The real reason Gino Odjick was traded by the Canucks.

The behind the scenes story comes to light.

Jonathan Larrivee
Jonathan Larrivee
Published 1 year ago
The real reason Gino Odjick was traded by the Canucks.
Glenn Cratty/Allsport/Getty Images

On Sunday, the hockey world was shaken by the tragic passing of 52 year old former National Hockey League enforcer Gino Odjick. Odjick was a beloved figure in the sport of hockey and especially in indigenous communities for whom he was one of the early trailblazers in the sport of hockey

While it is always sad when someone passes away, it can also be a time that brings joy when those who are left behind can share their favorite memories and stories of those who have passed on. It should come as no surprise that there are many, many, stories of this nature when it comes to Odjick and on Monday NHL insider Elliotte Friedman shared a truly inspirational one.

During his most recent podcast, Friedman would go into detail about why Odjick would be traded by the Vancouver Canucks and it is a story that is likely going to make you love the man even more than you already did. According to Friedman, Odjick was traded after he stood up for a teammate when he got on the wrong side of former Canucks coach Mike Keenan.

"I think the thing that I remember is... why he was traded by the Canucks," said Friedman on the 32 Thoughts Podcast. "He wasn't a Mike Keenan guy. Pat Quinn was fired, Mike Keenan comes in, and a lot of the people who were prior to Keenan were gonna be gone."

The teammate that Odjick was sticking up for? None other than former Vancouver Canucks captain and team president Trevor Linden.

"He stood up for Trevor Linden," revealed Friedman. "Mike Keenan and Trevor Linden were feuding and he stood up for Linden and from that time it was only a matter of when the Canucks were gonna trade him. I always respected that about Odjick, he stood up for his captain even though Linden had given up the captaincy to Mark Messier, and Odjick was doing what he always did and stood up for a teammate.

"He got traded because of it and he thought it was the right thing to do and I really respected that about him."

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