Garth McLennan
sports@theotherpress.ca

 

 
 
   
 

 

Brendan Morrison

Of the three West Coast Express
members that have now parted ways
with Vancouver, Morrison has tanked
the most quickly. Sure, Bertuzzi

may be killing himself slowly, but
Morrison’s downward production
spiral has been incredible, and not in
a good way. While it was blatantly
obvious that Morrison was no where
near the same level of player that
Naslund or Bertuzzi was when the
line was in full swing, since he’s
joined the Anaheim Ducks, he’s been
invisible.

In 35 contests, he’s netted just
eight goals, and has only put up four
assists for a grand total of 12 points.
Not great for a guy getting paid $2.4-
million on a one-year contract. Due
to his horrifically poor play and near
non-existent point totals, Morrison
has found himself with increasingly
decreased ice time, and has even been
a healthy scratch.

While it might be possible to
attribute some of his on-ice troubles
to lingering complications from his
ACL injury last year, his surgery was
nine months ago, and he needs to stop
using that as a crutch.

 

 

 

 

Markus Naslund

After being a member of the
Vancouver Canucks’ organization for
13 years, eight of them as captain,
Swedish left-winger Markus Naslund,
35, departed Vancouver for Broadway
and signed a two-year, $8 million deal
with the New York Rangers this past
summer,

Since then, Naslund has enjoyed
playing in an offense-first system
that puts a heavy emphasis on puck
possession and has a legitimate shot
at winning the Stanley Cup this year.
Naslund and the Rangers began the
season in the Czech Republic, where
the all-time Canucks’ leading scorer
notched the first goal of the 2008-09
season.

Since then, Naslund has played
a solid game with New York. In 38
games so far this season, Naslund has
scored 13 times while assisting on
13 other goals for 26 points. He has
stated several times since his arrival
on the East Coast that he is enjoying
the relative anonymity that comes with
being a Ranger and not being the focus
of his team’s offence.

 

 

 

 

ee

Peter Skudra

Goaltender Peter Skudra served

as one of the Vancouver Canucks’
many backup goaltenders during the
tumultuous time in net when Marc
Crawford coached the team. Despite
solid, if not spectacular play during
one of starting goalie, Dan Cloutier’s
many injuries, Skudra battled with
Crawford and soon found himself
relegated to the press box late in the
2002-03 campaign.

Crawford and team management
were intent on developing “goalie-
of-the-future” Alex Auld, and Skudra
became the odd man out when Cloutier
returned to the pipes. While Skudra
wasn’t outstanding for Vancouver, he
did a good job and was a fantastic guy
with fans. As for Auld, most goalies
of the future need to be able to have a
glove hand better than a 12-year-old,
and he was dealt away to Florida.

Vancouver was Skudra’s last NHL
stop. He left for the Russian Elite
League where he played six seasons
before hanging up the pads in 2007.

 

 

 

Todd Bertuzzi

Since the infamous Steve Moore
incident in March of 2004, Bertuzzi’s
career has deteriorated at a rapid pace.
In the summer, he inked a one-year
pact with the Calgary Flames after
being bought out and released by the
Anaheim Ducks. Calgary is Bertuzzi’s
fifth team in three and a half years and
after a fast start to the season, his play
has once again settled a below average
rate.

Despite ample amounts of
playing time with one of hockey’s true
superstars, Jarome Iginla, Bertuzzi has
failed to produce at a regular clip. In
35 games he has recorded 25 points,
but just nine goals. He just recently
came out of a prolonged 19 game
scoring slump.

Bertuzzi has more often than not
displayed a lack of effort and drive
on the ice over the last few years, but
when he turns it on, he’s something to
see. For example, when he broke his
goal drought against the Minnesota
Wild, he scored a breakaway goal in
overtime. With a Wild player draped
over his back, he made several deft
dekes and put the puck in the top
corner.

 

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