Have you ever wondered what NHL players do on an average day? Well, wonder no more, my friend! Trevor Linden was kind enough way back in 1996 or 1997 to give Leaf access to his home so we the fans could witness all the crazy shenanigans that go on behind the scenes of a real-life NHL player’s life. I imagine a lot of booze, blonde bombshells, autograph seekers, and horseplay of all kinds. I mean, remember these exposés into the lives of NHL players?

Ah, memories…

It really was sad in those days when players needed second and third jobs like selling 1991-92 Topps cards just to make ends meet. Things were definitely a little better in the mid-to-late 1990s as you’ll see below, but Trevor still showed his working-class roots throughout this Leaf subset.

I can hardly wait to get into these! Let’s go, shall we…

Here we’ve got Trevor placing an early-morning call. Even though he’s a rich hockey player, he’s not one to lay in bed until 2 in the afternoon. Dude’s got stuff to do and he gets on it early! Respect, Trev, RE-SPECT! Also gotta love the old brick phones we all used to have back then. Props to Leaf for making sure we could date this photo almost to the day it was shot.

Now we get to witness the physicality that goes into becoming a great NHL player. Here’s Trevor cutting his sticks down to size… literally.

Is it just me or does Trevor look a lot like Elvis Stojko here?

Seriously, Elvis you really do look like Trevor Linden, and… hey, you know what, you kinda look like a young Robert DeNiro…

Damnit, Steve… rabbit hole, rabbit hole… get back to the induction…

Right… Trevor Linden… doin’ stuff…

“Yes, you the smelly-looking one in the back with the yogurt stains on his crotch.”

Here is Trevor meeting with some prospective Canucks front office staff. Always good to get ’em young before they move off to other employment opportunities in the private sector. Good help is always so hard to find…

And what’s this? Another golf shot! I thought Upper Deck had cornered the market on the excitement of hockey players playing golf, but maybe Upper Deck gave up the rights to these action-packed cards after the disaster that was the “Be a Player” set. What was UD’s loss was Leaf’s gain. Just look at the determination on Trevor’s face. Look at how his mouth is all tight and tense as he swings that club over his shoulder. And nice product placement for “Starter” too, by the way. Man, I miss those old “Starter” jackets we all used to own during that 1992-1994 period.

Of course, after such a hard day, the former Canucks captain needs to unwind a bit and take in the breeze by the Pacific Ocean. It’s good to contemplate life, love, and whether or not you remembered to turn the stove off before you left the house.

And then he is able to settle down in front of his computer and get his taxes done. Or maybe he’s reading fan mail, I really don’t know. I could go and check the backs of these cards to get the straight dope on these things, but meh, I got better things to do.

And another thing: Is it just me or are all these shots taking place in the morning? That’s a lot of daylight I’m seeing in these cards. If Trevor actually did all this stuff in one morning, that would be pretty damn impressive, not to mention the fact that he also changed his clothes about 37 times. That’s pretty time consuming, going through the closet, picking out a shirt and pants, and then rummaging through the sock drawer for something that is going to wow the clients and let them know you’re edgy but fun. You know, I just love socks that have pictures of bacon and pizza and kitty cats and… rabbit hole, Steve!