Markus Naslund

[vadim sharifijanov]

of course won.

of course

 

[Dingo]

This is the thing with Naslund -- he's just missing that extra evidence of 'greatness' needed to push him over the top.

To Canucks' fans, I'm curious: Who do you consider the greatest Canuck ever? Where does Naslund rank in this?

its a funny thing being a BC guy. An ex Canucks fan, but you know, you still know whats going on, and they are on tv at a lot of houses you go to....

we discuss this, and the oldtimers (this includes my age) will put Smyl or Linden out there, but its a terrible call. They were just popular. No better than Kirk Muller or Mikko Koivu.

Pavel Bure is the guy. He is the only one who really was a superstar. Only one who was truly probably the best at what he did league-wide. Most of my friends agree that that is the only Jersey in the rafters that would actually make the rafters of a top organization.

But, Naslund and the Sedins were really, really good in their windows. All three suffer a career stat line due to some terrible early seasons. But there is a Hart, a Pearson, two Rosses.... there was success there as a part of teams, too.

I think maybe that we know that the West Coast Express was awesome, and Markus had a great wrister, and was a darned good player, and we know that the Sedins were weird robots who made weird robot magic together... but Pavel did what he did with some real subpar linemates. He is the only Canuck, where, when Id get into a playoff series involving two top teams, that I wouldnt be flabbergasted at what some of the other league stars could do. Pavel could do it, too. All of it. Markus was like a weak Joe Sakic, the Sedins..... beep bop boop.

 

[flipp]

its a funny thing being a BC guy. An ex Canucks fan, but you know, you still know whats going on, and they are on tv at a lot of houses you go to....

we discuss this, and the oldtimers (this includes my age) will put Smyl or Linden out there, but its a terrible call. They were just popular. No better than Kirk Muller or Mikko Koivu.

Pavel Bure is the guy. He is the only one who really was a superstar. Only one who was truly probably the best at what he did league-wide. Most of my friends agree that that is the only Jersey in the rafters that would actually make the rafters of a top organization.

But, Naslund and the Sedins were really, really good in their windows. All three suffer a career stat line due to some terrible early seasons. But there is a Hart, a Pearson, two Rosses.... there was success there as a part of teams, too.

I think maybe that we know that the West Coast Express was awesome, and Markus had a great wrister, and was a darned good player, and we know that the Sedins were weird robots who made weird robot magic together... but Pavel did what he did with some real subpar linemates. He is the only Canuck, where, when Id get into a playoff series involving two top teams, that I wouldnt be flabbergasted at what some of the other league stars could do. Pavel could do it, too. All of it. Markus was like a weak Joe Sakic, the Sedins..... beep bop boop.

I think Naslund was just a notch below Bure in terms of raw talent but he was not able to leverage his talent in NHL soon enough. As a 16 year old Naslund scored 43 goals in 33 games in the Modo J20 team. Both Bure and Naslund scored a insane number of goals in WJC, Naslund scored 21 goals in 14 games. Bure scored 27 goals in 21 games. Around 1993 Naslund was probably the most talented goal scorer ever seen in Sweden. He should probably have stayed in Sweden one more year before he went to NHL (like Forsberg did). It is also strange that he only was drafted as number 16. A 17 year old Naslund was still regarded as more talented than Forsberg by most people in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden.

 

[Dingo]

I think Naslund was just a notch below Bure in terms of raw talent but he was not able to leverage his talent in NHL soon enough. As a 16 year old Naslund scored 43 goals in 33 games in the Modo J20 team. Both Bure and Naslund scored a insane number of goals in WJC, Naslund scored 21 goals in 14 games. Bure scored 27 goals in 21 games. Around 1993 Naslund was probably the most talented goal scorer ever seen in Sweden. He should probably have stayed in Sweden one more year before he went to NHL (like Forsberg did). It is also strange that he only was drafted as number 16. A 17 year old Naslund was still regarded as more talented than Forsberg by most people in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden.

Nice to get the Swedish perspective. I would think a large part of what separated Naslund and Forsberg was that screws-loose competitiveness of Forsberg. Markus just seemed like a nice, quiet dude.

Drove me absolutely nuts for many years when the Vancouver media would tease that Pete wanted to be reunited with Markus and play in Van. I wanted to see that so bad. No offence intended to Brendan Morrison, but, good God could I ever imagine the carnage that line would have produced.

 

[flipp]

Nice to get the Swedish perspective. I would think a large part of what separated Naslund and Forsberg was that screws-loose competitiveness of Forsberg. Markus just seemed like a nice, quiet dude.

Drove me absolutely nuts for many years when the Vancouver media would tease that Pete wanted to be reunited with Markus and play in Van. I wanted to see that so bad. No offence intended to Brendan Morrison, but, good God could I ever imagine the carnage that line would have produced.

Naslund - Forsberg - Bertuzzi would be legion of doom 2.0. Probably 60 goals for Naslund on that line.

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

i think that was a line in the 2003 all-star game, most memorable for dany heatley’s toe drag goal

 

[sr edler]

Sure? I always felt that Naslund was a worried soul. My impression was that Forsberg was more mentally tough and much more relaxed. This is pure speculation tough

Näslund was/is religious/a Christian. Forsberg was more of a bachelor type through most of his NHL career and struck me as pretty bratty ("relaxed") early on, whereas Näslund was a family man. Not speculation but observation.

 

[MS]

Naslund was a supremely talented player who was probably the most dangerous shooter in the game from 2001-2004.

He was also - especially later in his career - an extremely joyless player who looked and carried himself like his dog had just died pretty much all the time. I felt he was a very poor captain as a result.

He seemed to be over hockey after the whole Bertuzzi thing and the lockout and there was talk of retirement ... and then he found $18 million reasons to keep playing for another 3 years. And just absolutely mailed it in for those last 3 seasons 2005-2008 as a floating, lazy perimeter ghost of a player.

 

[flipp]

Naslund was a supremely talented player who was probably the most dangerous shooter in the game from 2001-2004.

He was also - especially later in his career - an extremely joyless player who looked and carried himself like his dog had just died pretty much all the time. I felt he was a very poor captain as a result.

He seemed to be over hockey after the whole Bertuzzi thing and the lockout and there was talk of retirement ... and then he found $18 million reasons to keep playing for another 3 years. And just absolutely mailed it in for those last 3 seasons 2005-2008 as a floating, lazy perimeter ghost of a player.

True. The funny thing is that when he was played in Modo again 2009-2010 he played with a lot of effort and dedication and was praised for his hard-work, especially his great two-way play. I think he needed to feel secure in order to succed (Which he did in Modo). When he was at his best 2001-2004 Bertuzzi and Morrison was basically his extended family, as I understand it, they were very tight friends off the ice.

 

[The Panther]

...an extremely joyless player who looked and carried himself like his dog had just died pretty much all the time.

I think he learned that from Linden.

 

[johan f]

I think he learned that from Linden.

Naslund learned thru his church to not let joy be just for himself. He looked at things from bigger perspective, as in hockey it was about win and not who scored the points. He was for sure glad to score but it was not his style to celebrate them.

 

[flipp]

Naslund learned thru his church to not let joy be just for himself. He looked at things from bigger perspective, as in hockey it was about win and not who scored the points. He was for sure glad to score but it was not his style to celebrate them.

He was for sure a good and honest person. Still, Forsberg always felt like the more altruistic type of player on the ice. Got the impression that Naslund suppressed a lot of his emotions due to his conscientious personality, practicing the virtue of being humble (perhaps partly due to his religious upbringing, his father was a priest). I think Naslund would have been better if allowed himself to go with the flow more often.

 

[sr edler]

I think Naslund was just a notch below Bure in terms of raw talent but he was not able to leverage his talent in NHL soon enough. As a 16 year old Naslund scored 43 goals in 33 games in the Modo J20 team. Both Bure and Naslund scored a insane number of goals in WJC, Naslund scored 21 goals in 14 games. Bure scored 27 goals in 21 games. Around 1993 Naslund was probably the most talented goal scorer ever seen in Sweden. He should probably have stayed in Sweden one more year before he went to NHL (like Forsberg did). It is also strange that he only was drafted as number 16. A 17 year old Naslund was still regarded as more talented than Forsberg by most people in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden.

Bure had a whole different type of dynamite to his game than Näslund, plus a mean streak (Tkachuk/Churla/etc.), and early on in his NHL career also an overabundance of positive energy which often showed itself in wild goal celebrations. So in that case he was the polar opposite of Näslund. And, skills wise, I'll say he also had a broader arsenal. Later on though, regrettably, he turned more into Näslund, when life sucked all that youthful joy out of him.

Naslund learned thru his church to not let joy be just for himself. He looked at things from bigger perspective, as in hockey it was about win and not who scored the points. He was for sure glad to score but it was not his style to celebrate them.

I don't want to be too blunt here, but this just seems a bit dumb. It's a game where you chase a puck on skates. He's not building a society. Näslund never really won anything, except perhaps TV-pucken, and there's just nothing saying you can't see things from a team perspective if you're happy or show happy emotions when you score (or when your teammates does).

No joy for anyone? Rly?

his father was a priest

I didn't know that. Ingmar Bergman's father was a bishop though, and a "real piece of work" as Eric Qualen probably would have put it.

 

[flipp]

Bure had a whole different type of dynamite to his game than Näslund, plus a mean streak (Tkachuk/Churla/etc.), and early on in his NHL career also an overabundance of positive energy which often showed itself in wild goal celebrations. So in that case he was the polar opposite of Näslund. And, skills wise, I'll say he also had a broader arsenal. Later on though, regrettably, he turned more into Näslund, when life sucked all that youthful joy out of him.

Bure was the better player but Naslunds nose for the net was almost as good. Naslund was pretty energetic as a junior. Old players in SHL like Håkan Loob was annoyed since they thought both Forsberg and Näslund played a somewhat reckless game and did not show enough respect to the older players in the league. It´s a tragedy that Naslund did not bring that energy to NHL. I think he would have been the second best forward in the Swedish NHL history, only behind Forsberg. Naslund lacked the hockey IQ of Forsberg but was faster, more athletic and had the better shot.

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

I didn't know that. Ingmar Bergman's father was a bishop though, and a "real piece of work" as Eric Qualen probably would have put it.

omg that's it.

this remains the most miserable film i've ever watched. fits markus naslund to a t

 

[c9777666]

I think that Naslund’s standing in Vancouver was that of a guy who bumped the glass ceiling rather than break it and he could not seize the moment.

The end to 2003 where everything that could go wrong went wrong (lose out on Art Ross and Richard, not get to 50 goals, lose the division title- both on the last day to a fellow Swede while getting shutout by a backup Kings goalie, lose out on all the hardware save for the Pearson, blowing that 3-1 lead to MIN when everything seemed to be breaking their way) probably was too much to ignore,

Bure? Yes, he didn’t win the goal scoring crown in his first 60 goal season, but when 2 guys and nearly a third cracked 70 goals, 60 is still a nice round number. And leading the league the following year when goal scoring fell off a bit was a great follow up.

Of course, Bure’s Playoff performance can’t be ignored. Not just 1994- he had a hat trick in a must win game 6 at Winnipeg in 1992, got the better of Selanne in round 1 1993, 1995 vs St Louis even sandwiched around the iconic 1994 run.

Naslund? Didn’t have that signature moment ala Bure/Vernon (which made Bure a main man for sure) and he had chances to seize the moment and break that glass ceiling.

But to be fair, he also had some bad luck- everyone remembers 2004 and the Moore hit, but let’s not forget 2001 when he had 40 goals before a season ending injury when he might have had an outside shot in an expansion year before the dead puck really deadened.

And of course Dan Cloutier/Bertuzzi probably could merit their own topics in terms of unclutchness.

 

[sr edler]

omg that's it.

this remains the most miserable film i've ever watched. fits markus naslund to a t

I haven't seen Nattvardsgästerna, way too light and humoristic for my taste.

 

[sr edler]

The end to 2003 where everything that could go wrong went wrong (lose out on Art Ross and Richard, not get to 50 goals, lose the division title- both on the last day to a fellow Swede while getting shutout by a backup Kings goalie, lose out on all the hardware save for the Pearson, blowing that 3-1 lead to MIN when everything seemed to be breaking their way) probably was too much to ignore

Belarus in 2002 had happened too. Scores 2 pretty meaningless goals against Germany in a 7-1 round robin game. Then quarterfinals, team freezes and he can't take the bull by its horn against flippin' Belarus.

At least in 98 when Sweden went out against Finland without Näslund, it was a) against an actual good opponent, b) Forsberg at least tried and scored a late consolation goal, c) Forsberg afterwards showed he was (authentically) heartbroken.

 

[sr edler]

Bure and Näslund at the 97–98 training camp. Näslund looks like a star struck kid sitting on his knees like that with a slightly open mouth and fixated eyes. They were on the same team together for roughly two years/seasons, but did they ever play together in any situations? PP time? I remember Näslund was on the PP (briefly?) in the 96 playoffs with Linden, Mogilny, Tikkanen and some defenseman (Lumme most likely).

 

[Pominville Knows]

I always knew he was a loser, and actually celebrated him getting injured before the 06 Olympics so peak Holmström could get his spot. Told people this is actually a good thing.
A season earlier this Christian during the lockout did not join MODO until late in the season so that he could avoid some taxes.

 

[Jim MacDonald]

Bure and Näslund at the 97–98 training camp. Näslund looks like a star struck kid sitting on his knees like that with a slightly open mouth and fixated eyes. They were on the same team together for roughly two years/seasons, but did they ever play together in any situations? PP time? I remember Näslund was on the PP (briefly?) in the 96 playoffs with Linden, Mogilny, Tikkanen and some defenseman (Lumme most likely).

Such a cool picture! Thanks for posting!

 

[BobCole]

Some pretty odd hot takes in here (McLean over Naslund? Sheesh).

It seems many here have forgotten that Naslund retired as the Canucks' all-time leader in goals/points with 300 fewer games played than Linden. Also, I've seen some questioning of Bertuzzi's abilities. In his peak, for 2-3 seasons he was the best power forward in the league by a good margin.

As for all time rankings, I have him at 5th, behind the Sedins, Linden (who was less skilled than Nazzy but a legendary leader and playoff performer), and Bure (the most skilled Canuck in history). Some people here also have him behind the Steamer. I wonder what y'all are smoking. It's Naslund over Smyl by a landslide.

 

[The Panther]

Also, I've seen some questioning of Bertuzzi's abilities. In his peak, for 2-3 seasons he was the best power forward in the league by a good margin.

A good margin, you say...?

btw, I agree with you: Naslund should be easily over McLean and Smyl in Canucks' history.

 

[sr edler]

It seems many here have forgotten that Naslund retired as the Canucks' all-time leader in goals/points with 300 fewer games played than Linden.

I don't think I've ever seen anyone claim Trevor Linden was a more skilled player than Markus Näslund offensively speaking in terms of things like shot, vision, skating or playmaking. Linden was a gritty all-package all-ice heart-and-soul winger though who could also play center and always upped his game in the playoffs and in game 7s. In his first 7–8 year stint in Vancouver he had 80 points in 79 playoff games.

Seriously, Näslund could have had a 150 point season, if he still was sad Näslund instead of mad Näslund and didn't deliver the actual goods when it actually mattered, or at least tried to (like when he set-up Cooke in game 7 against Calgary in 03–04), some people would still be sour on the guy.

Also, I've seen some questioning of Bertuzzi's abilities. In his peak, for 2-3 seasons he was the best power forward in the league by a good margin.

I've seen some serious touting of Bertuzzi on this history board, by Canucks fans. vadim called him the best player in the league (for a stretch). Though, when playoffs came he was even worse than Näslund (who at least put up some points). It was like him and Tkachuk had a twin soul big guys agreement to suck in big games and do nothing (or even worse, do detrimental dumb guy things) when their respective teams slipped from 3-1 series leads.

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

I've seen some serious touting of Bertuzzi on this history board, by Canucks fans. vadim called him the best player in the league (for a stretch).

he absolutely was, but it was only for 40 games.

there is no string of games in the 2001-2002 season when anyone, whether it was iginla or naslund, came close to that kind of production.

for reference, mario scored 31 points in 24 games that season. his best sustained stretch was 21 points in 12 games to close out the season. iginla's best stretches were 31 points in 15 games at the beginning of the year, and 25 points in 15 games near the end. bertuzzi, who after january 1 outscored naslund every step of the way, ended the season on a 33 points in 17 game run.