Say it aint so Markus
Early retirement?
Streaking Markus Naslund hints at early exit from Vancouver
Kevin Woodley
For myBC.com
VANCOUVER ? Maple Leafs captain Mats Sundin was being George Dubya-serious when he said 10 days ago that Markus Naslund's run towards 50 goals was the equivalent of scoring 85 back in the late 1980s.
With an inflation rate like that, what would Naslund's new 60-goal pace be worth in pre-trap currency? Maybe as much as Wayne Gretzky's NHL-record 92 goals back in 1981-82?
Probably not, but if the Canuck captain keeps it up for another two and a half years it will certainly be worth more than his current base salary of $4.5 million. Then again, if Naslund's comments Thursday are any indication, money may not matter when his deal runs out and he becomes an unrestricted free agent in 2005.
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In a sit-down interview with local Score television network correspondent James Cybulski, Naslund said he would like to finish his career in Vancouver, but added candidly that his departure could come sooner then many might expect.
"I'm not going to be one of those players that plays until they are 36 or 37," said Naslund, who turns 30 this summer. "I'd like to finish my career at a high level. I don't want to be one of those guys that won't let go."
Asked if that meant this contract could be his last, if he could seriously skate away from the NHL at the age of 32, Naslund hardly hesitated.
"Yeah, it's been something that I've thought about quite a bit and, we'll see, but it wouldn't be far-fetched."
The comments, made in a matter-of-fact nature, will either fuel fire and brimstone warnings from local sports talk radio or be largely ignored as Nicklas Lidstrom-like rhetoric, fading into hockey's oblivion as quickly as some guy named Alex Stojanov.
In Naslund's case the truth likely lies somewhere in between.
While it's hard to picture the Canucks, or any other teams with large sums of disposable cash, letting a shot like Naslund's skate into a Scandinavian sunset, there is something to be said for the undeniable hold Sweden has on its citizens.
Anyone who tagged along on the team's training camp trip to Stockholm two years ago will remember a handful of recently departed NHL players skating in the Elite League.
Some left because of specific family situations, others couldn't adjust to life in North America, and a few were simply tired of moving and as their NHL careers wound down. All cited a strong desire to be closer to their extended families, to raise their own children in Sweden, as the biggest factor in their return.
It's a sentiment Mattias Ohlund shared at the time and one Naslund echoed on Thursday.
"I've got kids that are growing up too and eventually I want to raise them in Sweden," said Naslund, who would return a hero if he succeeds in supplanting Hakan Loob's 50-goal season as the best ever by a Swedish player in the NHL.
Maybe Loob had similar thoughts when, fresh off his record-setting season, he won the Stanley Cup with Calgary in 1989 and turned his back on the NHL, returning to success in the Elite League and an Olympic gold medal in 1994 that cemented his place in Swedish hockey lore.
Mikael Renberg, who went back to be close to his young daughter and has since returned to play for Toronto, said at the time that he wouldn't be surprised to see more players return early. With the amount of money they can make in the NHL over a short period, the lure of their home country is simply too strong even if the average is 30 times less.
"How much do you really need to live a good life?" Renberg asked rhetorically. "Players don't have to play as long as they can to try to make as much money as they can so you might start to see more players coming back to Sweden in their prime. It may be tough for some teams to hang onto those players as long as they would like to."
Of course Lidstrom also talked about retiring to Sweden several times over the last few years only to be lured back by Detroit's $10 million US contracts and Renberg, citing the need to compete at the highest level, has already returned to the NHL.
Anyone who heard Naslund talk about his recent back injury and the slim chances it would keeping him out of Friday's game against Columbus (7 p.m. on SportsNet and CKNW), already knows how much he likes to compete.
"I have a tough time seeing myself moving back before winning a Stanley Cup," Naslund said during the Stockholm-based camp. "After that? They say that after you win that first one, you really want to win two."
If Naslund pulls that off before 2005 the Canucks might be too grateful to even argue about retirement. And, hey, doesn't Lord Stanley's Cup beat a pocket watch anyway?
Icechips: Naslund's 19 power play goals half way through this season are not only the most in the NHL right now (Nashville defensman Andy Delmore is next with 12), but they are also two more than Washington's Peter Bondra scored to lead the league all of last year. Naslund's next power play goal will match the Atlanta Thrashers team total for all of last season. ... If not for Steve Martins weak goal with just over a minute to play in Wednesday's 6-4 win over the Senators, Naslund would have been credited with his 10th game winner of the season, matching St. Louis' Pavol Demitra's NHL-leading total from last year. As is, Naslund is still two up on Detroit's Sergei Fedorov for this year's lead.
Cheers,
Aquaman