Naslund to have number retired by Canucks

Hockey Betting Lines

07/08/2010 - Vancouver, BC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former Vancouver Canucks captain Markus Naslund will have his number 19 raised to the rafters by the club on December 11.

The announcement came late Wednesday that Naslund, who played in Vancouver from 1996 until the end of the 2007-08 season, will become just the third player in franchise history to be honored.

Only Stan Smyl (1978-91) and Trevor Linden (1988-98; 2001-08) have had their jerseys lifted to the rafters previously.

"It's going to be special and neat to have a chance to come back to the arena and I'm sure there will be a lot of memories going through my head. I'll be nervous, too, but I'm really looking forward to it," Naslund admitted. "It's definitely a great honor and I'm very humbled and thankful to [general manager] Mike Gillis and the Aquilini family and the whole organization."

Naslund came to the Canucks in what was then a minor deal with the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for little-used player Alek Stojanov in March, 1996.

He stayed until signing a free-agent deal with the New York Rangers in July, 2008 and compiled a franchise-best 346 goals with 756 points in 884 games in Vancouver, while serving as team captain for his final eight seasons as a Canuck.

The 36-year-old native of Ornskoldsvik, Sweden enjoyed his finest NHL season in 2002-03, breaking out for 48 goals and 104 points in 82 games. He was runner-up in the voting for the Hart Trophy as league MVP to Peter Forsberg of Colorado -- who grew up in the same town as Naslund.

Naslund's tenure in Vancouver built on previous successes by Swedish players like center Patrik Sundstrom and winger Thomas Gradin, and paved the way for the success of players such as defensemen Sami Salo and Mattias Ohlund, as well as the Sedin twins, Daniel and Henrik.

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Big 12 Conference betting odds

Work left to do: Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas State

Texas joins Texas A&M and Kansas as locks after getting league win No. 11. Texas Tech greatly helped its own hopes and crippled OK State's with the two-point win Saturday. Is K-State the last reasonable hopeful? Could be an elimination match in Stillwater on Tuesday, at least for the Cowboys.

Work left to do:

Texas Tech [18-11 (7-7), RPI: 44, SOS: 12] A critical two-point win over OK State leaves the Red Raiders with Baylor and at Iowa State left. Get both and the Red Raiders likely are good to go. Get one and there could be some interesting comparisons with a K-State team that could finish two or three games "ahead" of them in the standings but doesn't have any of the quality wins Texas Tech has. Not a lot in nonconference play (against Arkansas in Little Rock being the best win, by far) to lean on.

Oklahoma State [18-9 (5-8), RPI: 50, SOS: 35] Still without a road win, the Cowboys now need to win two on the road just to get to .500 in conference play. It's hard to recall a team (OK, other than Clemson) falling so precipitously from lock status to almost certainly out of the NCAAs at this point. There are wins to be had in the last three, including a very big home game against K-State on Tuesday, but this team is reeling. Can you tell the pressure to win is getting to them with the way the final possession played out at Texas Tech? There are some good nonconference performances to lean on, specifically beating Missouri State and Syracuse on neutral floors and Pitt in OK City, but if the Pokes don't right this very, very soon, that won't be enough.

Kansas State [20-9 (9-5), RPI: 56, SOS: 96] It pays to be in the Big 12 North. The nine league wins are Colorado (twice), Missouri (twice), Iowa State (twice), Baylor, Nebraska and (a good one against) Texas. That helps explain the middling computer profile. The win over USC is nice, but the nonconference leaves a lot to be desired. The game at OK State in Stillwater on Tuesday is huge, as it could KO the Cowboys and leave K-State with a home date against Oklahoma with which to work.