Wayne Maki

Wayne Maki will always be known for this ugly incident on the ice:



Born in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Wayne joined older brother Ron "Chico" Maki with the Chicago Black Hawks in the 1967–1968 season.

In 1969 he was claimed by the St. Louis Blues. In a preseason game on September 21, 1969, Maki and Boston Bruins defenceman "Terrible" Ted Green engaged in a violent stick-swinging fight. Broadcasting legend Dan Kelly described the incident as “one of the most horrifying, most violent exchanges I’ve ever seen in hockey.”

After narrowly avoiding an angry strike by Green, Maki retaliated with his own stick and hit Green in the head. Green suffered a fractured skull and a brain injury.

“I could see right away that Green was badly hurt,” Kelly told Brian McFarlane. “When he tried to get up, his face was contorted and his legs began to buckle under him. It was dreadful. I almost became physically ill watching him struggle because I knew this was very, very serious. I remember it like it happened yesterday.”

Assault charges were laid against Green and Maki. The NHL suspended and fined both players. Maki was suspended for 30 days and Green for 13 games “if and when he returns to hockey." Green missed the entire 1969-70 season, but did return to action and played for nearly another decade.

Perhaps disturbed by the incident Maki never stuck with the Blues that season. The Vancouver Canucks claimed Maki in the 1970 NHL Expansion Draft. The wingman was an early hit in Vancouver, being among the team's scoring leaders in each of the club's first two seasons.

Maki's career came to a sudden halt in December 1972 when he was diagnosed with a cancerous brain tumour. He died later that season, on May 12, 1974. He was only 29 years old.

The Canucks took Maki's #11 jersey out of circulation ever since, though Mark Messier wore the number when he joined the team in 1997. No player has worn #11 since Messier's departure in 2000

In 246 games played Wayne Maki scored 57 goals, 79 assists, 136 points, and 184 penalty minutes in regular season play. In 2 post-season games played, he added 1 goal and 2 penalty minutes.

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Canucks Trivia

Who was the first Canuck player to score 40 goals?

Which Canuck goaltender registered the first shutout in franchise history?

Who was the first Canuck to be awarded a penalty shot?

Which Canuck goalie surrender Wayne Gretzky's first NHL goal?

Who holds the Canuck record for the fastest 20 goals from the start of the season?

Which general manager is responsible for trading Cam Neely?

Who scored the 5,000th goal in franchise history?

Where was former Canuck Claude Vilgrain born?

While the Canucks have yet to win the Stanley Cup, the Vancouver Millionaires won it in 1915. Name the other British Columbia team to win the Stanley Cup.

Popular Harold Snepsts is of what national descent?

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Adrien Plavsic

This is Adrien Plavsic, a once promising defenseman who played in over 200 NHL games but never truly caught on. 

Plavsic was at best sound if not spectacular. He had some good tools. He was a mobile skater with a good first step boost of speed. He had a hard point shot. He played with composure. But, despite his good size, he was lack of physicality. Some mistook that as a lack of heart, which is incredibly wrong. The physical game was just not his forte, and ultimately hindered his effectiveness at the NHL level.

Plavsic was drafted by the St. Louis Blues 30th overall back in 1988. Plavsic was attending the University of New Hampshire at the time, but a year later he dropped out to play for Dave King's Canadian national team.  He would grow enormously as a player and a person with the Nats.

A year later Plavsic turned pro. He apprenticed in the minor leagues and earned a short 4 game call up with the Blues. But by the trading deadline in 1990 Plavsic was a key prospect traded to Vancouver for veterans Harold Snepsts and Rich Sutter.

I remember Plavsic best as a Vancouver Canuck. There were high hopes that he could be groomed into a power play point man but that never materialized. He would play part time in Vancouver in 1990-91 before being loaned back to the Canadian national team for the 1991-92 season. That was a bittersweet time for Plavsic. He was out of the NHL, but he was back with Dave King's Nats where he felt very comfortable. His development was aided by the return, and he helped the team win the silver medal at the Olympics in Albertville, France.

Plavsic returned from Albertville a better player. He finished that season in Vancouver strongly. He had some health issues in 1992-93 but otherwise had a solid season. But by the 1993-94 season his play had waned to the point where he was a part time NHL player again.

Plavsic left Vancouver in 1995. He briefly played in Tampa Bay and Anaheim before extending his career in Germany and Switzerland.

Plavsic was an interesting player in that expectations perhaps did not exceed his ability so much as they were misplaced in the first place. Yes Plavsic could skate and had some offensive upside, but he was never going to become a top offensive defenseman like so many had hoped. Instead he could have been a solid depth defenseman who quietly did many things well but not great. His lack of offensive production and physicality ultimately hurt him.

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Brandon Reid

Brandon Reid only had a couple of cups of NHL coffee totalling just 22 games. But he was a dynamic skater and as hard working a player as he was creative, and you could not help but pull for the little guy. It really showed in his 7 game trial with the Canucks in 2003 which was extended with 9 more games in the playoffs.

Reid was junior superstar with Halifax and later Val d'Or, but he had trouble convincing NHL scouts he could one day make the jump to the big leagues. Despite his obvious skill, speed, creativity and determination, he was passed over in the 1999 draft completely.

It was not until he starred as a Canadian WJC hero in 2000 that he really caught the NHL's attention. He helped Canada win bronze in both 2000 and 2001, and led both Halifax and Val d'Or to Memorial Cup appearances (winning the Most Sportsmanlike Player award both times.

Yet the Vancouver Canucks still waited to the 208th overall in the 2000 draft. Bottom line, Brandon Reid's size, or lack thereof, really hurt his NHL chances.

Ultimately NHL scouts proved to be correct. He never found the right fit to let his speed and creativity off-set his lack of size. He tended to overhandle the puck at times and his defensive game also held him back.

Outside of his 13 games he proved to be a serviceable AHLer with the Manitoba Moose before moving to Europe where he was a fan favorite in both Germany and Switzerlan.

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