PHOTO: Bildbyrån + TT Nyhetsbyrån
Markus Näslund and Alek Stojanov were married in 1996.
The trio is seen as one of the worst in league history.
– I suffer with Alek, says Näslund to Sportbibeln.
One of our greatest NHL Swedes is Markus Näslund, who played a total of 1117 games in the league. It was a total of 869 points (395 goals and 474 assists) in the NHL. He made his appearances for the Pittsburgh Penguins, Vancouver Canucks and New York Rangers.
Loved Vancouver
Most successful was Markus Näslund in the Canucks. The Swede was recruited there from Pittsburgh, where he spent his first two NHL seasons. Näslund remembers the first time in Vancouver well.
– I remember that I thought it was a great city to come to. That it was different to play in Canada, it was very tangible. Even though hockey was big in Pittsburgh, and Pittsburgh had won the Stanley Cup two years in a row before I got there, there was a completely different focus on hockey in Canada, he tells Sportbibeln.
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Näslund spent eleven seasons with the Canucks, the last seven as captain. The forward came to the club in the spring of 1996, and quickly noticed a difference from life in Pittsburgh.
– Even though I was only a new player, people recognized me quite quickly anyway, because they follow the team so closely. But above all, I felt a huge difference in living in the city, I had a great time in the city of Vancouver, says Näslund.
Näslund’s trejd
Näslund’s journey from the Penguins to the Canucks was between him and the Canadian Alexander Stoyanov. After the three, Stojanov played only 45 more games in the NHL. At the same time, Näslund grew to become a top forward in Vancouver. The trio is therefore seen in retrospect as one of the worst in the league’s history.
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How do you look back on the trip?
– I suffer above all with Alek Stojanov. We were actually at the same stage in our careers then. First pick for each team (in the 1991 NHL Draft). He’s for Vancouver and I’m for Pittsburgh, and he was elected before me too. But we hadn’t really found our place in the team, so we switched with each other.
READ MORE: That’s why Markus Näslund broke with the New York Rangers and turned down SEK 30 million: “It was more important”
“Succeeded decently”
Näslund continues:
– Then I got a better chance to succeed. I fit into what was happening in Vancouver and was given more and more responsibility, and he… well, quit pretty soon after that. So it’s small things that influence and determine who “wins” a match as well. And maybe it becomes clearer when I was in Vancouver and managed decently for a long time while he quit, of course.
READ MORE: Markus Näslund reveals the best he has ever played with – opts out of Peter Forsberg: “Never seen anyone at that level”
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