Surprising news that came seemingly out of left field. I don't think it's a coincidence that this came immediately after the last remaining player to be signed (Virtanen) cane to terms today. Linden made sure that whatever work he had on the go was completed before parting ways.
Definitely not feeling the jubilation with liberal dabs of venom that some seem to be. Linden was a poor fit as president and his track record was spotty, but he's still a class act who's given pretty much all of his adult life to one or both of the organization and the city. I am still a huge fan of him, and I'm hopeful that some of the bitter feelings about him as president can fade with time.
I have no idea what to make of this in the larger view of "where do the Canucks go from here". A large part of that has to do with the personnel still remaining in the front office - namely Aquilini and Benning. I'm inclined to give Aquilini some benefit of the doubt seeing as how he oversaw one of the true golden ages for the franchise, although the rumours of his meddling in team affairs are worrisome. I worry about Benning, still, and him overseeing the whole hockey operations department - even on a temporary basis - worries me.
That said, he and Linden always presented themselves as if they were in lock step (even when they would inadvertently completely contradict one another). I guess now we find out if one or the other was really steering this ship now - if Benning goes about doing things in the same way that it's been done for the past four years, we can gather it was him. If things suddenly change, we can gather Linden was the one calling the shots.
Either way - I wish Linden luck in his next endeavours. I hope he decides to participate with the Alumni in some games, their mission statement and impact on the province and its inhabitants seems like a great fit for him. He's a good guy and I hope he enjoys whatever comes next.
For the team, I hope it's onward and upward.
Oh - and I'd rather Benning be signed to a five year extension than let Dean Lombardi anywhere near this team's front office. f*** that man.