Has Thomas Gradin's 38-year run with Canucks come to an end?
There are few people who have done more for the Vancouver Canucks than Thomas Gradin.
The Swedish franchise legend has been involved with the organization since 1978 and has held a huge variety of roles, most recently acting as an amateur scout for the team.
In total, Gradin has spent 38 seasons with the team, eight as a player and 30 as a scout. But has Gradin’s time with the Canucks quietly come to an end?
The Canucks have removed all mentions of Gradin from the staff section on their website. He used to be on the top row of the amateur scout’s section, between Ron Delorme and Martin Bakula, but he is now gone.
Gradin is nowhere to be seen (Canucks.com)
Using the internet archive Wayback Machine we can see that Gradin was listed on the team’s website as an amateur scout as recently as April 4. He was removed at some point since then.
Reddit user u/Taygr made the discovery a few days ago, and nothing has changed on the website since.
“Thomas is still with the organization and a proud member of the Canucks,” the team said in a statement provided to Daily Hive. “He has stepped away to spend more time with his family this summer.”
The 68-year-old has never worked for another NHL team since he rejoined the Canucks organization in 1994 as an amateur scout.
Another Canucks legend, Stan Smyl, vacated the Canucks’ hockey operations department back in October. He remained with the club as a community and business ambassador.
The Canucks first traded for Gradin back in 1978. He played eight years with the team, scoring 197 goals and adding 353 assists for 550 points in 613 games. He not only scored at a better than point-per-game pace during his peak seasons, he also got Selke Trophy votes for his defensive prowess.
Thomas Gradin had mad skill. That's Ken Morrow he beats one on one. He made many Dmen not look their best. #Canucks pic.twitter.com/NcIdW43uo8
— The Hockey Samurai 侍 (@hockey_samurai) February 18, 2023
He returned to the organization in 1994 as a scout and played a key role in discovering some of the Swedish players who became club legends in their own right.
As a scout, he played a role in finding the Sedin Twins, Alex Edler, and a huge number of other players who eventually wore the Canucks sweater.
Gradin was introduced into the team’s Ring of Honour in 2011, earning one of the highest honours possible from the organization.
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