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Despite having a career and some single-season achievements that wouldn’t leave him out of place in preliminary Hall of Fame discussions, few hockey fans seem to even remember the name of Dennis Maruk, one of the most prolific scorers of the early 1980s.

It certainly didn’t help matters that, of the four NHL teams for which he played, three of them no longer exist: the California Seals, Cleveland Barons and Minnesota North Stars. However, in his five seasons with the Washington Capitals, Maruk never had a season with less than a point per game. He had 80 or more points in four, 90 or more in three, and his finest season remains one of the best seasons in NHL history by any player.

In 1981-82, Maruk scored 60 goals and 76 assists for an astounding 136 points. The number of players in NHL history who have scored either 60 goals or 130 points in a single season (much less both) is indeed quite an exclusive club.

Maruk had two stints with the North Stars, though the first in the late 1970s lasted only two games. After four strong seasons in Minnesota in the mid-1980s, his career quickly fizzled out with a combined 28 games played in his final two years with the team, to which was added a five-game run with Kalamazoo of the IHL.

The light that burned twice as bright burned half as long, but Dennis Maruk had left his mark on the scoring books of the NHL. He retired after the 1988-89 season with career totals of 878 points in only 888 games.

It seems that fairly regularly people are complaining that the standards for the Hockey Hall of Fame are set too low, that too many former players are being inducted.

Well, setting aside for the moment that there are a wide array of stellar players since the 1970s who have been passed over, and that it took forever for a player like Glenn Anderson to finally be enshrined, and I have to take issue with that statement as it relates to players of the modern era.

Be that as it may, I have to do a double take and shake my head when I actually hear some people citing Bernie Federko as an example of how the Hall of Fame’s standards have fallen too low. No, I am not joking. There are actually people out there making this argument. Bernie Federko, of all people.

Now, I don’t think the Hall of Fame really needs me to back its decisions to induct various members of the hockey elite. But there is something fishy when Bernie Federko is being used as an example of insufficiently high standards. Indeed, if the bar is going to be set at a level where Bernie Federko misses the cut, we are going to see some pretty spectacular players out in the cold when it comes to future Hall of Fame inductions.

Leave Bernie alone!

Federko is a St. Louis legend where, in the pre-Brett-Hull-and-Adam-Oates era, he singlehandedly was the St. Louis Blues offense. Thirteen of his fourteen seasons were played with the Blues, with Federko breaking the 100-point-barrier in four of them. He enjoyed eight consecutive seasons with over 80 points, and eleven straight with over a point-a-game. He did all of this in an era where the most offensively gifted member of his supporting cast was Brian Sutter.

His #24 jersey hangs in the St. Louis rafters, and despite playing for the Blues in an era where they were not particularly successful in the playoffs, he accumulated 101 points in 91 playoff games. He finished with career regular season totals of 1130 points in 1000 games.

All of this followed a spectacular junior hockey career where, in his final season with the Saskatoon Blades, he scored 72 goals and 187 points in 72 games (with 45 points in 20 playoff games that year).

Bernie Federko is now part of the St. Louis Blues broadcast team, and a rightful member of the Hockey Hall of Fame. Wherever the line is going to be drawn for induction criteria, it should be set somewhere south of Bernie Federko, not above him.

Leave Bernie alone! You’re lucky he even performs for you bastards!

To the new generation of hockey fans, Doug Wilson may be known simply as the young-looking GM of the San Jose Sharks, the man who looks a bit like Bob Saget and built that team into an NHL powerhouse.

They may not be aware that he was the first captain of the Sharks, one of the last men in the NHL to play without a helmet, that only Paul Coffey and Bobby Orr have ever scored more goals in a season as a defenseman, and that he won the 1982 Norris Trophy as the best defenseman in the NHL.

With all the talk these days that the standards for the Hockey Hall of Fame are too low (something with which I have an issue, at least with respect to post-1970 NHL players) it is astounding that each year, when the list of eligible players and injustices are thrown around in the media, we scarcely hear the name “Doug Wilson.”

And while it should not automatically guarantee one’s place in the Hall of Fame, a Norris Trophy should certainly get someone into the discussion about eligibility. Many a defenseman has entered the Hall without winning that piece of hardware, recently including such greats (and contemporaries) as Larry Murphy and Borje Salming.

In Wilson’s case, he finished his career with 827 points in 1024 games, an astounding points-per-game ratio for a defenseman (and also a stellar total). He also added 80 points in 95 playoff games.

He enjoyed his best season in 1981-82 with 85 points, though he was a model of consistency throughout his career. Most impressively, perhaps, is that while Orr and Coffey are the only two NHL defensemen to ever score 40 goals in a season, Doug Wilson potted 39 in his 1982 Norris Trophy campaign.

To this we add one of the colorful anecdotes that tend to go with Hall of Famers, the fact that he took off the tip of Paul Cavallini’s finger with one of his patented slap shots. Indeed, his shot was on par with that of the legendary Al MacInnis, and still stands as one of the greatest cannons from the point in the history of the game.

The Hall of Fame is at least one person short as long as Doug Wilson is sitting on the outside.

Vancouver Canucks fans of the early 1980s may have hated Mike Bossy at the time, but it was the kind of hate that fades with time, the kind that came from losing to greatness rather than the kind that is earned with evil on the ice.

Mike Bossy was one of the classiest and most talented players in NHL history, and it just happened that when Richard Brodeur led the 1982 Vancouver Canucks to their first ever Stanley Cup final (on an unlikely Cinderella run), they had the misfortune to meet Mike Bossy and the New York Islanders in the final.

The Islanders were, of course, in the midst of their famous dynasty that saw a string of Stanley Cups. And in that particular playoff season, Bossy dominated the Canucks and stole the Conn Smythe Trophy (playoff MVP) right from Richard Brodeur’s grasp.

Years later, Canucks fans and the entire NHL have no choice but to respect and admire Mike Bossy’s achievements in hockey. They have been paralleled by few, and he is considered by many to be the greatest pure goal scorer the game has ever seen.

His storied run began in the 1977-78 season (represented by the 1978-79 production run of hockey cards by O-Pee-Chee and Topps). During this season, Bossy set an NHL record for goals by a rookie with 53. He then went on to score 50 or more in his next 8 seasons, with the nine in a row being another NHL record.

He peaked in 1978-79 with 69 goals, and in 1981-82 with 83 assists and 147 points. In the 1980-81 season, he joined the incredibly exclusive club of players to score 50 goals in their first 50 games of a season.

Sadly, injuries cut his career short after only 752 games. However, this did not stop him from scoring 573 goals and 1126 points, for the best goals-per-game and one of the best points-per-game ratios in NHL history. His playoff numbers were equally impressive, with 85 goals and 160 points in 129 games.

His legendary NHL career followed a legendary junior career that saw him score 70 or more goals in four consecutive seasons. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1991, with the Islanders retiring his jersey (#22) shortly thereafter.

It is the only rookie card presently in existence where a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame is wearing a Vancouver Canucks uniform, yet it serves as a painful reminder to Canucks fans of a trade that is (perhaps unfairly) regarded as one of the most lopsided in league history.

While the trade did result in Vancouver losing an undeveloped player who would go on to become one of the grittiest players in league history and one of the remarkably few to ever score 50 goals in 50 games, it is largely forgotten that the player the Canucks got in return (Barry Pederson) had recently enjoyed two 100-point seasons with the Boston Bruins.

Even in his Bruins career, Neely never reached this mark, though perpetual injuries were largely to blame. An additional burn to the Canucks was that they threw their 1st Round (3rd overall) draft pick into the deal, which ultimately materialized into Glen Wesley, who would play over 1400 NHL games.

In three years with the Canucks, after being drafted 9th overall, Neely never topped 21 goals or 39 points. The management decided to go in a different direction, acquiring some proven scoring, and almost immediately upon arriving in Boston, Cam Neely helped lead the Bruins to two Stanley Cup finals in 1988 and 1990.

Neely also won the Bill Masterton Trophy for his perseverance and dedication to hockey, and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2005.

The 1984-85 production run of O-Pee-Chee and Topps hockey cards is actually one of the more aesthetically pleasing sets, with some creativity and workmanship evident in the design. This set is not only pleasing to the eye but includes the rookie cards of several future greats, including Steve Yzerman (Detroit Red Wings), Pat LaFontaine (New York Islanders), Pat Verbeek (New Jersey Devils), Doug Gilmour (St. Louis Blues), Chris Chelios (Montreal Canadiens), and both Dave Andreychuk and Tom Barrasso (Buffalo Sabres).

If Wayne Gretzky’s 1979-80 rookie card is the holy grail of hockey collectors, then Trevor Linden’s debut card ten years later is the Hope Diamond for the Vancouver Canucks faithful.

With a printing of cards to commemorate the 1988-89 NHL season, card manufacturers O-Pee-Chee and Topps produced what would be known as the last pure run of hockey cards before the collectibles market exploded the following year, enticing a half dozen companies to begin production. Players’ cards by each company would then be competing for value in a newly flooded market, giving consumers many options but also creating temporary confusion about pricing and integrity.

Linden’s rookie card was the first publication in a career that would span 20 years, resulting on over 1300 games and 800 points, concluding with a place in the NHL’s top 100 career scoring leaders. In the rookie season that inspired the card, Linden scored 30 goals and 59 points after being drafted 2nd overall by the Canucks, immediately after Mike Modano (who would go on to become the highest scoring American-born NHL player of all time).

The 1989-90 production run included a number of notable rookie cards, including future stars such as Joe Sakic (Quebec Nordiques), Theoren Fleury and Gary Roberts (Calgary Flames), teammates Kirk McLean and Cliff Ronning, and Linden’s fellow finalist for Rookie of the Year, Brian Leetch (New York Rangers). The 1988-89 season represented by these cards was also one of the final appearances on cardboard for soon-to-be Hall of Famers Guy Lafleur and Bernie Federko.

Linden’s rookie card would be denoted #89 in the set. The card is not nearly as exorbitantly priced as a Gretzky or Lemieux rookie card, which are both harder to come by, and have had more time to be abused. Those cards were produced in the days that kids actually treated them like toys and who knows how many were chewed by dogs, tossed in the garbage or used as coffee table coasters.

That said, the relatively low price represents a good value in the context of Linden’s achievements in the game and this piece of merchandise will certainly command a bit of respect and admiration in the fine province of British Columbia, Canada.

Few players in NHL history have enjoyed anywhere near the impact of Wayne Gretzky, the man who holds virtually every single-season and career offensive record in the league. Goals in a season. Assists in a season. Points in a season. The same for his career, almost 1,000 points ahead of the man in second place, former teammate Mark Messier.

As a result, it is no surprise that Wayne Gretzky’s 1979-80 professional rookie card is considered by many to be the holy grail of hockey collectibles. With each one in existence now 30 years old, it is increasingly difficult to find one in stellar condition. They’re actually not that easy to find, period.

Like Mario Lemieux, Sidney Crosby, and Eric Lindros after him, expectations were high for Gretzky as he entered the professional ranks. However, in the late 1970s, few could have predicted that he would singlehandedly revolutionize the game and rewrite the league’s scoring records to an extreme that had really never been previously seen in professional sports. No man had ever scored 160 points in a season. Gretzky would score 200 four separate times. Nobody else has ever scored 200 before or since.

In a confusing convention for hockey cards, the cards are designated by the hockey season during which they were released, not the season of play which the statistics on the back of the card represent. Therefore, Wayne Gretzky’s 1979-80 rookie card is actually the publication made for his 1978-79 season. The card was produced by both O-Pee-Chee (OPC) and Topps.

This season of Gretzky’s actually occurred in the now-defunct World Hockey Association (WHA), a competitor league to the NHL that was absorbed by the larger organization in 1979, the following year. This subsequent season was Gretzky’s first in the NHL. Because of his professional season in the WHA the prior year, he was not technically considered a rookie and was not eligible for the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year, despite leading the NHL in scoring in his first year with 137 points.

In his first professional season, designated by his rookie card, Gretzky split the year between the Indianapolis Racers and the Edmonton Oilers (who joined the NHL in the WHA merger). The season was a smashing success, with 47 goals and 110 points, incredible totals for a rookie. Regrettably, his WHA totals are not included in his record-setting NHL numbers (despite a comparable level of competition) or his career NHL statistics would be even more impressive.

The article I wrote earlier comparing Trevor Linden to Rocky Balboa received a pretty positive response from readers, so thanks for checking in and thanks for the feedback.

With Mats Sundin now in the fold, Canucks fans have plenty of things to think about for the time being besides the heroes of the past, so I figured I would add this small addendum to the topic before the whole Linden discussion started to feel too much like talking about the ghosts of Canucks past.

Linden certainly had his share of great Canucks moments, and as the years rolled on, the scoring celebrations became fewer and far between. One thing that was always evident was the man’s hockey smarts and work ethic, both of which provided (for me anyway) my best and most powerful on-ice Linden memory of his second go-around with the Canucks, a span that lasted seven years. And strangely enough, few people will probably attach a great deal of significance to this particular play.

It was, I believe, 2006-07 (Linden’s second to last NHL season) and the Canucks were either tied or up by one goal with about 2 minutes left in the game. The essence of the situation: the Canucks could not afford to allow another goal, as it would cost them in the standings. And one other thing, the Canucks were two men shorthanded, with the opposing team desperately trying to cash in on the 5-on-3 advantage. With the game on the line, head coach Alain Vigneault put out two defensemen and one forward. The forward? Trevor Linden.

And so it was, that for the first minute and a bit of the extended, lopsided power play, Linden and the two defensemen (Mattias Ohlund and Willie Mitchell if memory serves) scrambled from corner to corner as five well-rested opposing players passed the puck around in search of the ideal scoring opportunity. Ultimately, a shot got through to the net and was smothered by the Canucks goaltender.

With about forty-five seconds left in the game and the two-man advantage, the three exhausted Canuck defenders made their way to the bench. They had done their duty. It was time to get some fresh legs out there to hold off the siege. Make no mistake, even the Detroit Red Wings don’t play workhorse Nicklas Lidstrom for a full 5-on-3 disadvantage. Hell, they probably wouldn’t even play him for the full two minutes of a 5-on-3 power play, where he would tire far less quickly.

Understand this: Quite possibly in all of sports, there is no activity more rapidly draining than killing a two-man power play in hockey. Maybe a Hearns-Hagler fight would compete. Not much else.

And when the Canucks returned to the face-off circle in their own end, ready to weather the last 45 seconds of onslaught, who was the forward who skated back to take the draw? It looked like he was at death’s door, but it was Trevor Linden. And the fans recognized it. I have seen games where Linden scored six points, where he scored overtime goals…and this was one of the loudest rounds of applause I had seen him receive.

Linden was receiving the roar of the crowd for nothing flashy. It was a crowd raucously cheering two minutes of strong hockey fundamentals and smart defensive decisions, the very things that typically go unnoticed. By pushing his late-30s muscles to their limit and using the wisdom that grows as the body declines, Linden had a sold out arena cheering hockey fundamentals.

To this day, that may be the only time I have seen such a thing.

As it happened, the Canucks withstood the storm. Linden and his comrades killed the two-man advantage and either held on for the win or kept the Canucks alive to go into overtime. As you can tell, my memory for the minutia of the situation are far from perfect. There may have been only 30 seconds left when Linden stayed on the ice. The two-man advantage may have been only 1:45 instead of 2:00. But these are the miniscule details that get lost in legends.

A crowd raucously cheering for smart hockey decisions, strong percentage defensive plays… Who would have ever thought?

ASSOCIATED LINK OF THE DAY: Linden Rides in Cancer Fundraising Cycling Event

It has been a little over a month, and most of Vancouver may already have forgotten the news blurb that Hubert “Pit” Martin (64) was killed on November 30 in a tragic snowmobile accident. It was a sad year for Vancouver sports fans, with the passing of young Canucks prospect Luc Bourdon, BC Lions team president Bob Ackles, and media attention also being constantly diverted with the hiring of a new Canucks GM and the impending Mats Sundin signing.

The result: Pit Martin’s death seemed to get lost in the breeze for Canucks fans. An event that would normally have been heartily acknowledged slipped a little through the cracks with a desensitized fanbase that just didn’t want to countenance any tragedy that wasn’t so squarely in its face as to be impossible to ignore.

Well, it is a little belated but Pit Martin, as both a hockey player and a man, deserves some mention around this town and I’m more than happy to do my part. Most hockey fans under 40 or even 50 won’t know much about Martin unless they’ve made amateur hockey historians of themselves. He was a relatively quiet supporting star for the Bobby Hull / Tony Esposito / Stan Mikita-led Blackhawks of the 1960s and 1970s.

He peaked in 1972-73 with 90 points, following up his regular season with 16 points in 15 playoff games. By the time he reached the Vancouver Canucks, where he played his 1000th career game, he had accumulated over 700 points. He skated in Canuck colors for his final two seasons, completing his career with 1101 games, 324 goals and 809 points. He added 100 playoff games and 58 playoff points to his regular season totals.

He was not the last great veteran the Canucks would acquire in the twilight of his career. Other greats that Vancouver has picked up for a season or two near the end of stellar NHL tours of duty include Paul Reinhart, Esa Tikkanen and Mike Keane. And unfortunately, with the bulk of their greatness having been acquired in other uniforms, their achievements may have been underappreciated on the west coast. And with the passage of time (Pit Martin played his last game for the Canucks in 1979) the polish on those memories can fade even further.

But the greatness remains nonetheless. Pit Martin won the 1970 Bill Masterton Trophy, given to the NHL player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey. He was one of the quiet greats of the 1960s and 1970s. Hopefully he received the fanfare he deserved in Chicago.

ASSOCIATED LINK OF THE DAY: Pit Martin statistics at HockeyDB

What do you get if you gene splice Vanilla Ice, Kris Kross, MC Hammer, C+C Music Factory, Kid n’ Play and Salt n’ Pepa? That’s right… Technotronic.

This video is here from the Lost Canucks Memories vault. Back in the Pacific Coliseum days, the Canucks didn’t have the same extensive playlist for stoppages that they currently boast. It seemed that they had a copy of Dance Mix ‘91 and they only rotated the same four tracks. What did that mean? The music didn’t change much, but you learned to like it and you learned to associate it with good Canucks action.

So it was that every twenty minutes or so, you were treated to Pump up the Jam after a Gino Odjick fight, a Geoff Courtnall goal, an Adrien Plavsic offside or a Jiri Slegr slapshot into the stands.

Enjoy, and hopefully it brings back a few memories of the Canucks glory years.

ASSOCIATED LINK OF THE DAY: Go Canuck Yourself