Brad Fay
Brad Fay
Three months into my TV career in Vancouver, I was sent downtown to interview Pat Quinn.
While it was among my first major assignments covering the Canucks, it would ultimately be one of Quinn's last with the team. This was just prior to the start of the 1997 season and all you-know-what was about to break loose following the signing of Mark Messier and the arrival of Mike Keenan.
Quinn wouldn't last in Vancouver until Christmas.
As I sat waiting opposite an empty chair, I could hear him coming down the hall before I could see him. My first thought when he did appear in the doorway was: 'I had no idea Pat Quinn was eight feet tall.'
That was followed by: 'Is he going to take out his gum and throw it at me?'
Literally and figuratively, Quinn was a massive presence and my only defence was a common acquaintance. A friend of my Dad's had played with Quinn in Vancouver during the Canucks' inaugural 1970-71 season.
'I know George Gardner,' I squeaked.
And it worked. Now, I'm not going to suggest I had him - nobody ever HAD Pat Quinn - but it earned me one of those famous Irish grins and at least allowed the interview to continue without me throwing up at the big man's feet.
I don't know if I tossed the word reverence around much before watching Pat Quinn as a fan and then meeting the man. And that sentiment echoes throughout British Columbia.
Quite simply, the Canucks were a brutal franchise before Quinn broke out of L.A. and busted into town, and they were a very competitive one shortly after he arrived.
Perhaps the words that officially jump-started that process were 'a proud westerner' which Quinn invoked for his introduction of No. 2 overall pick Trevor Linden at the 1988 draft.
Not only did Quinn get his man, but the long-suffering fan base in B.C. immediately felt like they were in something together. Incredibly, 26 years later that 'proud westerner' now holds down the same president's job with the Canucks Quinn carried with dignity for so long.
The following summer's legendary pilfering of Pavel Bure at the draft set the table for the franchise's high-water mark in 1994. And it's no coincidence that a team celebrated like no other in Vancouver history also included so many B.C. boys Quinn had brought home via trades.
Did Cliff Ronning, Greg Adams and Geoff Courtnall play harder for a potential Stanley Cup parade in Vancouver because they had roots in the hockey-mad province? To the fan base, it certainly felt that way. They were proud westerners indeed.
Yes, Pat Quinn was born in Hamilton but he'll always feel like a part of the Vancouver landscape. He is the one who brought hope to a hockey team and its followers who didn't have much to look forward to in the 17 years that preceded his arrival.
We've all seen the footage of Quinn skating out on opening night 1970 in jersey No. 3, sporting the perfect hair and that chiseled face.
Who knew that night at the Pacific Coliseum that his fingerprints would be all over the franchise by the time he left this world, way too soon at 71.
But they are and they always will be.
Post By http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/pat-quinn-vancouver-canucks-legacy/
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