Kenneth S. "The Rat" Linseman (born August 11, 1958) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two o ...

centre who played 15 seasons in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey sports league, league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranke ...

for the

Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games in Wel ...

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. They play their home games at Rogers Place, which ...

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The ...

and

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Divi ...

. He also played one season in the

World Hockey Association The World Hockey Association (french: Association mondiale de hockey) was a professional ice hockey major league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major league to compete with the National Hockey League (NHL) ...

for the Birmingham Bulls.

Playing career

Linseman spent his entire junior career with the

Kingston Canadians The Kingston Canadians were a Junior ice hockey, junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League from 1973 to 1988. The team played home games at the Kingston Memorial Centre in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. History The Kingston Canadians arri ...

of the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League from 1974–77. He played in 187 games, scoring 286 points (133 goals-153 assists). He also added 33 points (16G-17A) in 25 playoff games. Prior to the 1977 WHA draft, Linseman and his agent Art Kaminsky sued the WHA in United States District Court for a league rule preventing teenage players from playing in the league, which the court ruled violated anti-trust laws. Linseman was drafted by the WHA's Birmingham Bulls in the

1977 WHA Amateur Draft The 1977 WHA Amateur Draft was the fifth and final draft held by the World Hockey Association. __NOTOC__ Selections by Round Below are listed the selections in the 1977 WHA Amateur Draft. Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Round 4 Round 5 Round 6 ...

, and spent the 1977–78 with the Bulls, getting 76 points (38G-38A) in 71 games, and adding 4 points (2G-2A) in five playoff games. He was then drafted by the Flyers as their first-round, 7th overall pick in the 1978 NHL Amateur Draft. Linseman began the 1978–79 season with the

Maine Mariners Maine Mariners may refer to: * Maine Mariners (AHL), an ice hockey team in Portland, Maine, which operated from 1977 to 1992 * Maine Mariners (ECHL) The Maine Mariners are a professional ice hockey team in the ECHL that began play in the 2018 ...

of the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the le ...

, getting 39 points (17G-22A) in 38 games before getting called up by the Flyers. He finished the season in Philadelphia, earning 25 points (5G-20A) in 30 games, then added 8 points (2G-6A) in 8 post-season games. Linseman spent the entire 1979–80 season with the Flyers, getting 79 points (22G-57A) in 80 games, then added 22 points (4G-18A) in 17 playoff games. An injury limited Linseman to 51 games in 1980–81, getting 47 points (17G-30A), and had 20 points (4G-16A) in 12 playoff games. 1981–82 was the best season of Linseman's career, as he scored a career high 92 points (24G-68A) in 79 games, and had 275 PIM, which was 7th highest in the NHL. In 4 playoff games, Linseman registered 3 points (1G-2A). On August 19, 1982, the Flyers traded Linseman, along with Greg Adams and Philadelphia's first and third round picks in 1983 to the

Hartford Whalers The Hartford Whalers were a professional ice hockey team based for most of its existence in Hartford, Connecticut. The club played in the World Hockey Association (WHA) from 1972–73 WHA season, 1972 until 1978–79 WHA season, 1979, and in the ...

in exchange for

Mark Howe Mark Steven Howe (born 28 May 1955) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman and left winger who played sixteen seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) following six seasons in the World Hockey Association (WHA). He is cur ...

and Hartford's third-round pick in 1983. The Whalers then swapped Linseman to the Edmonton Oilers with Don Nachbaur for

Risto Siltanen Risto Siltanen (born October 31, 1958) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey defenceman. He played eight seasons in the National Hockey League for the Edmonton Oilers, Hartford Whalers and Quebec Nordiques. Career statistics Regul ...

and Brent Loney. Linseman picked up the

nickname A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...

"The Rat" both by his appearance and the way he played. He had a great talent for agitating the opposing team to a high level of frustration, leading them to take penalties. He was once charged for kicking a player in the head with his skate

With the Oilers in 1982–83 NHL season, 1982–83, Linseman had 75 points (33G-42A) in 72 games, and helped the Oilers to the Stanley Cup finals with 14 points (6G-8A) in 16 post-season games. In 1983–84, Linseman had 67 points (18G-49A) in 75 games, and helped the Oilers win the Stanley Cup with 14 points (10G-4A) in 19 games. He scored an NHL record 3 series clinching goals, since tied by Martin Gélinas of the

Calgary Flames The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary. The Flames compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference, and are the third major professional ice hockey tea ...

in 2004. After winning the Stanley Cup, Linseman found himself on the move as the Oilers dealt him to the

for Mike Krushelnyski on June 21, 1984. Linseman had a solid 1984–85 season, with 74 points (25G-49A) in 74 games, and added 10 points (4G-6A) in five playoff games. Injuries held Linseman to 64 games in 1985–86, but he scored 81 points (23G-58A), and in 3 playoff games, had 1 assist. His production fell in 1986–87, as he was held again to 64 games, getting 49 points (15G-34A), and in 4 playoff games, had 2 points (1G-1A). In 1987–88, Linseman was healthy again, and saw his point total increase, getting 74 points (29G-45A) in 77 games, and helped the Bruins to the Stanley Cup Finals, earning 25 points (11G-14A) in 23 playoff games. Linseman had a productive 1988–89 season, as he got 72 points (27G-45A) in 78 games, however a late season injury prevented him from playing in any playoff games. In 1989–90, Linseman began the season with Boston, playing in 32 games and getting 22 points (6G-16A). He was traded to the Flyers on January 16, 1990 in exchange for Dave Poulin. Linseman then played 29 games with the Flyers, getting 14 points (5G-9A) as the team failed to make the playoffs. On August 31, 1990, Linseman signed as a free agent with the Oilers and spent the 1990–91 season with the team, getting 36 points (7G-29A) in 56 games, and had an assist in two playoff games. On October 7, 1991, the Oilers traded Linseman to the Maple Leafs for cash; however Linseman spent only two games with Toronto, getting no points. He was released by the Leafs, and ended up playing 5 games in an Italian Hockey League with HC Asiago, getting 6 points (3G-3A) in 5 games, and then 7 points (3G-4A) in 6 playoff games. After the 1991–92 season, Linseman hung his skates up and retired.

Awards and achievements

* Stanley Cup champion –

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast As ...

* OMJHL Second Team All-Star –

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democrati ...

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Linseman, Ken 1958 births Living people Asiago Hockey 1935 players Birmingham Bulls draft picks Birmingham Bulls players Boston Bruins players Canadian ice hockey centres Edmonton Oilers players Ice hockey people from Ontario Kingston Canadians players Maine Mariners players National Hockey League first-round draft picks Philadelphia Flyers draft picks Philadelphia Flyers players Sportspeople from Kingston, Ontario Stanley Cup champions Toronto Maple Leafs players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Italy