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Willes: Canucks cast shows Sami Salo love for reaching 700 games

Saturday afternoon, while his teammates were congratulating Sami Salo for his game-winning overtime goal against the Minnesota Wild, Alex Burrows was busily retrieving the puck as a souvenir for the Finnish defenceman, prompting the question, why?

Pucks are saved for a player’s big moments. His 500th career goal. His 50th goal of the season. His first hat trick. None of these applied to Salo.

So what was the big deal?

As things turned out, it was Salo’s 700th career game. But it’s what those 700 games represent that tells the story here.

“We love him so much,” said Burrows. “For him to come back this year with all the injuries he suffered and taking a pay cut. And he still wants to win more than anyone. He’s a warrior.”