CATCHING UP WITH AN IDOL
Record-tying Sedin nets praise from ex-teammate
A day after Daniel Sedin praised the man whose franchise scoring record he is about to eclipse, Markus Naslund returned the favour.
As you can imagine, Naslund isn’t exactly devastated that Sedin has tied his mark of 346 goals as a Vancouver Canuck.
“No, not at all,” Naslund said with a chuckle in a telephone interview Tuesday from Sweden.
At least the record stays in Ornskoldsvik.
Naslund’s house is just a fiveminute boat ride across the bay from Sedin’s off-season home in the northern Sweden community.
Naslund has seen this coming for a long time and spoke at length about how happy he is for Sedin, who matched his franchise mark with two goals — including the overtime winner — in Monday night’s 3-2 win over the Florida Panthers.
“It was a matter of time and I still feel honoured being in that company with Daniel and the rest of the guys,” Naslund said. “Daniel deserves everything he has gotten and I am very pleased and happy for him. It’s very impressive what both of those guys have done.”
Sedin made a point Monday night to stress how important Naslund was to both him and his brother Henrik when they joined the Canucks at the age of 20 way back in 2000.
“He was an idol growing up, he meant so much to us when we came into this league,” Sedin said.
Naslund, in turn, said the Sedin brothers did it all on their own.
“Daniel’s comments are very generous, but they have handled their situations with great maturity right from when they came over,” Naslund said. “I am happy to hear that they felt like I may have helped somewhat, but they’ve done all of that on their own, I think.”
Sedin also suggested Naslund is a better goal-scorer than he is, pointing out it took him more than 200 games longer than Naslund to reach 346 goals.
“He is a better goal-scorer than me, no question about that,” Sedin said. “I think it’s more about how many games I have played (1,104 to Naslund’s 884 as a Canuck).”
At age 35, both Daniel and Henrik are having terrific seasons. Daniel already has 19 goals this season and, barring injury, seems a lock to top 30 goals. Both have been almost point-agame players.
“I wouldn’t say I am surprised, but I am impressed,” Naslund said. “I think it’s pretty amazing to keep doing what they are doing at this age. I know myself — I think I played my last year when I was 35 over there — I know that the body feels different when you pass 30.
“But again, they put themselves in the best possible situation by keeping in good shape and pushing each other every night.”
Naslund knows that better than most. He still trains with the Sedins during the summer, trying his best to keep up.
“Even at this age, they still go really hard. They definitely really push themselves to be in the best possible physical shape they can be and I think that is a big reason, too, why they have been so injury-free throughout their careers.”
Like so many others, Naslund is impressed with more than the Sedins’ hockey ability.
“I doubt that there’s anyone who would have anything bad to say about them whether they know them as hockey players or just meeting them in a grocery store. I think it speaks volumes about their upbringing and the type of people that they are.”
Naslund, who walked away from the final year of his contract after playing the 2008-09 season with the New York Rangers, has begun a new career in real estate development.
He is involved in the development of a ski resort about 350 kilometres northwest of Ornskoldsvik.
“It’s right in the area where Alex Edler grew up,” he said.
“It has been interesting and fun to jump into a different field.”
ICE CHIPS: The Canucks put winger Chris Higgins on waivers Tuesday. If unclaimed, Higgins will be assigned to the AHL’s Utica Comets … The Canucks also returned defenceman
Andrey Pedan to the Comets … The Canucks travelled Tuesday to Washington, D.C., where they begin a six-game road trip on Thursday.