I had just finished school for the day, when my mon picked me up and told me that she had head some news on the radio. Trevor Linden had been traded. The greatest player ever to dawn a canucks jersey is now an islander. It makes me sick. In my mind Mike Kennan is the biggest (Choice Word Goes Here) ever! How could he be traded after all he has done for B.C.! He is the reason Canuck Place happened! The following article is from NHL.com.

VANCOUVER (February 6, 1998) - The Vancouver Canucks today traded former captain Trevor Linden to the New York Islanders for their captain -- defenseman Bryan McCabe -- right wing Todd Bertuzzi and a 1998 third-round draft choice.

The 6-4, 210-pound Linden has missed time with a sprained medial collateral ligament, but was cleared to represent Team Canada in the upcoming Olympics in Nagano, Japan.

The 27-year-old Linden has seven goals and 14 assists in 42 games with a minus-13 rating. He had spent his entire 10-year career with the Canucks, compiling 247 goals and 322 assists in 702 games. Linden is second on Vancouver's all-time scoring list behind Stan Smyl and third in goals, assists and games played.

Linden was named Vancouver captain in 1991 at age 21 and held the post until the eve of this season's opener, when he stepped aside to allow newly-acquired Mark Messier to wear the "C."

McCabe was appointed Islanders captain at the start of the season at age 22. Despite low offensive numbers, he has provided leadership and hard hitting from the backline, building a reputation as a solid defenseman in just his third NHL season.

"We are delighted to acquire Bryan McCabe, a defenseman who has shown attributes to be capable of logging a tremendous amount of ice time," Vancouver head coach Mike Keenan said. "Certainly, he will be a cornerstone piece for this franchise. He has the ability to play in all situations, both offensively and defensively, and will add grit, competitiveness and youth to our defense."

In 56 games this season, the 6-1, 204-pounder has three goals and nine assists while tying Sergei Nemchinov with a team-best plus-9 rating. In 220 career games, he has 18 goals and 45 assists with 446 penalty minutes, including 145 this season.

Still just 23, Bertuzzi has been a disappointment in his three NHL seasons, showing only flashes of the form that made scouts bill him as one of the league's next great power forwards. The 6-3, 224-pound winger has seven goals and 11 assists in 52 games this season, matching Bryan Berard with a team-worst minus-20. For his career, he has 35 goals and 45 assists for 80 points in 192 career games.

"He shows a great deal of offensive ability," Keenan said. "Certainly, the development of these players will continue. They're still both very young. We feel at the same time they're a very big part of a program that we're going to move forward with."

The deal was the fourth in three days for Keenan, who vowed that no player on Vancouver's roster was safe when he added personnel responsibilities to his head coaching duties on January 24th.

So far he has dealt away Linden, left wing Geoff Sanderson, right wing Mike Sillinger and a fifth-round draft choice. In return, he has received McCabe, Bertuzzi, left wing Brad May, center Peter Zezel, a pair of third-round picks and a sixth-rounder.

"Our staff and our ownership have had to make some tough decisions but we feel they're good decisions for this organization," Keenan said. "We've also been able in the last couple of days to look to the future, acquire some draft picks that will help solidify our situation."