Canucks considered making a terrible trade involving Markus Naslund in 1998

A 1996 deal that brought Markus Naslund to Vancouver is widely considered the best trade in Canucks history.

But two years later, then-Canucks GM Brian Burke considered making what would have been one of the worst trades in the history of the franchise.

Luckily, he didn’t.

Pat Quinn stole Naslund out of Pittsburgh at the 1996 trade deadline, getting the future Canucks captain for Alek Stojanov. Naslund became one of the best players ever to suit up for the Canucks. Stojanov went on to play just 45 more NHL games.

But just prior to Naslund establishing himself as a star in the league, Burke strongly considered trading him in 1998. And according to George McPhee, GM of the Washington Capitals at the time, Burke considered trading him for a third-round pick.

That detail was revealed in Scott Rintoul’s new podcast series, Unreel: West Coast Express.

“I didn’t like Markus Naslund as a player,” Burke told Rintoul. “I liked him as a person. It’s impossible not to like him. I thought he was underachieving. I thought he was a classic high pick from Sweden or Finland, guys who came and if it didn’t happen for them right away, they pout… I couldn’t have been more wrong.”

Just 25 years old prior to the 1998-99 season, Naslund was coming off a disappointing year that saw him score just 14 goals and 20 assists in 76 games.

McPhee, who helped Vancouver acquire Naslund when he was a member of the Canucks’ front office in 1996, tried to bring him to Washington.

“I remember calling Brian Burke,” McPhee said in the podcast. “Markus hadn’t broken through. He wasn’t playing a lot. I asked Burkie if he would be interested in moving him. I offered a third-round pick. [Burke] said give me a day and I’ll give you a yes or a no. He called me back the next day and said he was not quite doing it yet. He’s not playing a lot under our current coach (Mike Keenan). But I think I’ve got to be a little more patient.”

The rest of the story is well documented. Naslund requested a meeting with Burke, who believed his underachieving winger was going to request a trade. Burke’s policy at the time was to trade anyone who asked for one.

“So Markus asked to come see me, he walks in the office, and I said, ‘Shut up. Don’t say anything.’ I said, ‘Sit down and shut up. Because I’m afraid you’re going to ask for a trade and once you do that it’s too late. So hear me out first,'” Burke said.

“So I said, ‘I’m not trading you. You’ll be here long after the coach is.’ But I said in the meantime, ‘You’re stealing money, Markus. You’re stealing money, you’re not backchecking, you’re not forechecking, you’re not scoring goals. You’re not playing hard. You’re a shadow of yourself.'”

Burke believes that conversation was a pivotal moment for Naslund.

“We had a different hockey player the next day,” he said.

Naslund led the Canucks in points (66) and goals (36) that season. Two years later he was named captain.

Naslund went on to lead the Canucks in scoring in seven straight seasons, which still stands as a club record.

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