Born in Medicine Hat, Alberta, Trevor Linden starred for the hometown Tigers in the WHL where he won consecutive Memorial Cups in 1987 and 1988. In 1987-88, he scored 110 points, helped Canada win the gold medal at the World Junior Championships, and was chosen second overall by the Vancouver Canucks at the 1988 NHL Entry Draft. He was also named to the WHL East Second All-Star Team in his final season. The 6'4" winger scored 30 goals as a rookie in 1988-89 and was runner-up to Brian Leetch in the Calder Trophy voting. Linden was also named to the league's All-Rookie Team and seemed destined to be one of the top power forwards in the game. He went on to hit the 30-goal mark five more times and represented Canada at the 1991 World Championships. In 1994, he scored 25 points in 24 games while helping Vancouver come within a game of winning the Stanley Cup. His immense contribution to charitable causes was acknowledged in 1997 when he was the recipient of the King Clancy Memorial Trophy.



By the late 1990s, the Canucks began retooling their roster and traded Linden to the New York Islanders for Todd Bertuzzi, Bryan McCabe, and a draft pick in February 1998. A few days after the emotional deal, the veteran forward represented Canada at the Nagano Olympics. Linden scored 47 points for the Islanders in 1998-99 and was traded to the Montreal Canadiens for a draft pick after the season. He competed well on the struggling Habs but experienced a few injury problems. Linden was acquired by the Washington Capitals in a four-player deal just before the March deadline to add some experience to their playoff drive. The Medicine Hat native spent parts of three seasons in Washington before returning home to Vancouver early in the 2001-02 season. Since his return to Vancouver, Linden has gone on to surpass the 1,100 games played and during the 2003-04 season became the Canucks All-Time leading scorer.