Alex Burrows poured his heart out with the help of the folks at The Players' Tribune, writing a thoughtful, classy, and heartfelt farewell to the Canucks organization and city of Vancouver.
He touched on the improbability of his 12-year run with the Canucks, trading punches with Dennis Wideman, the team's rivalry with the Blackhawks (as well as his famous overtime goal to defeat them in the 2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs), the bonds his family formed with other Canuck families, and his new opportunity in Ottawa.
Here's a snippet from his post:
Thanks again for turning a lucky break into a lucky life.
As someone who came from nothing and then played 12 years for this franchise, I still kind of can't believe it happened. But I'm so glad it did. Please don't forget about me - and please, if you get a chance, make sure to pass along some words of mine to next year's rookies. Just give them the following message: Wear that sweater with pride. And don't let anybody take it away from you.
Each week, theScore looks at the teams, players, and other hockey figures trending upward and taking a step back.
▲ Brad Marchand
While we would prefer to avoid repeating subjects in consecutive weeks, Brad Marchand's skyward trajectory has forced our hand.
The sudden Hart Trophy candidate strengthened his case Wednesday night in Calgary, seizing the NHL's outright lead in goals with his 36th, and matching Connor McDavid and Patrick Kane for top spot in the overall scoring race with his 76th point.
Marchand's two points helped Boston knock off one of the league's hottest teams, marking Bruins' fourth win in a row. They are now 12-3 under Bruce Cassidy, moving five points clear of the pool of the Atlantic Division contenders chasing the final spot in the postseason.
Only Patrick Kane has scored at a higher rate than Marchand's 4.27 points per 60 minutes in all situations since Cassidy took over.
▼ The Devils
There's no easy segue from a Hart Trophy candidate to the New Jersey Devils.
Not usually, anyway.
Since the start of March, Brad Marchand has as many goals as the New Jersey Devils (8).
It's obviously been a horrific last couple weeks for the Devils, who are winless in 10 consecutive outings. But in the process they have slid three positions in the Eastern Conference standings, which, in the backward world of sports, provides far greater organizational advancement than trading wins.
Winners of three in a row, the Arizona Coyotes - who have been second from the bottom all season - are now just two points back of the Devils in the overall standings. Should the Devils fall back, it could mean as much as two draft slots with the Vegas Golden Knights penciled in at No. 3.
▲ Erik Karlsson
Though fewer contenders are in the running, the Norris Trophy picture, similar to the Hart, isn't so certain anymore either.
Erik Karlsson has been lauded for his "buy in" all season. Now, that defensive responsibility is beginning to facilitate the video-game totals that have made him the blue-liner to beat in the Norris vote for the last several seasons.
Increasing his shot totals, Karlsson's scored at greater than a point-per-game pace over the last two months, continuing to slowly hack away at Brent Burns' scoring lead among defensemen.
▼ The Wild
Minnesota slipped from its perch atop the Central, simultaneously losing for the fourth time in five tries while the charging Chicago Blackhawks picked up their 14th win over the space of 17 games Tuesday night.
The consequence of finishing second isn't as severe as a similar tumble in the Metropolitan Division, where the No. 3 seed could finish with 110-plus points. But, if the Wild - the Western Conference's top performing team all season - fail to nail down the No. 1 seed, it changes the club's postseason outlook drastically.
A runner-up finish ensures that the Wild would have to go through the entire Central Division in a potential path to the Stanley Cup Final. This would include a matchup with the Nashville Predators, who represent a far greater threat than the No. 8 seed in an enfeebled conference, and an assumed matchup with the Blackhawks without home ice.
It's been a forgettable season for Matt Duchene and the Colorado Avalanche, but the talented forward got a major monkey off his back Wednesday night.
Duchene grabbed the loose puck and buried the tying goal against the Detroit Red Wings midway through the second period, scoring for the first time since Feb. 19.
The dynamic center raised both arms, then dropped them in a clear sign of relief after snapping the 11-game drought, which began before the trade deadline, when he was the subject of constant trade speculation.
Duchene leads the league-worst Avalanche with 17 goals and ranks second with 37 points in 64 games.
CALGARY, Alberta - Brad Marchand scored his league-leading 36th goal of the season and David Backes returned after getting hurt to score the game winner and the Boston Bruins defeated Calgary 5-2 on Wednesday night to end the Flames' 10-game winning streak.
Marchand is also tied with Chicago's Patrick Kane and Edmonton's Connor McDavid for the top spot in the NHL with 76 points.
Backes got tied up with Flames defenseman Mark Giordano and was taken into the corner boards 12 minutes into the game. He was favoring his leg as he was helped off the ice.
But he returned seven minutes into the second period and on his second shift back he broke a 2-2 tie. Backes took a pass from David Krejci on a 3-on-2 and from 30 feet whipped a wrist shot over the glove of Chad Johnson.
David Pastrnak scored twice, and Matt Beleskey also scored for Boston. The Bruins' fourth straight win moves them within three points of the second-place Ottawa Senators in the Atlantic Division.
NEW YORK - A U.S. district court upheld an arbitrator's ruling that reduced Calgary Flames defenseman Dennis Wideman's suspension for knocking a linesman to the ice in a game last season.
The NHL says in a statement released Wednesday night that it disagrees with the court's decision but understands the standard needed to overturn the decision. The league says it is ready to turn the page.
Wideman was suspended 20 games for hitting linesman Don Henderson and knocking him down during a game against the Nashville Predators on Jan. 27, 2016.
Commissioner Gary Bettman upheld that suspension, but neutral discipline arbitrator James Oldham ruled that Wideman did not intend to injure Henderson and reduced the suspension to 10 games.
Sean Couturier, Claude Giroux, and Dale Weise also scored for the Flyers, who closed within five points of the idle New York Islanders for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Making the postseason remains a long shot for Philadelphia with just 13 games remaining and four teams to pass.
Philadelphia snapped a three-game losing streak while handing the defending Stanley Cup champions their fourth shutout of the season.
The road-weary Penguins completed an eight-day, five-game road trip that took them through four time zones as they traveled 4,763 miles. The journey got longer due to Tuesday's snowstorm in the Northeast, which caused the Penguins to fly home from Calgary late Monday night rather than directly to Philadelphia. Pittsburgh arrived in Philadelphia late Wednesday morning.
With 95 points, Pittsburgh remained two behind idle Washington for first place in the Metropolitan Division and the best record in the NHL.
Mason posted his third shutout of the season and the 33rd of his career. He saved some of his best work for late in the game, making three strong stops within four minutes of each other with under 10 minutes remaining.
First, he denied Oskar Sundqvist's short-handed chance from right in front with 9:55 remaining. Then, Mason made a good pad save on Nick Bonino with 6:48 left before fully extending his left pad to deny Ian Cole's slap shot.
Simmonds scored his 29th of the season and 200th of his career while tying teammate Brayden Schenn for the NHL lead with his 15th on the power play with 13:40 left in the second period to put Philadelphia up 2-0. Shayne Gostisbehere took the initial shot and Simmonds put the rebound over a sprawling Matt Murray.
Couturier put Philadelphia on the board a minute into the second when he also went high over Murray from close range after the puck deflected to him right in front of the net.
Murray had to go to the bench with 11:34 left in the period when he was inadvertently hit in the head by Philadelphia's Travis Konecny, but was able to stay in the game.
Murray finished with 24 saves.
Giroux scored on a wrist shot from the slot that beat Murray with 4:16 left, and Weise finished the scoring with 47.3 seconds remaining.
The game featured the return of defenseman Mark Streit, the former Flyers assistant captain who was traded by Philadelphia on March 1.
NOTES: Flyers D Brandon Manning (upper body) missed his second straight game and forward Jordan Weal (lower body) also was out of the lineup. . Penguins forward Matt Cullen returned to the lineup after missing three straight games due to a lower-body injury. . Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz received a loud ovation when he was introduced while attending his first Flyers game. . The Penguins lead the season series 2-1. The teams will wrap it up March 26 in Pittsburgh. . Sidney Crosby remained one assist shy of tying Jaromir Jagr for second place on the Penguins' all-time list. Crosby has 639 assists. Mario Lemieux owns the club record with 1,033.
UP NEXT
Penguins: Return home to host the New Jersey Devils on Friday night.
Flyers: Play the second game of a back-to-back at New Jersey on Thursday night.
The Detroit Red Wings forward showed off his blazing speed Wednesday night against the Colorado Avalanche, zooming from one end to the other and tucking it in on the breakaway.
It was the 16th goal of the season for the 22-year-old, who's second only to Tomas Tatar (17) for the team lead.
