Wow, tough one. I mean, I loved Linden from 1989 to 1996, which is a good chunk of time (7 straight seasons). Check out his goals' totals in those first seven seasons:
30
21 (sophomore slump + missed 7 games)
33
31
33
32
18 in 48-game season (pacing for -- wait for it! -- 31)
33
Just incredible consistency, and then in the playoffs he was even more impressive with 80 points (+12) in 79 games, which is noticeably better than his RS scoring. I think he was pretty good defensively in these years, and when you factor in scoring consistency plus leadership he was quite a rare and valuable player.
The problem with Linden's career, of course, is that he suddenly declined at age 26 (when the Canucks hired Tom Renney to coach). Nobody else was scoring much that season either (including Bure), so maybe you give Linden a mulligan for that one season... but then he hit rock-bottom, along with the franchise, in 1997-98, with 7 goals in 42 games and then was rail-roaded out of town.
And, despite his appearance on the 1998 Olympic team, Linden was basically a third-liner from 1996-97 through 2007-08. On the c.2001 to 2004 Canucks team that was strong, Linden wasn't yet an old-timer, but his results don't look too good. (For example, on the 2003-04 team, he was the third center in scoring and was the only Canuck among the top-16 scorers to be a 'minus' on the season.)
At the end of the day -- and seemingly in contrast to his size and strength, which should have favored him -- we have to conclude, I think, that Linden was one of the players who did not adapt well to the "dead-puck era", and could not remain anywhere near All-Star level in that period.
Carbonneau won more, had a longer period of high-level play (albeit not offensively, which is a rarer skill), and was a Selke-God (not that I take that award too seriously) from 1984-85 through 1993-94. It should be noted, however, that Carbonneau was ignored in Selke voting for most of his final six seasons.
Finally, we have to acknowledge that Carbonneau is now enshrined in the Hockey Hall of Participation.
So, yeah, if we were looking at each player's first seven seasons, I'll go with Linden quite confidently. (Yeah, I know, Carbonneau got his Stanley Cup in his third season, but does anyone think his playoff performance in '86 -- though great -- was more impressive than Linden's in '94? I don't.)
But if we're looking at the entire career, I think I have to go with Carbonneau. It's a little unfair, because Carbonneau played on better teams in the back-half of his career, and also since Carbonneau was never a big offensive threat (not to say he didn't have offensive skill, because he did), his numbers don't look as deflated as Linden's do later on (Carbonneau also played only three seasons in the Dead-Puck Era, and in one of those he was a minus.... on a 114-point team!).
So, the comparison is a little skewed in Carbonneau's favor, but I think I'm gonna go with him anyway, just for sustained consistency and long-term contribution to winning teams. (But make no mistake -- Linden from 1988-89 through 1995-96 was a beast.)
