Former Canucks coach Mike Keenan opens up on stripping Trevor Linden of captaincy

PUBLICATION

Cooper Godin
October 7, 2024 (7:33 PM)

SHARE THIS STORY

Former Vancouver Canucks head coach Mike Keenan opens up on stripping Trevor Linden of his captaincy.

The 1997-98 season was a tough one behind the scenes for the Vancouver Canucks organization. Mike Keenan was brought in as the team's new head coach, replacing Tom Renney in November. Then, during the free agency window that summer, the Canucks brought in future Hall of Famer Mark Messier.

Trevor Linden, who had been Vancouver's captain for the previous seven seasons, saw the 'C' stripped from his chest and given to Mark Messier, a move that didn't sit well with the fans.

Throughout the early part of the season, Linden and Keenan butted heads and eventually, the Canucks traded their former captain to the New York Islanders for Todd Bertuzzi, Bryan McCabe and a third round pick.

On Monday, Mike Keenan was a guest on Halford & Brough where he opened up on stripping Trevor Linden of the captaincy, as well as his time with the Vancouver Canucks as head coach.

"Well, obviously Mark Messier was there and Trevor and there appeared to be a split among the group, amongst the team in terms of those two individuals. That's one thing you can not have in a dressing room is a break like that amongst the players, it just doesn't work and you're not gonna ever have success." Keenan said.

He added, "I know it was a very unpopular move, to move Trevor, but as I said, in the end it worked out extremely well for the franchise because Brian Burke was able to acquire the twins [Sedins] because of that trade. Obviously the twins, the Sedin brothers, did amazing things for their franchise. So, the split in the dressing room was difficult and it was called impossible after a while."

Keenan would go on to spend the rest of the 1997-98 season behind the Canucks' bench, but just halfway through the following campaign, Vancouver fired the Stanley Cup champion and replaced him with Marc Crawford. Crawford went on to help turn the Canucks into a playoff team in the early 2000s, leading them to a Northwest Division title in the 2003-04 season.