Dear Alexandre Burrows,

Thank-you, hardly seems enough for what you gave this city for 12+ years, but I’m going to try. First things first, please know that you never once for a second ever let me down.

Fans from across the league never really knew just how lucky Vancouver Canucks fans were to have you as a part of the team. The road wasn’t any easy one, but you stayed the path. From a ball hockey champion, to the Quebec Major Junior League, to the AHL to the NHL. From a rookie looking to make his mark to a seasoned veteran, you did it all and you did it with incredible grace.

822 games over the last 12 years in Vancouver, you have embodied everything that it meant to have the heart of a Canuck. You were never meant to make it to the NHL, let alone play on the top line for an extended period or score a franchise dragon slaying goal or become a pillar within the community and mentor for the younger players.

At the beginning no one was sure of what kind of impact you could or would go on to have in an NHL lineup. Most people saw you as tenacious with innate ability to get under the skin of your opponent and didn’t see the potential beyond that. Somehow, I think both Marc Crawford and Alain Vigneault always knew, and when AV made that seemingly crazy decision one fateful February day, to put you on a line with the Sedins, it gave people pause. And the rest as they say, is history. He was right, they were wrong, and you continued to prove all your critics wrong every single day.

You never let the negativity in. You rose above it all, every step of the way. You always did whatever was asked of you by the coaches or management. You were and are the consummate professional on and off of the ice. And when called upon to help carry on Rick Rypien’s legacy with mindcheck and help raise awareness about the importance of mental health, you were there. You gave everything you had with every shift on the ice and every moment you gave to the community in your tenure with the Vancouver Canucks.

Thank-you, thank-you, thank-you and thank-you again for 12 incredible years of dragon slaying, the ever persistent pursuit of your dreams, and inspiring so many more to never give up. I wish you all the best in Ottawa, but remember, that you will always be our dragon slayer. You made Luc Bourdon proud. You made your coaches proud. You made your teammates proud. You made this city and Canucks fans around the globe proud.

And to THIS fan, you will always and forever be a Canuck. When I have felt like giving up, all I have had to do was think of how you always kept pushing forward despite the odds and I would be reminded that when you tune out the negativity, anything is possible. Thank-you doesn’t seem quite enough but it’s what I have to offer. Thank-you for everything, BURR.

Sarah E.L.