One of the greatest players, if not the greatest player to play for the Vancouver Canucks franchise. The epitomy of class & skill, all the best in New York.
Granted there are a lot of Nazzy haters out there but it is true. I wish him all the best and it will be weird not seeing #19 in Canuck colors next season.
The WCE years were some of my greatest as a Canucks fan, but it's time for a new beginning for you and us. Best of luck, and I hope you can return to a 40 goal touch.
As I've said before: I'm embarrassed as a lifelong Vancouverite for the judgement made by seemingly 50% of the fan base against Markus's captaincy and his play during the time we have had a very poor/not even close to complementary to his skill set top 6 for him to play with.
I appreciated his style when addressing the fans and media as captain.
Quote:
Originally Posted by AgentNaslund
thanks Markus, I hope you rip it up pretty good in New York. The fans treated you, tthe highest scoring player in Canucks history like crap
Fully agreed with the above two comments. Only Vancouver fans could roast a guy who contributed so much to the organization over many years, was basically always one of its top players, is its all-time leading scorer and goal-scorer, and brought some of the most fun years in team history, as part of a team renewal after some very dark years.
Any other town, and he is worshiped. His number getting retired would be a foregone conclusion (seriously, how many franchises' all-time scoring leaders don't have that distinction? Any?) Is it because he committed the cardinal sin of not being Canadian? Or because his demeanor wasn't childish or irresponsible, so he gets accused of being emotionless or a bad leader (something the fans couldn't possibly know about in any certain terms)?
I have no idea, but it is a sad parting, and I appreciate what he did for the team. And he stayed classy through all the criticism.
good luck nazzy you treated this organization and its fans with more class than they both deserved. I cant believe how people forgot how this guy practically carried this team on his back for 5 seasons. This just shows me what a joke of a franchise the canucks are. Letting a 20g 40a player who was your captain (and would have signed for the ranger deal or less) walk without a backup plan. So now the only two players who are a clear cut upgrade on naslund dont even know if they wanna play in the NHL anymore. Congratulations gillis you made one of the worst forward crops in the NHL considerably worse, something mike milbury couldn't have planned himself. But hey, at least we are gonna get demitra.
Fully agreed with the above two comments. Only Vancouver fans could roast a guy who contributed so much to the organization over many years, was basically always one of its top players, is its all-time leading scorer and goal-scorer, and brought some of the most fun years in team history, as part of a team renewal after some very dark years.
Any other town, and he is worshiped. His number getting retired would be a foregone conclusion (seriously, how many franchises' all-time scoring leaders don't have that distinction? Any?) Is it because he committed the cardinal sin of not being Canadian? Or because his demeanor wasn't childish or irresponsible, so he gets accused of being emotionless or a bad leader (something the fans couldn't possibly know about in any certain terms)?
I have no idea, but it is a sad parting, and I appreciate what he did for the team. And he stayed classy through all the criticism.
I know there are people who dislike Naslund but I think you are overblowing the extent of it. I think most rational, intelligent hockey fans appreciate what he brought to the team, even those (like myself) who feel it was time for him to move on. Maybe I'm misreading your posts on the matter but it seems like you are suggesting the entire city has chased him out of town, with only yourself and a few brave others defending his contributions...
I know there are people who dislike Naslund but I think you are overblowing the extent of it. I think most rational, intelligent hockey fans appreciate what he brought to the team, even those (like myself) who feel it was time for him to move on. Maybe I'm misreading your posts on the matter but it seems like you are suggesting the entire city has chased him out of town, with only yourself and a few brave others defending his contributions...
It was that way over the past couple of seasons. Overall though, most people seem to appreciate what he accomplished for the team. It's just sad it ended the way it did.
Sad to hear this though it was looking like it was going to be the case moving into this offseason. He's given a lot to this organization and the city and I hope that Naslund is able to really get himself going again in NYC playing with one of their top notch centers.
Didn't someone like Jobu guarantee that Naslund wouldn't get $4 million this offseason? So much for that. I think he's still got some gas in the tank and hopefully this change of scenery gets him going again.
It was time for him to move on and get a fresh start. Hopefully, that gives him the extra jump he needs to put up some good numbers. It just wasn't going to happen in Vancouver. Wish him all the best.
As for all of the bashers who criticize his leadership skills, I don't think many here would disagree that if you lined up all of the 90 C's and A' last season, Naslund would rank right near the bottom of that list of best leaders.
Do any of you remember who was on the Canucks roster at the beginning of the 2000 - 2001 NHL season when they gave Naslund the C in Sweden? Was there really anyone else who should have gotten it back in September of 2000? Jovanoski was 24 in 2000 with 5 years of NHL experience. He shows way more emotion than Nazzy and wore an A here, but does that make him a better captain? I seriously doubt Naslund was lobbying to be the captain. It was bestowed upon him and he ran with it as best he could.
As for giving the C back to Linden, hey to me, that's a move that the franchise should make. Dallas did it with Modano and Morrow. Do you think Modano gave it up to Morrow? Nope, Dallas took it away from Modano because they felt that Morrow would be the better fit as the leader of the team. Burke and company certainly could have done that, but chose not to. I seriously doubt Naslund would have objected to trading his C for an A. Probably would have been a better player if they did approach him.
Sad to see him leave, but he needed a change of scenery.
Naslund was basically the reason why I became a canuck fan back in 01, thanks for the memories Markus.
Had some good seasons as a Canuck. I'd like to say that the money would be better used elsewhere, but there really aren't a lot of viable options out there. This is going to be a bad, bad team next season.
Should have relinquished the captaincy to T. Linden on Nov. 10, 2001.
Quality person and one of the best players in franchise history. I wish him nothing but the best in NY and hope he re-discovers his passion and scoring touch there.
But the criticism is justified. He lost his competitive edge following the Bertuzzi/Moore crap and the lockout, and was a perimeter player here the past three years while being paid like a superstar. If anything, he got a very free ride based on his 1999-2004 excellence, especially for his total defensive non-effort during the 05-06 season.
Play the way Naslund did the past three years as a team captain, you're going to get held accountable in any market.
In any case, the past three years were only a small part of his time in Vancouver, and I'll remember him much more for his greatness prior to the lockout. 4-goal game against Pittsburgh is one that stands out.
Quality person and one of the best players in franchise history. I wish him nothing but the best in NY and hope he re-discovers his passion and scoring touch there.
But the criticism is justified. He lost his competitive edge following the Bertuzzi/Moore crap and the lockout, and was a perimeter player here the past three years while being paid like a superstar. If anything, he got a very free ride based on his 1999-2004 excellence, especially for his total defensive non-effort during the 05-06 season.
Play the way Naslund did the past three years as a team captain, you're going to get held accountable in any market.
In any case, the past three years were only a small part of his time in Vancouver, and I'll remember him much more for his greatness prior to the lockout. 4-goal game against Pittsburgh is one that stands out.
Moreso for Chris Levesque than anything else
I'll never forget the tying goal against Calgary in 2004, or the insane coast-to-coast wrister against Sens.
I was on the ditch Nazzy bandwagon, but I am genuinely sad to see him leave.
All the best Markus. He was my favourite hockey player for a couple years. A treat to watch in his prime. I'm genuinely sad that he didn't get to retire as a Canuck and have a nice Linden-like ovation.
The next player to wear #19 for the Canucks: Cody Hodgson
