There was some speculation that Markus Naslund might have been hurt and was playing hurt during the season. Ditto for Brendan Morrison. But apparently not....

VANCOUVER (CP) - Captain Markus Naslund promised Sunday he will play better for the Vancouver Canucks next season.

Naslund struggled through his worst NHL season as a Canuck in a year where goaltender Roberto Luongo became the face of the team and Daniel and Henrik Sedin finally made good on the promise of their potential.

There were many nights Naslund, 33, looked like a passenger on a train driven by Luongo, fuelled by the scoring of the Swedish twins, and kept on the rails by the Canucks commitment to tight defence.

''I know I can play better,'' Naslund said as the Canucks cleaned out their lockers and said goodbye for the summer. ''It wasn't a lack of effort, I wanted to do well. It just wasn't there.''

''I know I can do better, that's the bottom line. I'm proud of what I do. I want to show I can still perform. I'm going to come back and prove that I can play better.''
(See Naslund promises to be better next year - TSN)