Canucks have subtle snub for ex-captain Messier on Hughes' big day
Quinn Hughes is the 15th captain in Vancouver Canucks history, though some have been more memorable than others.
And indeed, the Canucks chose to ignore one of them when they announced Hughes as captain on social media this morning.
A graphic created by the team has Hughes front and centre, with 13 of 14 previous captains in the background. Orland Kurtenbach, Stan Smyl, Trevor Linden, Markus Naslund, and Henrik Sedin are featured most prominently, but all the others are there too — except one.
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Roberto Luongo, Bo Horvat, Kevin McCarthy, Don Lever, Chris Oddleifson, Andre Boudrias — they’re all there.
Even Doug Lidster and Dan Quinn, who shared the C with Trevor Linden for just one year in 1990-91, have their images included.
Mark Messier, however, is not pictured.
It underlines how Canucks fans view Messier, still, more than 23 years after he left town. Messier wore the C for all three seasons he spent in Vancouver, from 1997 to 2000. It’s in stark contrast to how Messier is viewed as a leader outside of Vancouver.
Messier was commonly known as one of the best leaders in sports before signing with the Canucks in 1997. The NHL now has a leadership award named after him.
But in Vancouver? Messier has been remembered by fans as the guy who took Wayne Maki’s number and the C from Trevor Linden. His arrival coincided with a lot of losing, the hiring of Mike Keenan, and the exodus of a long list of fan favourites from the 1994 team.
The Canucks have been in an awkward position when recognizing their history of captains ever since.
All-time list of Canucks captains
- Orland Kurtenbach (1970-1974)
- Andre Boudrias (1975-1976)
- Chris Oddleifson (1976-1977)
- Don Lever (1977-1979)
- Kevin McCarthy (1979-1982)
- Stan Smyl (1982-1990)
- Trevor Linden/Doug Lidster/Dan Quinn (1990-1991)
- Trevor Linden (1991-1997)
- Mark Messier (1997-2000)
- Markus Naslund (2000-2008)
- Roberto Luongo (2008-2010)
- Henrik Sedin (2010-2018)
- Bo Horvat (2019-2023)
- Quinn Hughes (current)
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