Pat Quinn honored by Vancouver Canucks in touching pre-game ceremony

Before Tuesday’s game in Vancouver, the Canucks paid tribute to late coach, president and GM Pat Quinn.

Quinn, who spent two seasons in Vancouver as a player and another decade as president, coach, and GM, died on Sunday night at age 71. Already an inductee into the Canucks ring of honor, Vancouver paid tribute with a moment of silence followed by a moving career retrospective while anthem singer Mark Donnelly honored Quinn with the singing of Danny Boy.

For the remainder of the season, the Canucks will wear four leaf clover-shaped decals with the letters PQ on their helmets.

During his tenure in Vancouver, Quinn won his second Jack Adams Award as the league’s coach of the year and was instrumental in the drafting of two of the franchises greatest and most iconic players, Trevor Linden and Pavel Bure. His savvy drafting and management helped to lead the Canucks to some of their most successful seasons in team history, including their second appearance in the Stanley Cup Final. That 1994 Final was one for the ages, but ended with heartbreak as the Canucks fell in seven games to the New York Rangers.

A native of Hamilton, Ont., Quinn was residing in Vancouver where he was part owner of the Western League’s Vancouver Giants.

The Toronto Maple Leafs will also honor Quinn this season, the team that he coached for seven seasons. For their next two games, the Leafs will wear four leaf clover patches on their jerseys with the initials PQ.