Naslund Retires

Although there hasn't been any official word, it looks as though Markus Naslund will retire from the NHL, foregoing his final season of the 2-year deal he signed with the Rangers last summer. The report of his retirement comes out of New York over the weekend, which suggests he had informed management on Thursday of his decision. If this is the case, we should probably expect an official announcement later on in the week.

Naslund, 35, was one of the better pool players in the beginning of the decade, finishing in the top 10 of pool scoring on a few occasions. Naslund had topped out at 104 points in 2002/'03, where he finished 3rd in pool scoring that year. In the last three seasons, however, Naslund failed to crack the top 100 in pool scoring, thanks to some mediocre seasons in Vancouver and then another one in New York this past year. This season, Naslund finished in 114th in pool scoring, with 24 goals and 22 assists in all 82 games. To his credit, he never missed a game in those three seasons, being one of the more durable players in that time.

For career scoring, Naslund leaves the NHL with 395 goals, 474 assists (869 points) in 1,117 games with only three clubs in the NHL, the Penguins, Canucks & Rangers.

For the Rangers, this news makes things a little easier with their salary cap situation, as Naslund was set to be a $4 million cap hit in the 2010 season. The Rangers were already struggling with the cap beforehand and this news does lighten the load a little bit.