Call it the end of an era. The Vancouver Canucks will retire their former Captain's jersey on December 17 when they host the Edmonton Oilers at GM Place. A 'Trevor Linden Night' at GM place will honour the longtime Captain in a pre-game ceremony where Linden's number 16 will be retired. Linden's sweater will join Stan Smyl's number 12 in the rafters at Vancouver's General Motors Place. Speaking Thursday morning, the man dubbed Captain Canuck said it was an honour to be recognized. "It means as much to me as anything that they want my jersey hung in the rafters," he said. "It's very special and very unreal." Linden, 38, retired as a Canuck on the 20th anniversary of his Draft day, June 11, 2008. He left the Canucks and the NHL after 19 seasons having recorded 867 career points in 1382 regular season games with the Canucks, Montreal Canadiens, New York Islanders and Washington Capitals. "Retiring a player's sweater is one of the highest honours a club can pay to its most elite players and ambassadors," said Canucks CEO Chris Zimmerman. "Trevor embodies the qualities we strive for as an organization; character, hard working, commitment, generous and loyal." During his 19 seasons, Linden was a two-time NHL All-Star and represented Team Canada at the 1998 Winter Olympic Games in Nagano, Japan. He retires as the Canucks all-time leader in games played, assists and is second in goals and points. His 118 games, 34 goals, 61 assists and 95 points in the Playoffs are all club records. Off the ice, Linden remained one of the club's most popular players and is heavily involved in local charities. As for retirement, the former Canuck says he's been busy biking and traveling, and has a few things on the go. "I'm excited for the hockey season to get started," he said.
