Sports

 

 

 

Pe week Garth took us through
numbers ten through six of his ten
greatest Canucks of all time. This week,
he finishes the countdown.

 

 

 

#5 Thomas Gradin

One of the best offensive players
Vancouver has ever had, Gradin played
677 games and recorded 593 points,
including two 86-point seasons, one
right after another in 1981-82 and
1982-83. Gradin was picked up by
Vancouver in a steal of a deal for the
Canucks, they sent a second round draft
pick to the Hawks for Gradin, who had
a career best 37 goals in 1981-82. He
also proved to be reliable defensively as
well, posting a career high plus-15 that
same season.

Along with Richard Brodeur, Gradin
was instrumental in leading the Canucks
to the Stanley Cup finals in 1981-82,
scoring a superb 19 points in 17 games.
Gradin played a total of eight
seasons for Vancouver, and is still
widely considered the greatest center
the team ever had. A tremendous skater
with terrific hands, the main criticism
on Gradin was that he didn’t shoot
enough. Gradin was not picked up by
Vancouver after his points declined to
41 after the 1985-86 season, and he
signed as a free agent with the Boston
Bruins, where he played one year and
put up a respectable 43 points in 64
games before moving back to Sweden
to play in the Swedish Elite League for
another two years before retiring.

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#4 Stan Smyl

Despite being born in Alberta,
Smyl is a Vancouver boy through and
through. He was a powerful forward for
the New Westminster Bruins in junior,
and ‘the Steamer’ played his entire
13 year career for the Canucks. While
Smyl was not the greatest skater, and
stood only 5’8, he had just captured
two Memorial Cup championships
with the Bruins when he was drafted
by Vancouver in the third round 40°
overall, in the 1978 amateur draft.

Smyl became team captain in 1982
and held that position until he retired.
He was an integral part in the Canuck’s
improbable run to the Stanley Cup finals
in 1982, and while some of his records
have recently been eclipsed, by the time
he retired he was Vancouver’s all time
leader in games played (896), goals
(262), assists (411), and points (673).
He was best known for his hard-nosed,
bruising style of play, accumulating
1556 penalty minutes in his career. He
was famous for his heavy bodychecks
and willingness to drop the gloves.

Smy] is the only Canuck in team
history to ever have his number (12)
retired. After he hung up the skated in
1990, he became a Vancouver assistant
coach for the next eight seasons,
before becoming head coach briefly
in Manitoba, Vancouver’s top AHL
affiliate.

Top ten Canucks,

Part II

By Garth McLennan, Sports Editor

  

#3 Markus Naslund

The current Vancouver captain has
worn the ‘C’ since 2000-01. Naslund
has become feared throughout the
league for his wicked wrist shot and
his ability to pick the corners. He was
acquired by the Canucks in 1995-96 in
one of the most lopsided deals in NHL
history from the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Vancouver sent Alek Stojanov to
Pittsburgh for the man who would
eventually become the face of their
franchise. Naslund would go on to
become the all-time team leader in
goals, passing Stan Smyl and Trevor
Linden for that distinction with 322 at
last count.

While Linden is currently the all-time
leader in points, Naslund is only 18
points behind him and will more than
likely surpass him for the all-time
team lead by season’s end. He is also
the team’s all-time leader in power
play goals as well. After Pavel Bure,
Naslund is without a doubt the most
offensively gifted player ever to put on
a Vancouver uniform.

He set a career high for points when
he scored 48 goals and 56 assists for
104 points in 2002-03, when, playing
alongside Todd Bertuzzi. He also won
the Lester B. Pearson award as the
league’s top player as voted by the
league’s players. He lost out to Peter
Forsberg for the Art Ross scoring
championship on the last day of the
season, and also finished second to

Forsberg in Hart Trophy voting as the
NHL’s MVP. Naslund was a first-team
all-star that year, and played in the NHL
all-star game.

Naslund led the team in scoring for
seven straight seasons until last year,
and was named the team MVP and
most exciting player for all of those as
well. Naslund is currently in the final
year of his three year US$18-million
deal, and has stated that he wants to
finish his career in Vancouver. While his
offensive totals have dipped recently, he
has bought into Coach Alain Vigneault’s
defensive system and improved his
plus/minus dramatically.

If Naslund finishes his career in
Vancouver, I have no doubt that he will
be on top of this list by the end of his
playing days.

 

#2 Trevor Linden

The face of the franchise for almost
two decades, Trevor Linden is quite
often known as captain Canuck. Drafted
by the team second overall in the 1988
draft, Linden is the most popular player
in team history. The franchise’s all-time
leading point scorer (721), Linden sits
second in goals (311), and assists (410).
However, he is only one assist behind
Stan Smyl, and will likely pass him this
season.

The 6’4 Linden was a dominating
junior player, captaining the Medicine
Hat Tigers to back-to-back Memorial