9 memorable Gino Odjick moments with the Canucks

It was an incredibly sad weekend for the Vancouver Canucks and their fans, as franchise legend Gino Odjick passed away at the age of 52.

He was one of the most beloved figures in franchise history, spending eight of his 12 NHL seasons with the Canucks. Odjick was certainly the toughest character to ever put on a Canucks jersey, finishing his career in Vancouver with 2,127 penalty minutes.

That’s certainly reflected in this snapshot of his most memorable moments as a Canuck.

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1. Odjick goes ballistic against the St. Louis Blues

This was undoubtedly one of the wildest moments in Canucks history.

With the Canucks down 8-2 in Game 6 of their first-round playoff series against the St. Louis Blues, Odjick went ballistic after forward Glenn Anderson poked at the puck after it was covered by Canucks netminder Kay Whitmore.

That kicked off this wild sequence.

Odjick received 37 minutes of penalties on the play.

2. Shootout goal versus Mike Vernon

The Pacific Coliseum was seldom louder than it was on October 19, 1991.

Although Odjick wasn’t known for scoring goals, he had a chance to bury a penalty shot marker against legendary Calgary Flames netminder Mike Vernon in the third period of a game in which the Canucks led 3-2.

Odjick skated straight in on Vernon, and with the puck standing on end, he snapped it home blocker-side. His celebration was legendary.

3. Fights Dave Manson and Stu Grimson in first NHL game

There were a few notable things to remember about Odjick’s first game in the NHL.

First, he wore the No. 66, as a tribute to Mario Lemieux. However, that only lasted one game. The NHL apparently called the Canucks after Odjick’s first game and requested that he change his number. Odjick obliged and wore No. 29 for the rest of his Canucks career.

Odjick fought two all-time tough guys in his first NHL game, including Stu Grimson, who was nicknamed “The Grim Reaper” and was considered one of the toughest players in NHL history.

4. Unlikely friendship with Pavel Bure

They couldn’t have come from two more different backgrounds.

Pavel Bure was born in Moscow, Russia, while Gino Odjick hailed from the Algonquin Reserve in Quebec.

Despite their differences, Bure and Odjick became close friends. Odjick even named his son Bure.

“[He’s] one of my best friends and just, he’s a good person,” Bure said in the clip above.

5. Taunts Oilers after fight with ripped shirt

This clip might just be the epitome of Odjick.

During this early December contest in 1992, Odjick had a back-and-forth bout with Edmonton Oilers’ tough guy Louie Debrusk.

During the fight, he loses his equipment and rips his undershirt.

He then proceeds to taunt the Oilers’ bench, ripped shirt and all.

Classic.

6. Scores two goals in one playoff game

It took until his 28th career playoff game for Odjick to register a postseason point.

However, he accomplished the feat in style.

Odjick scored not once, but twice, in a Game 2 victory over the eventual 1996 Stanley Cup champions, the Colorado Avalanche.

The winger would end up scoring three goals in six games during this series, despite entering the postseason with no points in 26 career playoff games.

7. Odjick takes out Dominik Hasek

Odjick would never let the other team take liberties against his teammates, even if it meant stepping too far across the line.

That was evident in this clip below, where Odjick blatantly lays out Buffalo Sabres netminder Dominik Hasek. However, as you can see in the clip, the way he starts pointing to the Sabres player in the penalty box makes it pretty clear that he ran Hasek as retaliation for something that happened earlier in the game.

There’s another example of him retaliating to a hit by Philadelphia Flyers star Eric Lindros. He sucker punches Lindros as retaliation for something that transpired a few seconds earlier.

8. Odjick versus McSorley

During his eight years in Vancouver, Odjick racked up 127 fights.

That stands as a franchise record, with the next closest Canuck being Garth Butcher, who had 94 scraps for the franchise.

One of Odjick’s most regular dance partner was Los Angeles Kings enforcer Marty McSorley.

Although the two fought a number of times, this bout stands as one of their best.

Simply put, they just don’t fight like this anymore, and that’s probably a good thing.

9. Gino scores 16 goals in 1993-94

Throughout his eight years playing for the Canucks, Odjick scored 46 goals.

Unbelievably, 16 of them came in one season.

Not only that, but 14 of those goals came in the first half of the season. That accounted for 30% of his goals in a Canucks uniform.

Odjick spent more time playing in the upper half of the lineup, with players such as Bure, Greg Adams, and Cliff Ronning assisting on the majority of his goals from that season.