Unlike Ducks teammate Ryan Kesler, the former Canuck who demanded a trade but never admitted it, Bieksa never wanted to leave. But he accepted the trade to Anaheim when Benning made it clear there was no longer a place for Bieksa on a Canucks team that needed to get younger, faster, cheaper players.

He said he has kept in touch with Canucks Daniel and Henrik Sedin, Alex Burrows, Alex Edler, Dan Hamhuis and others.

“I’m just proud of the culture, I think, that we built,” Bieksa said before Friday’s game. “Coming up with the twins and Burr and Edler, we turned the team into a contender and had some really good years here — the back-to-back Presidents’ Trophies and, obviously, the deep run in the playoffs the one year. Just proud of the culture, proud of everything we accomplished.”

Bieksa played 597 games for the Canucks, amassing 241 points and 879 penalty minutes. Longevity means something and the under-sized blueliner from Grimsby, Ont., is certainly among the 10 best defencemen in the franchise’s 45-year history. He may even be top-five, not far below Mattias Ohlund and Jyrki Lumme. Of course, we don’t know yet where Edler and Chris Tanev will finish.