Naslund to retire

[Steve_v3 289]

Naslund to retire

Not be a Rangers fan I didn't see him play a lot this year, but I was surprise to see this. How do Ranger's fans feel about this?

[Allsmokenopancake 0]

Does his age mean his cap hit counts against the rangers, even in retirement?

[RadioGaGa 162]

Does his age mean his cap hit counts against the rangers, even in retirement?

TSN was saying it comes off the Cap. But they also said the Rags have not confirmed an announcement is coming.

[DarkStar50 679]

He has been a steady 82 games played guy with 20 goal seasons over his last four. However, at 35 years old, I think he knows the needle on the gas tank gauge is on the red line. We'll see what happens. He may not be thrilled with a season of Torts yelling and screaming just a few months away.

[lotus 2]

It's something like if the player is 37 or older at the time they sign the contract, and then retire, they would count against the cap. Naslund was 20 days away frmo his 37th, or whatever magic age it was, so the Rangers just miss the cap hit if he retires...and apparently, it is official.

Unlike most Ranger fans, I actually liked him pretty well. Most are glad to see him go, I'm only glad to see the cap space. I think Tom Renney would have let him do whatever he had left and not yelled at him for it, while Torts will still yell at him to get every last drop. If that makes any sense.

Classy guy is all you'll hear about him, he could have stayed with his contract and the Rangers probably would have bought him out and had it count against the cap, giving him a few more million.

[Hockeyman11385 1]

While I must admit I was fairly critical of him during the season, this is an extremely classy move and is a perfect example of what is right in hockey. He is doing what is right by his team right until the end, even if it doesn't include him. I could never see anybody in any other sport do something like this. I hope this sets an example for everyone in the league and it is mentioned in the US press. Bravo Mr. Naslund. As a devout Ranger fan, I thank you.

[li7039 0]

Liked the guy but not sad to see him go. 4 mil off the cap and hopefully dealing Rozival and or Gomez means we can land Gabs or Hossa this Summer

[Grinder 2]

During his years here in British Columbia, Nassie was a class act each and every day. He spent a lot of time at a children's hospice that the Canucks help finance, and he bought a corporate box every year at the rink out of his own pocket for handicapped or ill kids to view the game from. Well played, right to the end. Tap of the stick to him for sure.

[JJ Thompson94 0]

It would be nice to see him play that last season on a third line with not too much scoring responsibility. I'm happy to see some cap space open up. Naslund seems like a good guy, but I doubt the Rangers cap space had much to do in his desicion. Either way, It's the end of a pretty sweet career. Can't wait to see what he does next.

[srv2miker 0]

Nice guy, and great member of the community when he was here in Vancouver, but he really seemed to lose his fire and enjoyment of the game in the last couple of years.

[lotus 2]

Nice guy, and great member of the community when he was here in Vancouver, but he really seemed to lose his fire and enjoyment of the game in the last couple of years.

I noticed the lack of enjoyment. I'm all for subtle celebrations when scoring goals, but the guy never even cracked a smile after he potted one! I don't want him to do an Ovechkin, but when you don't even crack a small smile when you score a goal that has an impact on the game....the passion is definitely gone.

[fieldofdreams 0]

Hopefully he can talk his countrymen, the Sedin twins, to join the Blueshirts. As a Ranger fan, those two and Bouwmeester are my top three FA's.

[hockeysc23 0]

Hopefully he can talk his countrymen, the Sedin twins, to join the Blueshirts. As a Ranger fan, those two and Bouwmeester are my top three FA's.

You need money/cap room to buy FA's and that strategy hasnt worked in the past for the blueshirts ....

As for Naslund classy guy. Wish he had stayed on to add to the Rangers salary cap problems though :)

[johnpace2 0]

Hopefully he can talk his countrymen, the Sedin twins, to join the Blueshirts. As a Ranger fan, those two and Bouwmeester are my top three FA's.

Time for a reality check.

[fieldofdreams 0]

Hopefully he can talk his countrymen, the Sedin twins, to join the Blueshirts. As a Ranger fan, those two and Bouwmeester are my top three FA's.

Time for a reality check.

HAHA, not at all expecting it to happen. Just my wish list. Dare to dream, ya know?

[chilaxin12 2]

Hopefully he can talk his countrymen, the Sedin twins, to join the Blueshirts. As a Ranger fan, those two and Bouwmeester are my top three FA's.

You need money/cap room to buy FA's and that strategy hasnt worked in the past for the blueshirts ....

As for Naslund classy guy. Wish he had stayed on to add to the Rangers salary cap problems though :)

And with Naslunds departure, plus D-Morris, Zherdev, Antropov all being unrestricted and Redden/Rozivals combined cap savings this year, the Rangers could pot both of the Sedins...But the smart thing to do is dump rozival somehow, use the young defense that we have, and to get Hossa and re up callahan and dubinsky.

Is it just me or does anyone else think that of the two top guys Gomez and Drury, that you would rather see Drury go?

[tro 4]

Wouldn't be shocked to see Naslund sign with Modo or a another team in Sweden. I don't think he is done playing altogether.

[chippa13 1844]

Naslund hasn't been the same since the whole Bertuzzi thing. He just might be done playing.

[jbyun04 7]

Naslund hasn't been the same since the whole Bertuzzi thing. He just might be done playing.

he was doing awesome at the beginning of 05-06, he had his shot and his speed but after he injured his groin right before the olympic break he never recovered his speed

[kosydar 0]

Naslund hasn't been the same since the whole Bertuzzi thing. He just might be done playing.

Never mind the fact that the Bertuzzi thing happened in March (the end of the season where his point production had dropped 20 points from the previous year). Maybe his career started falling off as a result of the concussion he got from Steve Moore. Or maybe he just started playing playing worse the older he got. Nah, lets just blame Bertuzzi. Its totally fair, he is obviously the reason why Naslund peaked.

[fieldofdreams 0]

Is it just me or does anyone else think that of the two top guys Gomez and Drury, that you would rather see Drury go?

For me personally, I would rather see Gomez's departure. He is an extremely fast skater, but other than that, I feel he brings little else to the table. He has a terrible shot, and makes piss-poor decisions with the puck. How many times can you skate from end to end instead of running a breakout. No wonder the power play sucks, it's always him losing the puck.

Drury has never been a big numbers guy, but he is a MUCH better leader than Gomez. I wasn't too high on the Gomez signing in the first place, and my opinion hasn't changed. Scotty does his best work with two talented wingers in New Jersey. The Rangers will not have the talent to support him, and should try to unload him.

Again, just my personal opinions.

[chippa13 1844]

Naslund hasn't been the same since the whole Bertuzzi thing. He just might be done playing.

Never mind the fact that the Bertuzzi thing happened in March (the end of the season where his point production had dropped 20 points from the previous year). Maybe his career started falling off as a result of the concussion he got from Steve Moore. Or maybe he just started playing playing worse the older he got. Nah, lets just blame Bertuzzi. Its totally fair, he is obviously the reason why Naslund peaked.

If I named it the Moore thing would you be happier? Nobody was blaming Bertuzzi but it seemed that incident, whether the knock to his noggin or the circus that surrounded it, something changed. He did put up good numbers the first year after the lockout but seemed a different player. Tough to say age is a factor when his numbers started slipping at 32/33, not exactly the twilight of most skilled guys' careers these days.

[RiSeOnFiRe 0]

Naslund was def a class act. Wish him the best.

As far as the rangers future goes, either gomez or drury, and redden or rozival need to go, in order for this team to get back on track. If they can flood their blue line with the youngsters, (DelZotto and Potter) and re up calli and dubi (both excent 3rd line players in my opinion) They can have the cap space to buy a true top tier scoring talent (insert Hossa, Gaborik or whoever here), and another top 6 forward. Resigning Antropov if they can get rid of 2 of their big 4 contracts would be good too. But, this all hangs on whether or not they can move dead money.

[chippa13 1844]

Good luck dumping Redden.

[RiSeOnFiRe 0]

In a buy-out, is it up to the team to decide how to distribute the cap hit? Or is it a percentage of the contact.. or what? Im quite ignorant on the subject.