14 posts tagged “markus naslund”
Last week, Mike Gillis offered David Backes a 3 year offer sheet which the Blues matched within hours.
Today, JD and the Blues fought back and signed Steve Bernier to a 1-year, $2.5 m offer sheet... which the Canucks matched within the hour as well.
They must be LOLing down there.
MG: OH JD You got me good
JD: Hohoho, Merry Chrisstttmaaaaaaaaaas!!!
Anyway... and this makes me sound like a horrible fan, but does anybody else sort of cringe everytime you hear a player say that Vancouver is a team that will compete for the playoffs and the Stanley Cup nowadays? I mean, it's great to have all that confidence in the team, but realistically............... on paper, we look nowhere close to competing for the Cup. Competing for the playoffs, maybe (I mean... competing for the 8th spot is already competing for the playoffs)....
Yeah. Anyway.
About the Naslund fiasco.
I was in a state of shock since his signing last week. He is one of my all-time favorite Canucks, and it is just weird to not see him play all the time anymore. I don't even have NHL Center Ice to be able to regularly watch the New York Rangers, so it would be difficult to keep track of him.
As for my feelings wtih regards to this signing, oddly enough, I don't feel betrayed. I feel sad, and felt that Canucks could have made a similar offer as New York did and they would have been able to bring him back, but Gillis didn't even give him an offer. I felt happy that he is not part of this team, since the fans don't want him back, and the team definitely did not seem like they wanted him back.
I find it weird that a lot of notable Canucks players always left this team and city with some sort of bitter end.
Todd Bertuzzi got traded and he was presumably the "cancer" in the locker room, plus that Steve Moore incident.
Trevor Linden retired after playing a season which probably made him feel like he is not wanted by the coaching staff...
There's also Pavel Bure... now Markus Naslund.
This can't be good can it?
[add] In retrospect, playing for the New York Rangers really is a good thing for a family-man like Naslund. Road trips against division rivals like the Islanders and the Devils are really just a bus-ride away... he doesn't have to spend it in a hotel room somewhere, instead, he can go back to his own home and spend more time with his family.
Edmonton @ Vancouver aka Canucks got kicked out of the playoffs
This happened a week ago, so I don't remember the exact emotions I felt while watching the game at GM Place. I know I was depressed like heck (as you will see on my facebook status) afterwards and so on... I can't remember the efforts they gave during that gam, but I do know...
THEY HAD 923848235894758394 POWERPLAYS AND THEY FAILED TO CAPITALIZE ON EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM UNTIL IT WAS TOO LATE.
Yeah. Good work, guys. One of those powerplays was a 5-minute major.. the refs were practically GIVING the game to us, but it seems like Dwayne Roloson had other ideas.
Calgary @ Vancouver aka Canucks fans say goodbye to Trevor Linden, although he hasn't announced anything yet so he might feel even more pressured to retire now.
Another boring game. Seriously guys, it's FAN APPRECIATION NIGHT. The least you can do is score 3874829374 goals to show your appreciation to the fans, not get scored on 7 goals.
Although it's sort of like a win-win situation as a fan.. :P If they win.. yay they win.. if they lose, YAY HIGHER DRAFT PICK! But I was praying that they lost by like 10-9 or something.
So it was a very depressing game again, in more ways than one. The whole standing O Trevor Linden got was really sad and heartwarming. It was also very sweet of Iggy to take the rest of the Flames players and say their goodbyes to Linden.
But the most depressing for me is the fact that Markus Naslund may not be back as a Canuck or as a hockey player. :( I will really miss you Nazzy, if you don't sign with the Canucks. Don't worry, I'll jump on the bandwagon of whichever team you do sign with and cheer from you there... (Even if it's the Leafs or Flames... or someone I hate just as much.)
Very great of the Vancouver crowd to cheer for Iggy's 50th goal of the season. At first I thought it was only the Flames fans cheering, but they were so loud, and when they announced his 50th in the building, the cheering even got louder.
Anyway. Yeah. My friend and I ALMOST won a jersey. UGH. he guy who won Roberto Luongo's jersey is at Section 311, Row 12, Seat 9... WE WERE IN SEAT 111/112... SAME FREAKING ROW AND SECTION.
The Advantages of NOT Making the Playoffs:
- I save the money that I would have spent on Playoff tickets and can use that money on girly things like clothes, shoes, purses and makeup.
- Canucks get a bit higher draft pick than usual.
- I can fully concentrate on studying for my final.
- ... I'll think of a 4th reason.
The Disadvantages of NOT Making the Playoffs:
- I'd have to read the Canucks forums that's full of bitching everyday.
- It's hard to be rabid when I'm not cheering for the Canucks...
- I'd have to listen to Vancouver sports radio bitching about the Canucks the whole day.
- ... The Canucks are not in the playoffs.
- ... I'll think of a 5th reason.
The rest of the photos can be found on my flickr.
Nazzy is now #1 for the Canucks All Time Scoring! ...At least until Trevor Linden scores a few and takes the lead back, then Nazzy takes it again.. and then rinse and repeat. :D
At the rate AV is benching Linden though, I won't be surprised if he would be unable to even tie the record.
Anyway, I just saw the highlights and it was a wicked assist by Naslund. I'm just glad it wasn't a garbage point or something.
Mattias Ohlund also tied the record for All Time Goals by a Defenseman!
In other news, Canucks win over the Blackhawks, 3-2. Both Brendan Morrison and Taylor Pyatt had 2 point nights (1 G 1 A for Mo, 2 A for Py). Glad to see Pyatt scoring, although I loved him in a defensive role and I actually preferred him in our shutdown line with Kes and Iz.
... Yes. I have a thing for defensive players. Which is why my favorite players list are usually dominated by defensemen.
The Canucks.com Forums had a bit of fun in the GDT turning several players into animals: Kesler and Edler = Moosler and Moodler aka MOOSE; Pyatt became a bunny. LOLz. A BUNNY. HOW FITTING. Too bad he'll always be a cute pink unicorn in my books. Then there's BLACKHAWKS and MIKE HUNT... aka say either of those 2 words really fast and you will see just how immature CDC can be. Yep.
Thanks, NHL for allowing Markus Naslund to celebrate this milestone with the fans by adding the assist half a day late.
Congratulations to Markus Naslund though. :D
Okay. I have 23874234 assignments due in the next few hours so I'm making this short and sweet.
- Roberto Luongo goes for and got the Canucks Shut Out Record! 3 shut outs in a row, baby! :D Glad to have you back in shape, Lui!
- Markus Naslund was robbed of a point tonight. NHL officials are conspiring to never let him have the Canucks All Time Points Record.
- Ryan Kesler is getting under the skin of a lot of NHL players. Careful Kes, we don't want someone crosschecking your mug soon.
Annnnnddddddd a really great Markus Naslund article. Such a good read.
”We had a bad flight after our game in Edmonton (Oct. 20),” goaltender Curtis Sanford said of not arriving in Minnesota for a game the next night until 4 a.m. “This would have been a perfect time to use excuses like we were too tired, jet lag, whatever. But from the moment we stepped on the ice that night, Markus just willed us to a different level with his performance.
”He scored three goals, but he also pulled everyone along with him at a level higher than we had been playing, even though we were 5-0-2 in our previous seven games. You hear stories about great leaders ... Mark Messier ... Steve Yzerman ... Scott Stevens. For me, this was especially special because it was my turn to be in goal.” - Curtis Sanford
”How do you stop a guy like that?” defenseman Willie Mitchell said. “I remember trying to stop him when I was in Minnesota and Dallas. What makes him so good is that you cannot read and anticipate what he’s going to do. He’s so good with the puck, he doesn’t tip off whether he’s going to shoot or pass – and the way he gets off his shot so quickly that it catches defensemen and goaltenders off guard.” - Willie Mitchell
”There are players who are tough to stop like Marian Gaborik and Alexander Ovechkin because of their speed. And there are players who are tough to stop like Brendan Shanahan and Peter Forsberg because of their size and grit,” Detroit Red Wings defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom said. “But the toughest players to cope with are ones like Markus and Joe Sakic because one-on-one they can do so many things, they can beat you one-on-one with their skating ability or puckhandling ability.
”You can’t stand your ground with players like that and take them on one-on-one. They can catch you flat-footed if you don’t stay alert.” - Nicklas Lidstrom
Nazzy, Nazzy, he's our man! If he can't do it no one can!
Markus has a lot of heart and determination and I don't think he gets enough credit for it in this town. -- Canuck centre Ryan Kesler commenting on the captain's recent crease-crashing exploits. (le source)
Yes, quote spamming means I have homework. Tons of it.
Media after Game 1, 2, 3 of the playoffs:
Media after Game 6:MARKUS NASLUND! WHAT A GUY! I'VE NEVER SEEN HIM FLYING OUT THERE, THROWING HITS! NAZZY'S BACK! LOOK AT THE PASSION!
Backtrack, much? I was just LOLing as I listened to some of Jeff Patterson's comments on Naslund. That the "floating" Naslund of the regular season was back after Game 1 where we saw him fly out and be a leader.AFTER GAME 1, I HAVEN'T SEEN THIS GUY SHOW ANY PASSION!
Do you see why I find it so funny? :D He's one of the guys saying how Naslund was playing with so much passion in Game 2 and Game 3, that even though he didn't score, he was making a difference and setting an example for the team.
While I don't disagree that Naslund has to do more than playing with energy now, like score goals or assists on goals and such, he is certainly playing much better this time than he was in the regular season. People used to complain that he doesn't go to the front of the net in the regular season, in this series, I've seen him go to the net and try to tip pucks in. I've seen him dive for pucks to keep them in or tip it out. He threw hits. He is trying hard.
Obviously, to a lot of people, trying hard is not good enough.
Apparently, 54% of Team 1040's listeners seem to think so.
Free pass? What free pass? The only time the media and the fans shut up about Markus Naslund is when he has a little point/goal streak going, but once he doesn't score a goal, they drop him like a hot potato and proceed to rip him up with 3 paper shredders.
I wake up this morning and my mom had the radio on B-mac and Rintoul's morning show at the Team 1040 and you would once again think we lost the game as they were too focused on ripping Naslund on air. Uhh, media? We won last night and Roberto Luongo is tied with Martin Brodeur, with less games played, for the most wins in the NHL season. Can't we talk about that achievement for once?
If Naslund was getting a free pass from the media, we wouldn't be having this sort of discussion about him. And free pass from the fans? Has the voters actually been to the Canucks forum? Have they listened to the callers in the show also ripping Naslund?
If fans are not ripping Naslund about his point production, especially when he's producing, they'd be ripping him for something else: leadership.
I have only been a frequent visitor to the Canucks forum recently, but if it is any indication of fan attitude from 2001, the moment Trevor Linden was traded back to the Canucks, Naslund's "leadership" has probably been questioned by the fans. If you look at the forums now, if they're not discussing his point production, they're discussing whether they should "rip the C" off of him and give it back to Linden because "it belongs to him".
Naslund can do no right in fans' eyes right now.
Never does he look "depressed" though, unlike *some* people I could mention....
(On Linden not smiling after scoring goals)
I don't hate Naslund. I am very concerned though. That was a great assist but that one assist alone does not make Naslund a clutch player. (On comparing Naslund and Yashin's playoff games played vs points)
... He is a really nice guy by all appearances but has never been the Captain that Linden or Smyl were.
Of course it will fall on deaf ears. People are stupid and would rather believe lies then have to face the truth. Naslund just ain't that good anymore. (On fans predicting a 2 goal game for Naslund everytime. :P Even his fans can't get a free pass)
Heh. There's more if you read through the forums, but you get the general idea.
So now, can someone explain to me how he is getting a free pass from media and fans?
And don't even get me started on Tom Larscheid's comments. You know, I was sad to hear he was close to retiring, but after hearing what he had to say, and apparently he did the same thing to Bertuzzi last year, I just can't wait. It's not that I can't accept the "truth" (if Naslund is really the one who's always first out of the rink. keyword: always), but now is not the right time to be discussing the locker room atmosphere. We're heading into the playoffs and all the idiots who hang on to every word Larscheid or the media says are thinking about burning Naslund at the stake. This is when you want to keep the team away from drama as far as possible.
Vancouver was known for being a goalie graveyard before and I have a feeling that will soon change. Being a fan in this city can get incredibly frustrating at times.
Definitely not my 2 front teeth, but a forward (center/winger/whatever) to play with Markus Naslund!
It's much more noticeable how much the Canucks need a forward to play with Naslund when he is flying. And he is flying right now. He keeps making nice plays for his linemates and none of them can't finish it. It's also getting more difficult for Naslund to finish his plays when the other team's defense play him tight and gives him no room to work his shot.
Unless Nazzy is playing with the Sedins, he is the only "dangerous" player on his line. Why focus your attention on his linemates when you can easily shut down that line by shutting down Naslund?
Of course, not all line combinations with Naslund has been bad. Naslund-Kesler worked well together after sometime of being together, but then Kesler needed his surgery. Naslund-Green sort of works fine, too, as he is like Kesler with aggressive forechecking, responsible defensively, but he lacks Kesler's "finish" (mind you, Kesler currently doesn't have a lot of finish, but he still has more offensive upside than Green). Naslund-Moran-Reid line looked good, but that's about it. It's hard to pass judgement on a line that only played 2 games together, but Naslund-Reid wasn't too good.
Naslund and Morrison still has chemistry and they still work great together, but everytime Naslund is put on the Morrison line, Cooke is also in the same line. I have nothing against Matt Cooke, but Naslund must have dished out a few pretty good passes that would have led to a sure goal but he just can't put it in.
Bottomline: Naslund needs another linemate that can work well with him.
