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"Naslund signing shows Nonis has a firm grip
No one needs to worry about 'boy GM'

Ed Willes
The Province


Wednesday, August 03, 2005


Considering that the world around him was going insane -- and considering the next couple of days would make or break the Vancouver Canucks, to say nothing of his embryonic career as an executive -- Dave Nonis sounded fairly calm Tuesday.

Yes, he said, negotiations were under way with Markus Naslund and the captain was aware of the Canucks' limitations. Yes, there had been talks with Scott Niedermayer, but Nonis doesn't regard the situation as either/or ... in other words, the Canucks wanted to proceed with Naslund and the familiar core which, tragically, no longer includes Marek Malik, or they would rebuild around Niedermayer and a new nucleus.

Nonis left the distinct impression he's very much in control of things, which may come as some comfort to the faithful who are used to the more theatrical style of his predecessor.

Then again, there was a reason he sounded very much in control of things. Nonis, as The Province's Tony Gallagher uncovered later in the evening, had locked up Naslund for the next three years, thereby securing the core of his team and, just as importantly, securing his position as the new sheriff in town.

With the player market in the new NHL moving at the speed of light, there was some concern over the new man's ability to do the job. But with the signing of Naslund, Nonis has sent a clear message about the franchise's future and his own abilities.

He isn't Brian Burke. He's still a little green. But in a hyper-accelerated marketplace, where GMs are adding and discarding players as if they were managing fantasy-league teams, Nonis delivered the one player he had to deliver.

Now the Canucks can get on with their season and the fans can get on with the serious business of living and dying with this team. But the one thing they no longer have to worry about is the boy general manager.

"The pieces only fit if the numbers let them fit," Nonis said earlier in the day. "If it doesn't work out, it's up to us to move on to something else."

Still, earlier on Tuesday, there was some question over what would be left if things didn't work out for the Canucks. Day 2 of the new NHL was marked by unprecedented movement around the league, but as Canucks fans waited for news of Naslund, Plan A, or Niedermayer, the organization's fallback, the only announcement concerned the loss of the useful but expendable Malik to the always accommodating New York Rangers.

Niedermayer's name, in fact, generated most of the heat throughout the day. Late in the afternoon, his agent Kevin Epp said the great defenceman could finalize his decision as early as today -- which seemed to indicate he would choose between Vancouver and Calgary. Niedermayer, who's also contemplating a multi-year, $6.8-million-US-per offer from the New Jersey Devils, may still end up in Vancouver, but if Nonis can find a way to work Naslund, Todd Bertuzzi and Niedermayer under the salary cap, he should consider a new line of work.

Minister of Finance pops to mind.

But, in the end, Naslund was restored to his team and this market, and there's something reassuring about that. The sublime Swede might have received more money elsewhere but Naslund, you sensed, was never fully about the money.


Being captain of the Canucks seemed to mean something to him. Playing in Vancouver seemed to mean something to him. The fans' unconditional affection for him seemed to mean something to him. Today, all those things we always thought about him will be confirmed.

It's funny. During the course of attempting to track this story down Tuesday, a call was placed to Burke to see if he had any interest in signing Naslund for his new club in Anaheim. The Canucks' former GM protested he'd never do that to Nonis.

"[Naslund] should finish his career in Vancouver as a Canuck," Burke said. And there was something very right in that.