Let’s immortalize the Big Irishman
The name and legacy of Pat Quinn is synonymous with many of the proudest hockey moments in Vancouver history, including the Canucks’ second run to the Stanley Cup Final in 1994, the opening of GM Place ( now Rogers Arena) as the country’s first privately financed arena since Toronto’s Maple Leaf Gardens and a Memorial Cup title for the Vancouver Giants in 2006.
Many of those memories were shared Friday night when the Giants paid tribute to Quinn in much the same way the Canucks did at Rogers Arena a week and a half earlier.
His career arc spans a stint as an original member of the expansion Vancouver Canucks in 1970, as head coach of the Canucks from 1991 to 1994 and as GM and team president from 1987 to 1997. It also includes his tenure as a minority owner of the Vancouver Giants of the Western Hockey League, since before their inaugural season in 2001.
An inductee in the B. C. Sports Hall of Fame ( W. A. C. Bennett Award winner in 2013) and a member of the Order of Canada ( 2012), Quinn is more than just a civic or provincial treasure. He also played for the Toronto Maple Leafs and the old Atlanta Flames before coaching in Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Vancouver, Toronto and Edmonton.
Such is Quinn’s stature that hockey fans and media in Vancouver and Toronto claimed him as one of their own when he died on Nov. 23. Both the Canucks and Leafs are wearing “PQ” decals on their helmets to honour his memory.
Yet Quinn’s greatest hockey accomplishments saw him strike gold for Canada as head coach of the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympic men’s champions, marking the country’s first Olympic title in 50 years. He coached Canada to World Cup gold in 2004 and then went on to win gold for Canada as head coach of the 2008 IIHF Under- 18 champions and 2009 IIHF U- 20 World Junior Hockey Champions.
Most recently, he served as chairman of the Hockey Hall of Fame selection committee and is guaranteed to be inducted there himself alongside many of the players, coaches and executives he helped honour.
Yet the outpouring of respect for Quinn in the days since his death is only a reflection of how large an imprint he’s made on hockey in particular and the community in general.
The legacy of Pat Quinn — above and beyond the baseline of his hockey accomplishments — is so strong that he merits having his name forever enshrined in our civic history. You’ve heard a chorus of voices cite his role in restoring the prestige of NHL hockey in Vancouver and making the Canucks relevant again after the dog years of the mid- 1980s.
His 1993- 94 edition of the Canucks may not have been as talented as the 2010- 11 Stanley Cup finalists, but they are arguably the most revered professional sports team in Vancouver history.
One of Ron Toigo’s brilliant moves as majority owner of the Giants was bringing Quinn and Gordie Howe on as minority partners in the launch of the new expansion WHL franchise at the turn of the millennium. Toigo knew Quinn would bring immediate respect to his fledgling major junior hockey franchise. Most insiders note the positive impact he had on the early success of the Giants as WHL and Memorial Cup winners.
Future generations of Canucks fans could be forever reminded of Quinn’s leadership on the strength of Pat Quinn Way; the proposal to rename that portion of Abbott Street between Expo Boulevard to the north and Pacific Boulevard to the south. Under such an initiative, Gate 16 honouring franchise icon Trevor Linden would be appropriately connected with the man who drafted him in 1988.
The grand stroke would take place at the Pacific Coliseum; home of Quinn’s greatest NHL coaching achievement — and the site of the best win in franchise history in Game 6 of the 1994 Stanley Cup Final. Renaming the Coliseum Pat Quinn Arena — or perhaps Pat Quinn Place to differentiate from Pat Quinn Parkdale Arena in his hometown of Hamilton — would be another fitting tribute and would also honour his ownership of the Giants.
With such a strong association with both the Canucks and Giants, the city, Canucks Sports & Entertainment and the WHL club should work together to honour Quinn’s legacy in complementary fashion.
There is no better one- two punch to recognize the Big Irishman than with Pat Quinn Way downtown and Pat Quinn Arena ( or Pat Quinn Place) on Renfrew Street.