Trevor Linden is no longer the president of the Vancouver Canucks.
The team's owner, Francesco Aquilini, announced the decision in a series of tweets on July 25.
"This afternoon Trevor Linden stepped down as president of the @Canucks. He’s looking forward to pursuing other opportunities and spending time with his family," Aquilini wrote in his first of 12 tweets.
"I deeply value everything Trevor has done for this city and this franchise. He is tremendously popular in Vancouver, and for good reason. I thank him for helping us get to this point, and I wish him nothing but the best in his future endeavours," he added in another tweet.
"The timing is unexpected, not necessarily that it happened," says Canucks blogger Daniel Wagner. "I expected it to happen after the end of the next season."
Wagner, who writes the Courier's Pass It To Bulis column, says that Linden and Acquini "just didn't see eye to eye and when there are two viewpoints of how a team needs to progress, one needs to go.
"The owner isn't going anywhere so that leaves Trevor."
In a press release from the Canucks, Linden called it "a difficult day."
"I love this city and this province, and I will always have a special relationship with this team and Canucks fans," said one of Vancouver's all-time favourite hockey players.
After Linden retired as the team's star player, he reinvented himself as a businessman. He's most well known as the co-founder of Club 16 Trevor Linden Fitness clubs.
As to the Canucks, Acquilni's tweets on Wednesday said that the team's general manager, Jim Benning, will "head up hockey operations and report directly to the ownership group."
Aquilini noted that Benning and head coach Travis Green "will continue rebuilding the team as per the plan we have in place."
Wth files from Glen Korstrom of Business in Vancouver.
