The Trade of the Century FEATURES 1d By Steph Smith, OP Contributor The Vancouver Canucks made players onto the Prince F***ing George headlines this week by doing the Cougars?!” Brendan Morrison was unavailable impossible. In light of their recent for comment at this time. downward spiral and the ineffec- Whatever happens in the last few games, tiveness of their top line, they have people will be looking to Dave Nonis. If he made the trade of the century. Fed _ fails, it will be because of this trade and he will up with Brendan Morrison’s inabil- be a disgrace; if he succeeds he will be a hero ity to put the puck in the net, for the same reason. It is too early to judge Markus Naslund’s streaky play, and what will happen, but when the Canucks take Todd Bertuzzi’s complete lack of the ice their next game, the eyes of the NHL physical play the Canucks have and of the hockey-loving world will be fixed traded the three linemates to, of all sorely upon them, in anticipation of glorious teams, the Prince George Cougars! victory or of fantastic failure. What’s worse is that the three yet- to-be-named players sent from Prince George will be immediately assigned to the Manitoba Moose. The trade happened on March 27, 2006 to the shock and dismay of many fans. When asked about their feel- ings on the trade one fan had this to say, “Well... I can’t say it’s a great idea. I mean, I love Markus Naslund as much as anyone but in the long run if it means that we'll make it into the playoffs than I can deal with it!’ Others were not so optimistic, “What in the holy hell was Nonis thinking on that one? You trade away a man like Naslund who leads his team in goals for a kid from Prince George who prob- ably won’t ever play in the NHL? Seriously? Well, looks like the ‘Nucks are out of the playoffs this season.” Whatever the reason behind his logic, Dave Nonis.is confident that this is just the change that the Canucks need. “T think that Markus, Bert, and Mo have done wonders for our hockey club, but I also think that it was time for a drastic change. Right now we are sitting just out of the final playoff spot. This is the team that was thought to be a legitimate Cup contender. I know it was an unpopular decision, but it was the only one to make, and it was the right one to make as well.” When approached for com- ment Markus Naslund was polite and respectful as he usually is, but one could hear the anger in his voice when he spoke. “I am grate- ful for the years I spent with the Canucks organisation. This is truly the best place to play and I will not forget that. I only wish that more thought had gone into our dis- missal. This isn’t like being traded to another team, or clearing waivers and being stuck in the AHL, this is an ego shot. This is the equivalent of being sent to play on your 12-year-old kid’s team.” Todd Bertuzzi was not as Wa ACO aene qT ae kind stating that, “This is a F***ing 24 hr Problem Gambling Help Line outrage! I mean, yeah we haven’t 1888 795 -6111 s been playing the best hockey we j : GON eI can, tut @har the f° does ke bcresponsiblegambling.ca | COLUMBIA mean by throwing the three best