With the Toronto Maple Leafs naming Auston Matthews their new captain, Vancouver Canucks fans are reminded of the “dark ages” when Mark Messier joined the team and unseated Trevor Linden as captain.
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In 1997, Messier joined the Canucks on a three-year contract. He left the New York Rangers, where he helped them win the Stanley Cup in 1994. Upon his entry to Vancouver, Messier was named captain.
There was no definitive reason if Messier demanded it or if Linden politely asked Messier to take the ‘C’ as a formality.
In 2021, NBC interviewed Messier about what he would change about his time in Vancouver. Messier spoke about the decision to be the captain.
“If I had to do it again, I would not have accepted the captaincy and tried to do it in a different way. I think that’s probably the thing I’d change the most,” Messier told NBC.
He expanded on it later with the Daily Hive.
“I would never have done that again because it’s hard to unseat a sitting captain,” Messier said, referring to Linden. “He obviously had some very loyal support from the city, the players, the organization because of what they were able to accomplish. There were some problems internally in the team that the organization wanted to try to help. And I think, collectively, everybody thought that that change could help that. Unfortunately, it was the wrong decision by everybody. I should have come in and led from behind and supported Trevor and tried to fix the internal problems that existed in a different way.”
The Canucks current captain, Quinn Hughes, is beloved by the fan base and won his first Norris Trophy as the NHL’s best defenseman.
Related: BREAKING: Quinn Hughes Becomes First Canucks Defenceman To Win The Norris Trophy
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