After 28 games over two seasons with the Capitals, Linden had scored only four goals and three assists. On November 10, 2001, the Capitals traded Linden, along with a second-round draft pick in either 2002 or 2003 (used to select Denis Grot), to the Canucks in exchange for their first round pick in 2002 (used to select Boyd Gordon) and a third-round pick in 2003 (later traded to the Edmonton Oilers, who selected Zack Stortini). Linden scored 34 points with Vancouver in 64 games, which included his 1,000th regular season game on March 26, 2002, against the Los Angeles Kings. In his first playoff series with Vancouver in six years, he scored a goal and four assists in six games.