The man is somewhat of a mystery to me. For one, he's not really very much talked about when it comes to players from that era.
But when he came up into the big league, he was considered a great talent, an offensive weapon who played with an edge. He had speed and the skill to do some damage, a shifty playmaker type.
He was also disliked as a pest and was a bit of a dirty player who spent a lot of time in the box. But then also had a really good playoff record with all the teams he played. 120 points in 113 games is really quite good and it's not like he got all of those on the Oilers juggernaut, in fact his Oilers playoffs weren't even his best.
Would he be the most skilled pest ever? Doesn't his playoff record show that maybe if he had laid off the whole dirty stuff a bit his numbers could have been much better? Did he have HoF talent? It's often said his overall effectiveness was greater than the numbers indicate, so maybe he was actually a more valuable players than say a Turgeon type player?
I actually liked this guy. He started out as an underage in the WHA with Birmingham (Baby Bull's as they were affectionately called) after some legal wrangling. When he landed in Philly in 78-79 he spent a half a year in Maine, and after awhile was tagged heir apparent to Bobby Clarke for obvious reasons, who also nicknamed him "The Rat". Not because he was dirty per se', but because of his skating style. Quiet upper body, head tilted up & back, butt extended, wee tiny legs flailing away at warp speed.
He had skill, serious guttersnipe with the mouth, stick, elbows, great at starting problems but never finished them and as such wore out his welcome, a liability forever traipsing off to the box, his actions resulting often times in his team mates taking a beating for what he'd done or said. Edmonton on a line with Messier, a Cup, taking down the Isles; followed by Boston where he was an extremely valuable part of that club for 5 seasons. Return to Philly, then Toronto for like 2-3 games. Interesting player. Maybe a good comparison cross would be a little bit of Derek Sanderson, a lot of Bobby Clarke, a dash of Dave Keon....
I don't think Linseman is getting enough credit here.
He had outstanding speed and was a very good playmaker. But he was also a clutch goal scorer who was better in the playoffs than the regular season.
He was also one of the dirtiest players of the modern era with a personality to match. From what I've heard he hasn't mellowed any in retirement either.
I don't think Linseman is getting enough credit here.
He had outstanding speed and was a very good playmaker. But he was also a clutch goal scorer who was better in the playoffs than the regular season.
He was also one of the dirtiest players of the modern era with a personality to match. From what I've heard he hasn't mellowed any in retirement either.
I think that's what I found so interesting, he seems to be a much better talent than generally acknowledged. When you hear about Linseman, you usually just hear about him being a yapper, a s***-stirrer and all that. Looking at his playoff record though he seemed to be a really nifty player though.
... he was actually, "nifty" & "shifty". Heck of a skater, deke'r, Pinball Wizard. I think "crafty" best describes his pure hockey abilities & smarts. I mentioned Keon earlier, Henri Richard would be another comparison however in Linesmans case nowhere near being the Gentleman those guys were, none of the class or leadership, but sorta/kinda similar in-game... imagine John McEnroe on skates. In both cases, genuinely upset & disturbed, at the refs', hos Coach, opponents, team mates, the waitress he ordered a tuna salad sandwich from earlier in the day who forgot to hold the lettuce & mayo. Permanent scowl & sneer plastered on the face. You could see he was a terrific player, however, he'd just do stuff, pull crap, yack. His tongue tripping his feet. Cant do much when your sitting in the Penalty Box yourself and or caused a team mate to take a penalty because of your big mouth or irresponsible actions....
Last edited by Killion: 04-15-2012 at 05:27 PM.
Reason: Typos...
I don't think Linseman is getting enough credit here.
He had outstanding speed and was a very good playmaker. But he was also a clutch goal scorer who was better in the playoffs than the regular season.
He was also one of the dirtiest players of the modern era with a personality to match. From what I've heard he hasn't mellowed any in retirement either.
I do know he lived in the Boston area for quite some time, (don't know if he still does), and was a pal of a local rocker who liked surfing, Ralph Fatello. Fatello gave him guitar lessons and I know they used to go surfing around New England, (usually with Fatello's brother) and take trips to the west coast/pacific on occasion to take on bigger waves.
I do know he lived in the Boston area for quite some time, (don't know if he still does), and was a pal of a local rocker who liked surfing, Ralph Fatello. Fatello gave him guitar lessons and I know they used to go surfing around New England, (usually with Fatello's brother) and take trips to the west coast/pacific on occasion to take on bigger waves.
I've heard about that. Fatello's raised a lot of money for charity, surfing 365 days a year through the worst weather the NE can deliver... Linesman not exactly endearing himself to many in the surfing crowd apparently. Seems he just cant keep his yap shut with trash talk, even in the laid back hurachi wearing world of rip curls & Dick Dale. 54 going on 17. Boston Townies "apreeseeate it" if he'd just move on back up to Canada; rumored that local boy & Bruins fan Denis Learys' amusing video "Im an A**Hole" was inspired by #13's behaviour on & off the ice... Yepp. And not to be forgotten, Young Kenny kicked another player in the head with his skate in Junior while playing for the Kingston Canadians, wound up getting himself charged for his loss of sanity by the local constabulary...
LInseman was truly a guy that you hated if he was on another team and loved if he was on yours. At least from a fans perspective. (Not so sure the players he played with felt the same way. ).
I got a good chance to see a lot of Linseman when he played for the Oilers. He fit in quite well with his speed and his brash attitude, though his role on the Oilers was more of a secondary player than it had been for the Flyers.
No question he was skilled but to be honest I don't think he was that much better than a guy like Tikkanen at his peak. And by this I think most people under estimate how good a hockey player Tikk was rather than over estimate Linseman.
yepp, that'd be correct.
). 
