It's safe to say Canuck fans are breathing a sigh of relief today with the announcement that Naslund has signed a 3 year $18 million dollar deal. Last night I was working on a post concerning the Naslund situation, the gist of it being that Nonis had to get the Naslund situation straightened out one way or the other. Sure enough in my last paragraph I stated that Nonis is probably working on that deal as I type this. So I was about to upload the post when my internet connection craps out... grrr. I then turn on the tube and soon hear that Naslund has been re-signed making my original post irrelevant.
Anyway, the re-signing news is great for Canuck fans. The return of Naslund should solidy the offence for the next few years. There were many free agent forwards available, but none up to par with Naslund.
Clearly Naslund did not enjoy his time playing back in Sweden. Perhaps the lockout was a blessing for the Canucks. If you had said that Naslund would be a Canuck through 2007-2008 most people would have laughed at you.
So where do the Canucks go from here? Well the next order of business, probably to be settled today, is to decide if they are still after Scott Niedermayer. With Naslund's $6 million on the payroll there is no way they can fit Niedermayer under the cap without first trading some salary. The most likely and logical candidate to trade is Ed Jovanovski and his $4 million. Jovanovski will be a free agent after this season and there are many rumblings that he fully intends to test the market, with many believing he is interested in returning to Florida. Niedermayer would be the perfect replacement and Jovo would be an excellent trade chip.
Today could be the day that Niedermayer makes his decision and it could also be the day that the Bertuzzi situation is finally resolved. Oh, and I bet there will be a bunch of signings today... stay tuned.
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