 |
| He left behind a legacy that is untouchable. |
“I was overwhelmed when I was asked,” Naslund said. “You feel that you’re not worthy of it in some ways. It would be easier to accept if I’d been part of a Stanley Cup-winning team. [That disappointment] will always be there a little bit, buy you’ve got to let go. We did our best. Coming to the rink and knowing you had a chance of winning every night, and you played with guys who were hungry and played an exciting brand of hockey — that’s what I remember most fondly.”
“For years they berated, screamed, shouted, and whined at Naslund for his play compared to his contract size, after watching him get a blind-side, concussion inducing hit to the head, followed shortly by the traumatic event with his best friend, and instead of supporting him as fans, through it all, we jumped down his throat, and attempted to ride his ass out of town. Ride our Captain, who brought this franchise from the brink of devastation, back to relevance.
Probably the second most single talented player to put on the Canucks jersey, besides Pavel Bure, and without doubt, one of the most classy and respected figures in hockey at the time. When he said "we choked', we whined for the unwanted honesty, when he worked around it, we whined for not getting to the point.
Naslund gave this team and city 12 years of respect, and hard service, maybe we, as fans and media, could do the same for one stinking night."
"He treated everyone the same, it didn't matter how big he was," said Daniel about his fellow country-man's humble nature. "He was one of the biggest athletes of Sweden and in this city too."
And for one final night as his number rises to the lights, he will once again be the biggest star in this city.
No comments:
Post a Comment