Holik Called On The Carpet

[MantaRay]

http://nypost.com/sports/rangers/49794.htm

HOLIK HIGHEST-PAID FOLLOWER IN HISTORY

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

October 27, 2002 --

TORONTO - Bobby Holik says he wants to fit in with the Rangers, yet that's the last thing the organization should want from the centerman who spent the last decade tormenting the Blueshirts by exploiting every one of the franchise's psychological and physical infirmities. The Rangers don't need Holik to fit in and be a good soldier; a corporal marching lock step with a platoon on its way to a massacre. They need No. 16 to be a general, to lead and establish an example and attitude for a team that doesn't seem to have a clue how to succeed.

Holik wasn't drafted by the Rangers. He volunteered for active duty. He wasn't a free agent who received a wild, Quintallian unsolicited offer that could not be refused. The fact is, Holik pursued the Rangers even more aggressively than the team pursued him on July 1. The Maple Leafs made Holik a five-year offer of $41 million. The Devils countered with a five-year offer worth $41.25 million, a sure indication of just how desperate Lou Lamoriello really was to retain his cornerstone pivot. It was at this point that Holik instructed his agent, Mike Gillis, to phone Glen Sather and tell the GM that the center would sign with the Rangers if they offered $45M over five years - not a penny less. Sather obliged. Holik signed. I'm as confused as anyone with the way in which Bryan Trottier has misused Holik. It doesn't make the slightest bit of sense to have Holik on the roster and not match him every game against the opposition's top center. Really; if the Rangers were not going to use Holik in this way, there was no reason whatsoever to sign him at any price, let alone $9M a year. In more than a quarter of a century of reporting on this sport, I'm not sure that I've ever quite seen anything like this. It is the Red Sox signing Mariano Rivera as a free agent in 1999 and using him in long relief; nothing less absurd than that.

Still, this does not exonerate Holik for his contributions to the disastrous opening two weeks. Not only has he been anything but menacing, he's appeared timid. His decision-making has been dreadful on both sides of the puck. He's getting pushed around. He appears ill at ease both in and out of uniform. He won't speak out for fear of offending his teammates and employers. He's being a good soldier. He's not being a leader. His passivity is unattractive and unacceptable.

Holik is a bright man who surely understood the difference in culture between Paterson Plank Road and Broadway. He knew what the Rangers represented. He chose to come, anyway; chose to leave the gulag for the bright lights. Holik says he's trying to fit in. Problem is, it seems he already has. He's a Ranger. It's what he wanted. Isn't it?

*

The Blues, who'd reached their payroll limit, are able to spend an additional $2.6M on Martin Rucinsky and Tom Barrasso because of the approximately $4.75M in insurance rebate they'll receive on the injured Chris Pronger's $9.5M contract. The decision to sign Barrasso, meanwhile, was a severe setback for Byron Dafoe, whose agent, Bryant McBride, had been conducting negotiations with St. Louis GM Larry Pleau. With the Blues out of the picture, Dafoe's only hope for employment might rest with Atlanta, an organization that's never shown much interest in its goaltending, but might now that management jobs are clearly in jeopardy.

Meanwhile, we're told that Nashville coach Barry Trotz, also an endangered species, has informed his Predators that every one of them is available for trade. Maybe the Rangers could get David Legwand and then use him on the fourth line.

*

OK, so the NHL is not directly responsible for paying the deferred money owed former Sabres. We get that. And it is true that more than five years ago the league, disturbed by the proliferation of deferred-money deals, attempted to implement a mechanism that would have fully guaranteed such contracts against employer's financial setbacks. But it's just as true that the league did so unilaterally by board resolution, an act prohibited by the CBA. Faced with that situation, the NHLPA had no choice but to file a grievance. The league then withdrew its plan. It has not since been resurrected. And the PA continues to monitor the unfortunate situation in Buffalo.

*

Finally, it's a toss-up as who's more unpopular at the Garden - Sather, Trottier, Jim Dolan . . . or the new PA man.

[Rock]

Since Manta got it up first I took my copy of the same article down, however I put the parts that I editorialized here.

Holik wasn't drafted by the Rangers. He volunteered for active duty. He wasn't a free agent who received a wild, Quintallian unsolicited offer that could not be refused. The fact is, Holik pursued the Rangers even more aggressively than the team pursued him on July 1. The Maple Leafs made Holik a five-year offer of $41 million. The Devils countered with a five-year offer worth $41.25 million, a sure indication of just how desperate Lou Lamoriello really was to retain his cornerstone pivot. It was at this point that Holik instructed his agent, Mike Gillis, to phone Glen Sather and tell the GM that the center would sign with the Rangers if they offered $45M over five years - not a penny less. Sather obliged. Holik signed.

(This "new" revelation is very different from the way the events were reported to have happened!)I'm as confused as anyone with the way in which Bryan Trottier has misused Holik. It doesn't make the slightest bit of sense to have Holik on the roster and not match him every game against the opposition's top center. Really; if the Rangers were not going to use Holik in this way, there was no reason whatsoever to sign him at any price, let alone $9M a year. In more than a quarter of a century of reporting on this sport, I'm not sure that I've ever quite seen anything like this. It is the Red Sox signing Mariano Rivera as a free agent in 1999 and using him in long relief; nothing less absurd than that.

Still, this does not exonerate Holik for his contributions to the disastrous opening two weeks. Not only has he been anything but menacing, he's appeared timid. His decision-making has been dreadful on both sides of the puck. He's getting pushed around. He appears ill at ease both in and out of uniform. He won't speak out for fear of offending his teammates and employers. He's being a good soldier. He's not being a leader. His passivity is unattractive and unacceptable.

Holik is a bright man who surely understood the difference in culture between Paterson Plank Road and Broadway. He knew what the Rangers represented. He chose to come, anyway; chose to leave the gulag for the bright lights. (The obligatory shot at New Jersey and the Devils.)

Holik says he's trying to fit in. Problem is, it seems he already has. He's a Ranger. It's what he wanted. Isn't it?

(Poor Brooks the Rangers followed his blueprint to a tee now he's unhappy he got it. The old saw"Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it." applies here.)

[Derek21]

I think Brooks is jumping the gun on Holik here. Sure, Bobby hasn't played well but neither has the rest of the team. It's not fair to indict one player when there are a lot of problems with a team.

Is it Holik's fault Trottier hasn't figured out how to use him? Is it Holik's fault Messier somehow gets better wingers and more ice-time? I suppose it's the $9 million man's fault he has centered the 4th line the past two games.

I can understand why Holik hasn't been speaking out as much. It's tough to do that when it wasn't his team until he signed the contract.

Brooks is correct that he has to assert himself better. Also, it's a little premature to write off the Rangers. The 1993-94 team got off to a slow start as well. Look what happened that year. It's comparing apples and oranges but you don't write off a team after 10 games.

[HellOnICE]

The "Be careful what you wish for" is not at that stage yet. Trottier, has been god awful. He has implemented no system, and has been very quiet since the beginning. Although some of the players though he was just evaluatiing everything, it has now become apparent that this is the way its gonna be. His practice drills are said to be "childish".

[StarDew]

I think Brooks is jumping the gun on Holik here.  Sure, Bobby hasn't played well but neither has the rest of the team.  It's not fair to indict one player when there are a lot of problems with a team.

Is it Holik's fault Trottier hasn't figured out how to use him?  Is it Holik's fault Messier somehow gets better wingers and more ice-time?  I suppose it's the $9 million man's fault he has centered the 4th line the past two games.

I can understand why Holik hasn't been speaking out as much.  It's tough to do that when it wasn't his team until he signed the contract.  

Brooks is correct that he has to assert himself better.  Also, it's a little premature to write off the Rangers.  The 1993-94 team got off to a slow start as well.  Look what happened that year.  It's comparing apples and oranges but you don't write off a team after 10 games.

• It isn't fair to indict Holik yet who started a thread about a $9M waste
  
• Holik never wanted to be #1 so he will have to adjust to whatever wingers he gets
  
• Perhaps a team mate would actually "Glen Wesley" him
  
• Ahem, who in last night's chat ceded
  

Sidebar - I log all chat sessions

['7']

The "Be careful what you wish for" is not at that stage yet. Trottier, has been god awful. He has implemented no system, and has been very quiet since the beginning. Although some of the players though he was just evaluatiing everything, it has now become apparent that this is the way its gonna be. His practice drills are said to be "childish".

did you see how those goofs reacted to the win last night against the Leafs, like they won a playoff round or something. The win was truly a gift, 36 year old Richter can't save the bacon every game & Blackburn is in the doghouse, JD's doghouse, literally . The kid can't stop a beach ball.

[Rock]

Sidebar - I log all chat sessions

Oh no the fixing a toilet thread has been saved for eternity!!!

[StarDew]

Beware the flush capacitor

[unibrow]

FYI, I just read this on sportsnet.ca

Notes: The Rangers lost second-line centre Bobby Holik in the second period to a hip flexor.

[insanity_gallops]

FYI, I just read this on sportsnet.ca

Notes: The Rangers lost second-line centre Bobby Holik in the second period to a hip flexor.

[LetsGoDevils]

FYI, I just read this on sportsnet.ca

Notes: The Rangers lost second-line centre Bobby Holik in the second period to a hip flexor.

[SueNJ97]

So Brooks wants Bobby to speak up...maybe for once Bobby is learning that if you are playing like sh!t yourself, you can't say anything about your team?

[coldply123]

Lets all stop with this poor Bobby, oh lets cry for him nonsense.

I dont feel any sympathy for this guy.

I personally cant wait until the Devils completely humiliate him and the Rangers, because then he is going to be the one crying.

Holik seems to be realizing the fact that although he is good, he was as much a beneficiary of the Devils team as they were of him.

In ending, I must also mention that towards the end of 2001 and especially last season, he began to be disliked by his teammates to the point where only Gomez and Daneyko would talk to him.

He may not be selfish in his play, but he is the most arrogant, gluttonous hockey players in the league.

I truly would not shed a tear to see him and his career go down the drain, preferably in the mode of five years and no playoffs than a Scott Stevens shoulder check. And as for Larry Brooks, I really dont care what he says or what he wants, he is wrong on everything, thats why isnt the GM of a hockey team.

HOW IRONIC:

(N)Єverson covers the better team but makes them sound horrible.

Brooks covers the worse team and makes them sound like the second coming of The Red Army. GO FIGURE!

[unibrow]

My point in posting the quote from Holik who came out of last night's game is that he mentions his injury occurred two weeks ago and has gotten steadily worse. I felt from watching him play that he's been playing injured, he looked like he was in pain. Of course, anybody would be in pain the way they were losing....At any rate, it answers the question WTF is Trottier thinking? He's thinking Bobby is injured and needs low minutes with easier opponents. And since the Rangers don't roll four lines, that puts him on the 4th line with a few shifts a game, plus go in to take key face-offs and then bolt straight back to the bench. And, as always, Brooks is an idiot.

[sheeps]

Must have fallen on his wallet. Poor Bobby.

NICE!!!

<--- ENEMY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[NJDevs4978]

The fact is, Holik pursued the Rangers even more aggressively than the team pursued him on July 1. The Maple Leafs made Holik a five-year offer of $41 million. The Devils countered with a five-year offer worth $41.25 million, a sure indication of just how desperate Lou Lamoriello really was to retain his cornerstone pivot. It was at this point that Holik instructed his agent, Mike Gillis, to phone Glen Sather and tell the GM that the center would sign with the Rangers if they offered $45M over five years - not a penny less. Sather obliged. Holik signed.

How amusing. Now even Brooks admits it was CLEARLY about the money. And now we're hearing about an injury excuse from Holik for his invisible start? How convenient.

[NJDevs4978]

Also, it's a little premature to write off the Rangers.

I won't say what I'm thinking...it's too easy.

[Derek21]

I won't say what I'm thinking...it's too easy.

I expect a winner. It's very easy to get frustrated with them Hasan. But if you want to nitpick me, fine. Go right ahead.

A lot of times, fans say things out of anger. And if you were a Ranger fan, you might too.

And you're a Jets fan. You're telling me you never got pissed at them and said something you didn't mean? After today, you might.

If that's the case, you're too good Has.

So, don't go being all self-righteous here.

Nobody's perfect.

[Derek21]

And now we're hearing about an injury excuse from Holik for his invisible start? How convenient.

Holik started the season with a bruised ankle due to the final preseason game. Maybe there's some truth to it. It would explain things.

[NJDevs4978]

I've gotten plenty ticked at the Jets, including today. The difference is I don't jump on and off the bandwagon at the drop of a hat (or change my mind about other things at the drop of a hat). I was firmly off the bandwagon after the KC game and the Viking game wasn't nearly enough to convince me things were different.

[Derek21]

I've gotten plenty ticked at the Jets, including today. The difference is I don't jump on and off the bandwagon at the drop of a hat (or change my mind about other things at the drop of a hat). I was firmly off the bandwagon after the KC game and the Viking game wasn't nearly enough to convince me things were different.

You don't know me as well as you think. Just because I say something out of frustration doesn't mean I am not going to follow them. Remember what you said the other night?

Ranger fans have a right to be ticked off. The team deserves to be booed when they stink up the joint.

Do you know what those kind of performances do?

Ya know, I am not one of those fans that boos like others either unless the team really pisses me off.

There's a lot of negativity at Ranger home games thus far. All you have to do is notice how dead the atmosphere is compared to what it was a few years ago.

That's what happens when a team consistently loses. It's driven fans away. If I am such a bandwagoner, why do I go to games and why do I follow them?

I can't win anyway.

[NJDevs4978]

Obviously if I meant by bandwagoner you didn't follow the team or watch them then I'd be admitting I was the same way about the Jets anyway which isn't true even if I "gave up" on them two weeks ago, I still watched the games in case I was wrong (and to see Pennington too)

My point is most of us are more consistent in what we think.

I'm done...now back to the point of this thread which is to laugh at Holik

[Derek21]

I won't deny that you are more consistent. I can readily admit I am a basketcase when it comes to the Rangers. I used to be a lot more positive but I think the past few failures has affected me.

Anyway, just curious... but if the Jets had won that game today which they should have ... would you have gotten your hopes up?

The AFC East isn't that great. 3-4 record could have gotten them right back in the hunt and all it takes is one win streak and you got a shot.

I watched the game too. Pennington played well. I'm not sure what happened in the 2nd half .

[Yeah, I suck]

FYI, I just read this on sportsnet.ca

Notes: The Rangers lost second-line centre Bobby Holik in the second period to a hip flexor.

[unibrow]

I'm not really sure what line to say he was on, but they had Lindros, Messier and Nedved centering lines. I guess maybe Nedved was later in the game after Holik left?

Anyway, here's the latest from the Post:

"I've never had anything like this before, so I'll have to see how it responds before I know if I'm going to miss games," the centerman said. "Really, I haven't felt quite right since I got hit in the foot in Boston [on Oct. 4]. If I had stayed in the game, I would have hurt the team more than help. I need to be 100 percent in order to be effective."