jan Bulis and Washington's first-round pick in the 2001 Draft (used to select Alexander Perezhogin ). With Washington, Linden reached

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