I loved Markus Naslund as a player pre-2004 but absolutely hated him as a captain. But that was for reasons that had nothing to do with hitting, and I thought Henrik Sedin was a terrific captain.
Confirmed with Link: Bo Horvat is the new captain of your Vancouver Canucks
- Thread starter Mr. Canucklehead
- Start date
I loved Markus Naslund as a player pre-2004 but absolutely hated him as a captain. But that was for reasons that had nothing to do with hitting, and I thought Henrik Sedin was a terrific captain.
TheUnusedCrayon
Registered User
- Apr 12, 2018
- 1,466
- 1,511
I beg to differ. He used to be a workhorse on the forecheck. Boardplay used to be one of his strengths and this year the only time he touches the boards is if he has the puck on his own stick.
Also checking stats are so random. A weak nudge is considered a hit in some arenas and you have to blow a guy up in some other places.
Diversification
Registered User
- Jun 21, 2019
- 3,017
- 3,755
Right, the guy who has an NHL trophy for leadership named after him is worse than the guy who could have single handedly prevented the whole Moore Bertuzzi fiasco but wouldn't (or couldn't). Not even close...
Last edited:
moog35
Registered User
- Jul 25, 2007
- 2,364
- 874
moog35
Registered User
- Jul 25, 2007
- 2,364
- 874
Yes even though Lou was not much of a captain. He was lucky to have Willie Mitchell here who was really the de facto captain during his time here. Lou was made captain more to assuage his bloated ego more than anything else.
moog35
Registered User
- Jul 25, 2007
- 2,364
- 874
Agree with your points on Lou. I do think Naslund was better than Lou. Neither were good captains though IMO
Bo will end up being a better captain than Henrik was. He will never be as good of a player but I think he will end up being a much better captain
Star Ocean
Registered User
- Dec 30, 2018
- 3,583
- 2,003
WTG
December 5th
Bo is in his first year as captain.
He needs to have some leeway.
People are WAAAAY to critical of Bo. This is a guy who had improved every season since being in the NHL. I'm confident he will grow into the role.
He needs to have some leeway.
People are WAAAAY to critical of Bo. This is a guy who had improved every season since being in the NHL. I'm confident he will grow into the role.
clunk
Registered User
Unpopular take: Mess wasn't even a quarter as bad as people say he was with the Canucks. Sure, he regressed a tad and didn't do as well as expected, but I still liked the game he brought. There was the whole situation with Wayne Maki's number and Linden feeling obligated to give him the captaincy, but the guy was considered the 'best captain of all time', even at the time. To not give him the captaincy would have been lunacy. I think the cult of Linden really over exaggerated how bad he was after the locker room riffs which lead to Linden getting traded. Love or hate Keenan, but that trade took guts and was fantastic for the future of the franchise.
In recent memory hard not to name Messier and Luongo as the worst captains. At least Luongo wanted to be a Canuck and didn't divide the room or try to divide the room.
clunk
Registered User
I always see people mention this but don't put any blame on Linden. There are two sides to the story, and there is a clear bias against Messier. Linden has quite a huge ego and it wouldn't surprise me at all if that's the reason the room became divided. He was upset he was no longer the centre of attention. That's my guess, anyways. Remember, not everyone took Linden's side against Messier. It's revisionist history to imply like the entire team was against him, which just wasn't true.
Melvin
21/12/05
WTG
December 5th
John Johnson
Registered User
- Apr 11, 2019
- 2,084
- 1,864
moog35
Registered User
- Jul 25, 2007
- 2,364
- 874
When Messier came to Vancouver, all the media started talking about whether he'd take over the captaincy from Linden. It went on, and on, and on, until it became such a distraction, that Linden finally just stepped down, to settle it.
Fast forward a few years to when Linden returned to Vancouver, and Naslund was captain. The media started up again about Linden taking over. Linden immediately stepped up and said it's Naslund's team, and he doesn't need a 'C' on his sweater to contribute.
That's the difference between Messier and Linden. One of them put his teammates first, and twice put the captaincy aside to prove that. The other allowed his ego to become a distraction to the team, and contributed to a divided room, in order to get that 'C'.
MarkusNaslund19
Registered User
- Dec 28, 2005
- 5,478
- 7,855
f*** there are some stupid takes in this thread. Especially regarding the past. If you weren't a fan when Naslund or Messier were captains and are just guessing based on the odd passing comment, just admit it and don't have a strong opinion.
Naslund wasn't a bad captain per se. We were a team built around wingers, when has that ever worked?
Naslund wasn't a bad captain per se. We were a team built around wingers, when has that ever worked?
Linden shouldn't have offered his captaincy to Messier. Messier shouldn't have taken it. A true leader wouldn't have given up his captaincy just like that unless his team wanted to strip him of the captaincy and a true leader wouldn't come to a new team and take the captaincy away from the guy who was seen as the heart and soul of the team.
Love
Registered User
- Feb 29, 2012
- 15,051
- 12,347
Bo with a very Captain like game last night. Damn I can’t tell you how many times I wanted Nazzy or Henrik to just f***ing drop the mits and start swinging when they were getting punked by some loser like Horvat was last night. I loved that he stood up for himself last night like that. Also he was in playoff mode yesterday. Loved it.
