Kingston Frontenacs GameDay November 16, 2018

Following a standout junior career
with the Kingston Canadians, Ken
Linseman attempted to sign as an underaged
player with the Birmingham Bulls
of the WHA in 1977. The effort exploded
into a full-blown legal conundrum
that was eventually settled only when
Linseman and his family successfully
secured a restraining order against the
WHA thus lifting the ban on his aim to
join the Bulls.
In Birmingham, he got his first
opportunity to show the world of
professional hockey just what kind of player he could
be. He was a scrappy, grinding, shifty centreman
who could score, check, kill penalties, and irritate
opponents with a mastery rarely ever seen. He also
had blinking-quick speed on his skates and a mouth
like Don Rickles to boot. He once noted that, in light of
his style of play, he’d have felt embarrassed to win the
Lady Byng Trophy for gentlemanly play.
Linseman joined the Flyers’ organization in 1978-
79. After half a season with the Maine Mariners
of the AHL, he stepped up to the NHL plate for the
remainder of his pro career. In Philly, he soon became
a leading scorer and agitator with the club. As such,
he was thought to be the logical successor to Bobby
Clarke as a team leader. It was Clarke in fact who
christened Linseman as “The Rat,” not because of his
chippy play, but because he tended to lean forward
OFFICIAL GAMEDAY MAGAZINE, VOLUME 46, ISSUE 11
like a rat when he skated.
Over his four seasons with the club,
he spent most of his time skating on the
“Rat Patrol” line with Paul Holmgren
and Brian Propp. As time went on, he
began to fall out of favour with the club.
He attained a reputation for stirring up
trouble that he rarely ever finished. His
welcome finally wore down to the bare
threads as a result of his incessant string
of penalties that hurt team objectives.
In 1982, his rights were traded to the
Hartford Whalers who in turn shuttled
him on to Edmonton on the same day. With the Oilers,
Linseman skated on a line with Glenn Anderson and
Mark Messier. The trio, along with the rest of the
squad, clicked in a big way, dethroning the New York
Islanders as reigning league champs in 1984.
The following year, Linseman was traded to
Boston where he put in more than five seasons of
his trademark Linseman hockey - scoring points,
playing solid defense, and pestering the opposition to
distraction.
By 1989-90, however, his game began to lose
some steam. He was traded back to the Flyers for
a short spell and then put in a single-season return
engagement with the Oilers. His final NHL stop came
with the Leafs where he played only two games in
1991. He then went overseas to play a handful of
games in Italy before hanging up his blades in 1992.
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