Markus Sten Näslund (born 30 July 1973) is a Swedish former professional ice hockey player and former general manager for Modo Hockey of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL, formerly named Elitserien). He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Pittsburgh Penguins, Vancouver Canucks and New York Rangers, as well as in the Elitserien with Modo Hockey. Nicknamed “Nazzy” by Canucks fans and “Macke” or “Mackan” in his native Sweden,^[1] he was known for his offensive skills, particularly his wrist shot and stickhandling.

After playing junior hockey within the Modo organization, Näslund turned professional with the club’s Elitserien team in 1990–91. Selected in the first round, 16th overall by the Penguins in the 1991 NHL Entry Draft, he joined the NHL in 1993–94. After his tenure with Pittsburgh, Näslund was traded to the Vancouver Canucks in 1996, where he spent 12 years, including a team record 8 as captain. With the Canucks, Näslund led the team in scoring for 7 seasons, was thrice first team All-Star, chosen in 2002, 2003 and 2004, a Lester B. Pearson Award recipient in 2003, and runner-up for the Hart, Art Ross, and Rocket Richard Trophies in 2003. He received the Cyclone Taylor Trophy as the Canucks’ most valuable player five times and the Cyrus H. McLean Trophy as the leading point-scorer for seven consecutive seasons—both club records—en route to becoming the franchise leader in goals and points. In 2008, Näslund signed with the Rangers, where he spent one season before announcing his retirement from the NHL after 15 season.^[2] Midway through the 2009–10 season, he returned to play for Modo before retiring a second time. In December 2010, he became the third Canucks player to have his jersey retired, joining Stan Smyl and Trevor Linden.

Internationally, Näslund has competed with the Swedish national team in two European Junior Championships, two World Junior Championships, four World Championships, two World Cups and one Winter Olympics. He holds the World Junior record for most goals scored in a single tournament, scoring 13 in 1993, while also winning back-to-back silver medals at the competition. In World Championship play, he won a silver medal in 1993 and two bronze medals in 1999 and 2002. On 21 April 2014, Näslund was inducted into the Swedish Hockey Hall Of Fame.

Craig Harlan Janney (born September 26, 1967) is an American former professional ice hockey center who played twelve seasons in the National Hockey League from 1987–88 until 1998–99, when blood clots ended his career prematurely.

Playing career[edit]

Known as an excellent puck-distributing center, Janney averaged nearly one point per game in his NHL career. Janney was drafted in the first round, 13th overall by the Boston Bruins in the 1986 NHL Entry Draft, and also played in the 1987 World Ice Hockey Championships, 1991 Canada Cup and the 1994 World Ice Hockey Championships for Team USA.

Prior to his NHL career, Janney attended Enfield High School in Enfield, Connecticut before attending Deerfield Academy. Janney played for the Boston College Eagles during his collegiate years, and he also played on the 1988 U.S. Olympic Team that finished seventh at the Calgary Olympic Games, where he had six points in five Olympic contests.

In 1992, the Boston Bruins traded Janney with Stephane Quintal to the St. Louis Blues for Adam Oates. Two years later, the St. Louis Blues signed restricted free agent Petr Nedvěd who was in a contract dispute with the Vancouver Canucks. An arbitrator awarded the Canucks a second round draft pick along with Craig Janney. Both teams were not satisfied with the decision and the Canucks traded Janney back for Jeff Brown, Bret Hedican and Nathan LaFayette. In 1995, the St. Louis Blues traded Janney to the San Jose Sharks for Jeff Norton and a conditional draft pick. One year later, Janney was traded to the Winnipeg Jets for Darren Turcotte and a second round draft pick.^[1] Janney joined the team when it relocated to become the Phoenix Coyotes, before being traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning on June 11, 1998, along for the rights to Louie DeBrusk and a 5th round pick in 1998.^[2]

In 2004, Craig Janney was honored as having “The Softest Hands in Hockey” by the NHL Alumni Board. On February 13, 2007 Janney was named the interim head coach of the Lubbock Cotton Kings of the CHL. He would finish the season, but the Lubbock Cotton Kings would cease operations at the end of the 2007 season.

Recently, Janney has been appearing on NESN for Hockey East coverage. He currently resides in Scottsdale, Arizona with his wife, former model Kim Janney and daughter Barrette Janney.

Janney is a 1996 inductee of the Enfield Athletic Hall of Fame.^[3]

Career statistics[edit]

Regular season and playoffs[edit]