Naslund welcomed Tortorella’s honesty

Former Vancouver Canucks captain Markus Naslund reflects on his time playing alongside Daniel and Henrik Sedin. (CP)

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NASLUND WELCOMED TORTORELLA’S HONESTY WITH RANGERS

The Vancouver Sun tracked down former Canucks captain Markus Naslund via phone to get his thoughts on the reportedly pending hiring of John Tortorella as the team’s new head coach. Naslund, who is now the GM of his hometown team, Modo, in the Swedish League, played under Tortorella briefly as a member of the New York Rangers before retiring from the NHL.

On Tortorella’s style, compared with that of predecessor Alain Vigneault: “He is more intense, both on the bench throughout the games and between periods and stuff,” Naslund said of Tortorella. “But in a good way. In my experience, and that’s only half a season, I thought he was honest and straightforward. And as a player I appreciate that, even if sometimes it’s stuff you might not like to hear. I appreciate people that bring it to you and are up front.”

Naslund, who as a former Canuck captain understands the intense media scrutiny the team faces better than most, also said Tortorella will have to commit to having a more positive relationship with reporters in Vancouver.

“I know he’s had a couple of run-ins with (New York Post reporter) Larry Brooks,” Naslund said. “He has to have a working relationship for it to work and I would think he understands that, too.

“I didn’t find any comparison in the media scrutiny in New York compared to Vancouver. There is so much focus on the hockey team in Vancouver. It’s something that comes with the territory and you need to be able to handle it if you are the coach. Coming from Tampa to New York was probably a big step media-wise for John. Now it’s another step.”

MACKINNON: “I THINK I’M NHL-READY”

The Denver Post details that come September, elite prospect Nathan MacKinnon wants to say goodbye to Halifax and be wearing an NHL sweater.

“I think I’m NHL ready,” he said. “Going into the season, I want to be more than ready. I want to make a difference right away with my team, not just survive in the league. It’s ultimately up to them, but I’m going to come into training camp ready to go and want to make them feel they have to keep me the rest of the year.”

MacKinnon said he would love to don an Avs sweater at the draft in Newark, N.J., next Sunday. Colorado holds the top pick. At the recent NHL combine in Toronto, MacKinnon met with Avs scouts and new coach Patrick Roy and came away sounding like the hopeful job prospect who thought the interviews went well.

“The vibe was good. They’re serious about taking me. That’s what I felt from them,” MacKinnon said. “They’re definitely making me really comfortable with the idea of going to the Avalanche. It would be a dream come true, and I think that the team has so much upside, so much potential to be a contender in a few years.”

AGENT: MACKINNON’S WORK ETHIC SIMILAR TO CROSBY’S

The New York Times profiles QMJHL Halifax Mooseheads teammates Nathan MacKinnon and Jonathan Drouin, who should each be one of the top selections at this next weekend’s NHL entry draft.

“I think my speed is what my strength is,” said MacKinnon, 17. “I try to get hard on pucks and play a pretty physical game and get involved, so a lot of it is that.”

Comparing MacKinnon to Crosby, the agent Pat Brisson, who represents both players, said: “He’s got very similar work ethic. They’re a little bit different players, but they do have the compete level. They’re both powerful skaters.”

PLAYER TWEETS ON LEAFS, KINGS TRADE

WILD, BACKSTROM CONTINUE TALKS

The Minneapolis Star Tribune, in recounting Sunday’s Jonathan Bernier trade between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Los Angeles Kings, points out the Wild were in the mix for Bernier with the Maple Leafs and Flyers. The Kings were looking for a top prospect from the Wild and at least Darcy Kuemper, sources say.

The Wild continues to talk contract with Niklas Backstrom. He can become a free agent July 5, but the Wild has also been investigating trade options. Remember, salary-cap space is limited as of now. The Wild technically has about $6 million available to spend this summer (that’s before potentially re-signing Backstrom, Cal Clutterbuck and Jared Spurgeon), so it’s clear the Wild will need to make some trades or execute some buyouts in order to free up more flexibility.

LIGHTNING PATIENTLY AWAIT NO. 3 PICK

The Tampa Bay Times wonders if Joe Sakic was sincere when he told the Denver Post he is considering taking forwards Jonathan Drouin, Nate MacKinnon or Aleksander Barkov over Seth Jones, or is he trying to stir up trade interest for the No. 1 pick?

“Who knows what they’re thinking?” Darryl Plandowski, the Lightning’s head amateur scout, said. “I think it’s smart of (Sakic) putting up a little controversy to get conversation going and people thinking. I saw one comment where someone said, ‘That’s a big smokescreen,’ and that might be. But he’s got the No. 1 pick. He can do what he wants.”

Regardless of how that plays out, one thing is for sure.

“The Lightning, at three, is in a good spot,” Plandowski said. “We’re going to get a good player whatever happens.”

KINGS’ LOMBARDI MET WITH PENNER’S AGENT

LA Kings Insider spoke with team GM Dean Lombardi on whether he has any indication on Dustin Penner’s intentions:

“He’d be another one, too. Actually I had a feeling-out with his agent here recently. Again, the fact that this is done now and we have these holes filled, we know the price, that it also helps us have a little certainly in how we approach some of these players. Like I said, it’s very difficult to try and juggle this with this cap coming down under these circumstances and our players all coming up. We wouldn’t have had this problem if the cap was the same. But, it is what it is. So, he’d be another one that I’ve already had a discussion with his agent. I’ve got to let the dust clear here and see what we’ve got.”

On whether it is important to re-sign Penner before free agency opens or whether the team would like Penner to “explore what’s out there and see what the market value is”:

“I really don’t think we’re faced with that now. It’s all about fitting in. So what the market says isn’t really going to drive this right now. It’s going to be about space. So, actually, I’d kind of take that out of the equation. So many times it’s just what you asked. ‘What’s he worth? What’s he worth?’ It really doesn’t matter. It’s all about fitting this in, and it is what it is. That’s just the long and short of it. If a guy’s worth X out in the marketplace, it’s not going to matter if you ain’t got the space.”

WHAT THEY’RE TWEETING ABOUT

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