I haven't seen this get a lot of press yet, but after his goal and assist performance last night, Markus Naslund has quietly - does he do it any other way? - moved to within nine points of Trevor Linden's franchise scoring record.
Sometime in the near future, I'm sure we'll start debating about who the better Canucks captain was. Last season, Naslund passed Linden as the Canucks' goal scoring leader. Earlier this season, Linden passed Stan Smyl as the Canucks' assist leader; Naslund is now also within 24 assists of Trevor's mark. Both have so far served as Canucks captain for seven seasons each.
It's really amazing how a lot of their career numbers are similar; however, there is one glaring difference. Trevor has appeared in 124 playoff games (all but six with Vancouver) and has 99 postseason points (all but four assists in a Canucks uniform). Markus has only played in 45 postseason games and has 33 points in them (all with Vancouver). In his time as captain, Trevor led the Canucks to six playoff series wins. Markus has so far led the Canucks to only two, though a long playoff run this season can bump that number up pretty quick.
And in what could be the final year for two of the best players to ever lace up for this team, a long playoff run is kinda what we're all hoping for.
1 comment:
Tough call on the better of the two. I guess you have to give it to Linden because of the playoff stats. But, really, captaincy means sweet fuck all. They're all grown men who don't need motivation to win. I think they all want to get the Stanley Cup. If they're ever down and need a boost I don't think there needs to be a C on a guys jersey to do that.
Also, my pick is Linden because of stats, but most Canuck fans (who I think it's clear I believe are only posers that like the brand and not the game) will pick him because of "what he means to this city". Which is, again, sweet fuck all, because I haven't heard of him helping out homeless people or people fucked up on hard drugs living in the east side. I can go to Canuck Place and give those kids just as much of a boost as any hockey player. Do you think any of those kids gives a shit about hockey players in reality? That shit is just a way of making the masses think that athletes aren't overpaid moronic and nearly useless people.
Go Canucks go!
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