Naslund promises to improve next season
''I know I can play better,'' Naslund said as the Canucks cleaned out their lockers and said goodbye for the summer. ''It wasn't a lack of effort, I wanted to do well. It just wasn't there.''
''I know I can do better, that's the bottom line. I'm proud of what I do. I want to show I can still perform. I'm going to come back and prove that I can play better.''
''The lack of offence was probably the difference in the playoffs,'' said Naslund. ''We've got to be able to muster up more than two goals a game.''
''I was used to playing on a line for a long time with guys that you got used to (Bertuzzi and Morrison),'' he said. ''It affected me more than I expected.''
''It took me a long time to really find my groove. I never played the type of hockey I'm capable of.''
Hands up...how many people don't give a damn about his promise and would like to see Naslund banished right now?
My hand is up, but I'd say it took me a couple of seconds to raise it. The reason for that is that Markus started scoring towards the end of the Ducks series. On top of that, he forechecked hard, was physical, and back checked as well. Perhaps he really was adjusting to the new style of play that Vigneault expected of him: his all-around game.
I just can't get around the $6 million contract. Naslund will have to play like Alfredsson is this season in order to earn it. I suppose that is possible. Alfie was critisized for being a gutless wonder in the playoffs up until now. This post season he is a force.
But still, it's 6 million fucking dollars. Combine that with Luongo, both Sedins, Ohlund, Mitchell and Morrison, and there goes about $30 million total. That is hardly going to cut it, as it forces Dave Nonis to go thrift store shopping in the offseason, like he did last summer, to fill the voids. Unless there are some decent Moose players ready to step in and contibute offensively a little more consistently, expect Nonis to have to roll the dice on more cheap potentials again this summer. It looks like we are stuck with Markus. (No trade clause in there as well I believe)
The following Canucks have their contracts expire this summer:
Ryan Kesler ($1.9 million) I'm torn about Kess
Jan Bulis ($1.3 mill) Great hustle, no finish. Adiose.
Taylor Pyatt ($700,000) Is Pyatt going the Carter route?
Lukas Krajicek ($625,000) Show Lukas the money.
Trevor Linden ($600,000) C'mon Trevor, one more year. Be a part of this.
Rory Fitzpatrick ($525,000) Probably done as a Canuck. Too bad though, he's a good 7th D. You would have to think it is Bourdon's time now.
Josh Green ($500,000) Great role player, I'd keep him around.
Tommi Santala ($450,000) See you the fuck later, jackass!
Ah, Nonis has his hands full, doesn't he?
T Tags: Canucks Naslund Salaries Nonis
12 Comments:
Kesler signed a two year deal didn't he? They can trade him now that the season is over, but I think he is under contract for one more season.
I'd like to see Bulis come back. Imagine a checking/energy line of Cowan, Bulis and Cooke?
I wonder if other teams would be leary about Pyatt. He may just be back next season, if the price is right.
Given his free agent status last summer, and Clarke inflating his worth, I believe if the Canucks matched that you can only sign him for 1-year.
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I can't find where it says how long they signed him. But I did get my info from Hockey Analysis.com. Great site.
Like you said, they couldn't trade him for a year...
I'd give him another chance I suppose.
We need scoring though. So bye-bye Bulis.
I wouldn't crucify Naslund too much. Sure that's a ton of money, but he earned that money, in part, because of the line he was on prior to the lockout (you could argue the same with Morrison). He just admitted losing Todd's style that bought him offensive room hurt him more then he thought it would. Factor in Vigneault's style of play and he became more of a two-way player which you don't pay 6 million for but that's not his fault either. He showed a ton of effort in the post season; it would be great if he restructured his final year (i have no idea if they can do that like NFL players can) to give Nonis a bit more financial flexibility, but I don't want to see him traded either.
Bah. Daniel Briere has more heart in his left nut than Naslund has in his whole body. And he's getting $1 million less.
How would he restructure his salary? Bonuses for points or playoff rounds? I'd like that. It just won't happen.
Whether or not I like him, we are stuck with him for one more year. And that boils down to , like I said, Nonis bargain-hunting again this summer. And toss in a Pyatt raise to make Nonis have to be even more thrifty.
I see Morrison had a sports hernia injury.
I won't exclude his bad season, but his post season certainly showed he has heart. Actions speak louder then words though, so we'll see. He knows this is the final year and he likely won't re-up after 2008 no matter where he is, so he'll need to bring everything he's got. Easier said then done, but he has done it before.
That said, I want Nonis to target Walker and Handzus if at all possible. Their injuries aside, I would love to see them skating around and net crashing for us.
Those 2 guys are decent picks, Mike. No doubt.
With the offer sheet, you can match the offer.
The offer from Philly to Kes was a one year deal at $1.9m.
So that's what Vancouver signed him to.
One thing I do like about Naslund is he offers no excuses...he takes responsibility. Whether it is, 'I played terrible this year' or 'we choked', he doesn't mince words when summing up his year.
Naslund is taking up a ton of dough, but for the money, Morrison is the one that needs to go. He showed very little this season...at least you could see progress in Naslund's game as the season wore on. Morrison was just absent the entire time.
Kesler is probably the best piece of trade bait that Nonis has right now, other than the kids that are coming up.
But now Morrison has the sports hernia surgery as an excuse! He is going in for surgery.
I wonder if we are stuck with him as well.
Hey maybe we can get Mogilny back out of Russia at a discount price! He'll score more than 20 and has won a Cup with the defensive Devils.
Naslund irritates me with his uber low-key interview style, and constant throwing out the same "I have no excuses" crap. If you have no excuses, why the hell can't you score more?
I respect Alfredsson a hell of a lot more than Naslund, and this is coming from a leafs fan who absolutely despises the senators. Even when krusty was bombing out during the playoffs, at LEAST he could put up numbers in the regular season without putting on a sad face for the media EVERY DAMN TIME!@
yarrgh if I never have to see naslund's hangdog expression on the newscasts again I will be a happy, happy man.
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