| Harvey Specter | 10-04-2008 03:30 AM |
Naslund enjoys anonymity of New York Quote:
Peter O'Neil, Europe Correspondent, Canwest News Service
Published: Friday, October 03, 2008
PRAGUE - Former Vancouver Canucks captain Markus Naslund is basking in the anonymity of the Big Apple.
Naslund, who ended his spectacular 12-year Canuck career on a sour note with a 55-point season last year, said it wasn't always easy for him living in a city where he couldn't go out for a newspaper without being recognized.
He's now living in almost complete obscurity in Greenwich, Conn., with his wife Lotta and children Rebecca, 10, Isabella, 8, and Alex, 6.
"Oh, yeah, it's a huge difference. No one recognizes me out in Greenwich," Naslund, 35, told Canwest News Service Friday after practising in advance of Saturday's season-opener here against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
"It's refreshing. I've never been crazy about being a public person, but it comes with the whole thing of playing in Canada. We had a great fan base in Vancouver that for the most part respected you when you were out with family and those things. So it wasn't anything that I had a tough time with.
"But I do enjoy not being noticed now."
There have been rumours in Vancouver that Naslund happily picked up and dropped off his children at the West Point Grey Academy when he and the team were going well, but he was less visible when the team struggled.
"I don't know if that's true. I think I tried to go there as much as I could. Obviously there were times when I had to travel and I came home late, but I like to be part of what the kids are doing, whether it's sports or driving them to and dropping them off school.
"I think sometimes the public reads in a little too much in Vancouver."
He said his children miss their friends, but have adjusted well to their new school and surroundings.
"It's taken them a bit of time to make friends and feel comfortable at school, but they've done a great job and I'm very proud of how they've been," he said. "They have good friends, all of them, back in Vancouver, so it's not easy."
Naslund, who signed a two-year, $8-million US contract after a 346-goal career in Vancouver, wasn't making any bold predictions about a return to his glory years. But he did say he hopes he can find his old game with likely linemates Scott Gomez and Chris Drury.
Drury was named captain on Friday, while Naslund and Gomez were named assistant captains.
"I hope so. That's what I'm going to try to do," said Naslund. "We'll see what the outcome is going to be. I'm going to get a chance to play with good offensive players and hopefully we'll win a lot of games."
He said he isn't bitter about Vancouver fans who gave him grief for the decline in his offensive numbers, suggesting they perhaps had unrealistic expectations.
He said his former linemates, Brendan Morrison, now with the Anaheim Ducks, and Todd Bertuzzi, now of the Calgary Flames, were key reasons for his huge scoring seasons.
Vancouver fans "always expected me to put up the numbers I did when we had our line with Bertuzzi and Morrison. And after (the line broke up) it was difficult to keep that going," said Naslund.
"And it's such a hockey market that being captain, you've got to take a lot of responsibility and a lot of criticism, too. It comes with the territory."
There will be no such pressure in New York where Drury will take the bulk of the load by wearing the 'C'.
Naslund said he can already understand why Wayne Gretzky and other NHL veterans rave about their experience playing with the Rangers.
"I think everyone who has played for the Rangers speaks fondly of it, not just the city, but the team itself and how players are treated and how everything works there."
| |
