Tom Fitzgerald named Assistant GM

[Neb00rs]

Sure loyalty and all if fun. But IMO loyalty has hurt us more than anything lately.

 

Lou thought he had loyalty from a bunch of players who walked, money talks and loyalty is not much of a thing now. Do i have to post the list of all the bad contract Lou handed out of loyalty? or the ex-Devils he couldn't help himself to re-sign. All the playing time old guys not doing their job had over guys that were going to be our future.

 

Loyalty is almost dead actually. We live in a world were everything is so easy to obtain you don't get attached as much. Back in the days players we're sticking to their team. Now im pretty sure they all get drafted thinking to which team they'd like to be traded or who they are going to sign with once they hit UFA. Look at all the divorces these days too, things are rough a little, boom. It's so easy to just jump on another ship that looks more promising. 

 

Your post is cute for sure, thanks to your idealization of the past, so kudos to you, but it lacks two important things:

1. Truth or accuracy in any form

2. A basic understanding of economic principles

[slasher72]

Team crest has been re-designed ...

 

 

 

Nice work! That looks great. Lol.

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

This is actually an incredibly sad commentary about what our society has become.

 

It's not, actually.  SD left out some things.  Like players having more and more opportunities to decide to play where they want to.  If the previous generations of players had those same opportunities for the same salaries, you can bet they would've taken advantage.  I can guarantee you that some terrific players who had to endure playing on bad teams year after year after year (sometimes for entire careers) because they had no say in where they played would've loved to have been playing in the present time period.  They didn't stay with their teams completely out of loyalty and because they were all swell guys.  They stayed because they had no choices, didn't know any better and became products of their environments, and way back in the day didn't think to fight for free agency rights and the rest.  Owners often treated their players like sh!t back in the "good ol' days"  

 

As for divorce...same thing.  Do you really think people stayed together back in the day simply because they were loyal?  Women often stayed with men because they simply couldn't support themselves in what was a limited job market for them.  Career opportunities were not lucrative enough to support a family if they had kids.  Even obviously abused women often stayed in marriages because they felt like they had nowhere else to go, or were simply that terrified to leave.  That must have been great for the kids of families like that.  Yeah, high divorce rates does cheapen the whole institution of marriage somewhat, and some people probably don't put as much effort into their marriages as they should, but part of the whole "increased divorce thing" is people actually realizing life is too damned short to stay trapped in miserable and hopeless situations, and because they are better able to handle the financial hardships and other issues that come with divorce, they aren't staying in it for the sake of staying in it. 

Edited July 24, 2015 by Colorado Rockies 1976

[BostonNala370]

Terrific if this is what Shero wants.

[Pepperkorn]

Well -- I just read Holik's comments -- I thought he was going to say some crap about loyalty.

 

He actually said something very similar to what I said in the other thread.

 

I also have to disagree with your take on it Maddog - I didn't feel that Holik's comments were hypocritical. To me, they came from a place of experience. He's probably been influenced into making the sh!tty choices and found it was self-defeating and dissatisfying. It's probably disheartening for him to see all of society is moving in a very hollow, dissatisfying direction - and they will be influencing people who are looking to actually  be mindful, thoughtful, intellectually engaged in the process.

 

Sterio I really like that it was you that drew those parallels. You clearly understand the benefits of disloyalty. With all of your negative rants about the teams struggles and the celebrations following Lou stepping down, I had felt you were clearly comfortable with, and probably even embraced these kinds of values. Why tolerate discomfort -- ever?  Right?  I do get a sense you've been questioning why it is disloyalty leaves you feeling uncomfortable. I hope you figure that out and don't just flat out embrace "If it feels good do it" or some worse kind of philosophy. As an artist I'm sure you have a sense that public opinion in the moment is not always correct. Profit is not equivalent to quality or brilliance of vision or longevity.  Fandom is one thing - but the connections you drew spurred me to this comment.

[Pepperkorn]

It's not, actually.  SD left out some things.  Like players having more and more opportunities to decide to play where they want to.  If the previous generations of players had those same opportunities for the same salaries, you can bet they would've taken advantage.  I can guarantee you that some terrific players who had to endure playing on bad teams year after year after year (sometimes for entire careers) because they had no say in where they played would've loved to have been playing in the present time period.  They didn't stay with their teams completely out of loyalty and because they were all swell guys.  They stayed because they had no choices, didn't know any better and became products of their environments, and way back in the day didn't think to fight for free agency rights and the rest.  Owners often treated their players like sh!t back in the "good ol' days"  

 

As for divorce...same thing.  Do you really think people stayed together back in the day simply because they were loyal?  Women often stayed with men because they simply couldn't support themselves in what was a limited job market for them.  Career opportunities were not lucrative enough to support a family if they had kids.  Even obviously abused women often stayed in marriages because they felt like they had nowhere else to go, or were simply that terrified to leave.  That must have been great for the kids of families like that.  Yeah, high divorce rates does cheapen the whole institution of marriage somewhat, and some people probably don't put as much effort into their marriages as they should, but part of the whole "increased divorce thing" is people actually realizing life is too damned short to stay trapped in miserable and hopeless situations, and because they are better able to handle the financial hardships and other issues that come with divorce, they aren't staying in it for the sake of staying in it. 

AWE!  now Sterio gets to not think about his statement and just say "YEAH!  That's what I meant"  I don't think he did though.  But it's good you significantly improved upon the moral tone

[Chuck the Duck]

Nice work! That looks great. Lol.

 

It is a nice logo.  Unfortunately I can't take credit for it.  There is a travel hockey organization in NJ called the Jersey Penguins, and that is their logo. 

 

I hope I didn't violate any copyright laws or board rules with my small attempt at humor.

[Zubie#8]

Enough with this Penguins crap. No kidding Shero is going to bring in guys hes comfortable with. Has nothing to do with the Penguins anymore. Im sick of that narrative, its stupid.

[CarpathianForest]

Did they hire the assistant to the traveling secretary yet?

 

[Neb00rs]

Enough with this Penguins crap. No kidding Shero is going to bring in guys hes comfortable with. Has nothing to do with the Penguins anymore. Im sick of that narrative, its stupid.

 

What exactly are you sick of? That people are joking about how we have a bunch of former Penguins staff now? I don't see why that bothers you so much. If people were getting angry over it or acting surprised then I would understand your frustration, but it doesn't seem like that's happening at all. And Shero might have nothing to do with the Pens anymore per se, but I'm sure we will see some similarities between how the Pens were run under him and how he runs the Devils. You can bet we will adopt certain elements of the Penguins-style hockey/hockey ops that Shero employed during his time in Pittsburgh.

[Zubie#8]

What exactly are you sick of? That people are joking about how we have a bunch of former Penguins staff now? I don't see why that bothers you so much. If people were getting angry over it or acting surprised then I would understand your frustration, but it doesn't seem like that's happening at all. And Shero might have nothing to do with the Pens anymore per se, but I'm sure we will see some similarities between how the Pens were run under him and how he runs the Devils. You can bet we will adopt certain elements of the Penguins-style hockey/hockey ops that Shero employed during his time in Pittsburgh.

Not as much on here but I see it on HF, twitter, etc etc. I don't like the narrative at all and many people do say it not in a joking matter.

[Neb00rs]

Not as much on here but I see it on HF, twitter, etc etc. I don't like the narrative at all and many people do say it not in a joking matter.

 

Okay, this is true, I've seen it myself, but your post implied that you were responding to something in this thread.

 

Actually, what annoys me more is Pens fans going, "NJ is taking our whole front office." It's like, no idiots, NJ brought in Shero and as is typical, he's bringing in his own guys.

Edited July 25, 2015 by Neb00rs

[Zubie#8]

Okay, this is true, I've seen it myself, but your post implied that you were responding to something in this thread.

Actually, what annoys me more is Pens fans going, "NJ is taking our whole front office." It's like, "No idiots, NJ brought in Shero and as is typical, he's bringing in his own guys."

I read this so many times, "the Devils are turning into the Penguins." I just hate that entire narrative no matter who it is, it irritates me for some reason. Like when Flyers fans were calling the Kings 'Flyers West', Tampa is 'Rangers South' , hell I even saw someone call the Sharks 'Devils West' since Debo, Robinson, and Hedberg are there. I find it odd.

[SterioDesign]

AWE! now Sterio gets to not think about his statement and just say "YEAH! That's what I meant" I don't think he did though. But it's good you significantly improved upon the moral tone

What the hell did you think i could have meant outside of what CR added? It goes hand in hand with what i said. Its true that it. Ot necessarely a loyalty thing but more that people are exposed to greener grass all the time now. It wasnt the case before

Also before players were not exposed as much to what the others teams were. You didnt have players texting guys all over the league to join them. With fb, the media and wtv you know how it works. People just share what make their grass look greener. Of course its appealing. And of course it makes people compare more cause its in their face all the time.

To go back to the couple thing. Its one thing to have a girl whos not 100% happy with her bf but restrained in social activities or network or wtv back in 1987. Its a other one to have a girl "on the fence" seeing pictures of her "happy looking" friends with their bf scrolling in her face all day long and then have a bunch of guys messaging her at the same time in 2015. Theres a lot more temptation these days.

Its really no different than in the nhl these days. Guys are unhappy and they see twitters and videos of other teams having fun in the locker room and doing cool sh!t, they can go and see exactly what teams have to spend and if they could fit on a team etc etc I would have never wanted to go play in dallas before say i was an nhl player... But SEEING how seguin and benn are having fun. That would make me think twice now.

Edited July 25, 2015 by SterioDesign

[themightyall]

What the hell did you think i could have meant outside of what CR added? It goes hand in hand with what i said. Its true that it. Ot necessarely a loyalty thing but more that people are exposed to greener grass all the time now. It wasnt the case before

Also before players were not exposed as much to what the others teams were. You didnt have players texting guys all over the league to join them. With fb, the media and wtv you know how it works. People just share what make their grass look greener. Of course its appealing. And of course it makes people compare more cause its in their face all the time.

To go back to the couple thing. Its one thing to have a girl whos not 100% happy with her bf but restrained in social activities or network or wtv back in 1987. Its a other one to have a girl "on the fence" seeing pictures of her "happy looking" friends with their bf scrolling in her face all day long and then have a bunch of guys messaging her at the same time in 2015. Theres a lot more temptation these days.

Its really no different than in the nhl these days. Guys are unhappy and they see twitters and videos of other teams having fun in the locker room and doing cool sh!t, they can go and see exactly what teams have to spend and if they could fit on a team etc etc I would have never wanted to go play in dallas before say i was an nhl player... But SEEING how seguin and benn are having fun. That would make me think twice now.

 

I struggle with this concept too.  I don't think the players as people have changed too much from the 90's to now, but a lot of other things have.  Saying Lou was a wet blanket to players wasn't bad in the 90's but there isn't much difference to the players now.  That's why I felt he could still do it.  But when you say about the changes in technology like Twitter and FB and things, it does make perfect sense.  That's why everyone says they want to go to Chicago.  They are a sinking ship of top end contracts, but everyone still wants go to there.

Edited July 25, 2015 by themightyall

[DevsMan84]

I read this so many times, "the Devils are turning into the Penguins." I just hate that entire narrative no matter who it is, it irritates me for some reason. Like when Flyers fans were calling the Kings 'Flyers West', Tampa is 'Rangers South' , hell I even saw someone call the Sharks 'Devils West' since Debo, Robinson, and Hedberg are there. I find it odd.

 

I totally agree with you.  The people who tend to do this on a more serious note (so taking out the people who are clearly doing it in jest) are the ones who have a bone to pick with the new direction the team is taking and with the owners/management in general.

 

Funny, I don't think I hear anything from them mentioning how we raided Montreal for both players and personnel in the late 80's and early 90's which set up the base for the march towards the eventual cup win in 95.  Richer, Lemieux, Robinson, Lemaire, the trap, etc. were all things we took from Montreal.

[Chuck the Duck]

I totally agree with you. The people who tend to do this on a more serious note (so taking out the people who are clearly doing it in jest) are the ones who have a bone to pick with the new direction the team is taking and with the owners/management in general.

Funny, I don't think I hear anything from them mentioning how we raided Montreal for both players and personnel in the late 80's and early 90's which set up the base for the march towards the eventual cup win in 95. Richer, Lemieux, Robinson, Lemaire, the trap, etc. were all things we took from Montreal.

That really is an excellent point. Lou made no bones about it. He looked to Montreal as a model and took as much talent from there as he could to change the culture and identity of this organization at the time.

The problem I think some people are having with what is going on now is they feel that the Devils don't need that type of overhaul. While the success has not been there the last 3 years, I think they believe this organization did not need an identity overhaul which is going on right now, but needed patience to rebuild the roster.

I will say this, The most exciting years to be a devils fan were 1999-2001 because those teams could do it all, including score. If fast, attacking and supportive brings us back to that type of hockey, I'm all for it because it was fun to watch.

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

I totally agree with you.  The people who tend to do this on a more serious note (so taking out the people who are clearly doing it in jest) are the ones who have a bone to pick with the new direction the team is taking and with the owners/management in general.

 

Funny, I don't think I hear anything from them mentioning how we raided Montreal for both players and personnel in the late 80's and early 90's which set up the base for the march towards the eventual cup win in 95.  Richer, Lemieux, Robinson, Lemaire, the trap, etc. were all things we took from Montreal.

 

Too funny, I was going to bring this up.  This franchise borrowed a LOT from Montreal, especially a blueprint for winning.  Before that happened (really started with Lemaire, though there were ex-Canadiens on the roster when he arrived), I always likened the Devils to a team full of tasty ingredients that badly needed the right chef to show them how to win and become a true team...before '94, when the Devils had become consistently not-bad, it wasn't much of a coincidence that team was often middle-of-the-road both offensively and defensively...they didn't have that one thing that screamed "The Devils are THIS.", no real identity.  There was an SI article about the '89-'90 Patrick Division (at the time of the article, everyone in the division was in contention in a .500-ish kind of way), and though I don't remember everything about it, I do remember a paragraph that said something along the lines of "The Islanders are too young, the Flyers are too old, the Devils have the best talent but the worst MO..."  The gist of the article was that the Devils were a team of talented but completely mismatched parts that lead to "on and off the ice, the Devils aren't speaking the same language." 

 

Who knows if the Devils are going to borrow another blueprint...just because some new Devils shot-callers and personnel are ex-Penguin execs doesn't mean that they're married to one way of thinking.  Guys do evolve and adjust as they go. 

Edited July 27, 2015 by Colorado Rockies 1976

[DJ Eco]

To go back to the couple thing. Its one thing to have a girl whos not 100% happy with her bf but restrained in social activities or network or wtv back in 1987. Its a other one to have a girl "on the fence" seeing pictures of her "happy looking" friends with their bf scrolling in her face all day long and then have a bunch of guys messaging her at the same time in 2015. Theres a lot more temptation these days.

Its really no different than in the nhl these days. Guys are unhappy and they see twitters and videos of other teams having fun in the locker room and doing cool sh!t, they can go and see exactly what teams have to spend and if they could fit on a team etc etc I would have never wanted to go play in dallas before say i was an nhl player... But SEEING how seguin and benn are having fun. That would make me think twice now.

 

Damn, you really hit the nail on the head, that's actually a great comparison.

 

Previously, maybe you had 5-10 guys you kept in touch with regularly. Maybe someone left the team who you and your family were close to so you keep in touch. Maybe he tells you stuff about the organization he's at that piques your interest; similar to what I think went on between Elias and Zidlicky in 2012 before that trade (and maybe Elias and Havlat last offseason).

 

Now, if you're 25 years old and a future/big name player, chances are you've met every similar player of your age and stature; between EA Sports commercials/events, All-Star Weekends, NHL Awards, etc. They had these events before, but there are more now, and they are more publicized (and possibly more fun for the athletes). Athletes in the 90s weren't scheduled by the NHL to do John Varvatos suit fittings together and/or Snapchat takeovers with rival teams' players. In the 90s, you probably wouldn't have taken down one of these guys' home phone number and kept in touch throughout the season, but now with Twitter and iMessage, all the guys you've met are at your fingertips. These guys keep in touch, they text and Tweet each other publicly. They go out to dinner now when they play each others' teams, and show everyone on Instagram.

Just think about Ryan Suter and Zach Parise during our 2012 Playoffs run. I don't think Suter and Parise talk during the playoffs it were the 90s. I don't think Suter calls Parise's home phone during the playoffs to "check in". I don't think that distraction ever comes up at any point before the iPhone is invented, and Parise and Suter probably do not BOTH "end up" in Minnesota with identical contracts.

 

I don't think Kevin Hayes or Martin St. Louis go to the Rangers last year, without the iPhone, social media, and the internet rumor mill. Mike Richards would still have a job, maybe he and Jeff Carter never get reunited in LA in 2012? Maybe they're both still Flyers? 

Edited July 27, 2015 by DJ Eco

[DJ Eco]

Who knows if the Devils are going to borrow another blueprint...just because some new Devils shot-callers and personnel are ex-Penguin execs doesn't mean that they're married to one way of thinking.  Guys do evolve and adjust as they do. 

 

Some people bring up Shero's firing more than a year ago to discredit him or his experience. I personally think it's great that he had one whole year to rethink his approach and rewrite a blueprint of his own. I'd actually feel less encouraged if he were hired directly from being active the Penguins office. A year off gives you time to really study and re-evaluate the game, which it sounds like he's done (with USA Hockey mostly).

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

Damn, you really hit the nail on the head, that's actually a great comparison.

 

Previously, maybe you had 5-10 guys you kept in touch with regularly. Maybe someone left the team who you and your family were close to so you keep in touch. Maybe he tells you stuff about the organization he's at that piques your interest; similar to what I think went on between Elias and Zidlicky in 2012 before that trade (and maybe Elias and Havlat last offseason).

 

Now, if you're 25 years old and a future/big name player, chances are you've met every similar player of your age and stature; between EA Sports commercials/events, All-Star Weekends, NHL Awards, etc. They had these events before, but there are more now, and they are more publicized (and possibly more fun for the athletes). Athletes in the 90s weren't scheduled by the NHL to do John Varvatos suit fittings together and/or Snapchat takeovers with rival teams' players. In the 90s, you probably wouldn't have taken down one of these guys' home phone number and kept in touch throughout the season, but now with Twitter and iMessage, all the guys you've met are at your fingertips. These guys keep in touch, they text and Tweet each other publicly. They go out to dinner now when they play each others' teams, and show everyone on Instagram.

Just think about Ryan Suter and Zach Parise during our 2012 Playoffs run. I don't think Suter and Parise talk during the playoffs it were the 90s. I don't think Suter calls Parise's home phone during the playoffs to "check in". I don't think that distraction ever comes up at any point before the iPhone is invented, and Parise and Suter probably do not BOTH "end up" in Minnesota with identical contracts.

 

I don't think Kevin Hayes or Martin St. Louis go to the Rangers last year, without the iPhone, social media, and the internet rumor mill. Mike Richards would still have a job, maybe he and Jeff Carter never get reunited in LA in 2012? Maybe they're both still Flyers? 

 

Some of the early revolutions began with Jim Bouton, former Yankee pitcher...he had two-and-a-half terrific seasons as a starting pitcher for the Yanks, developed arm problems and lost his best stuff, then tried to develop a knuckleball to hang around (which he was able to do for a while).  Anyway, he wrote a well-known book named Ball Four, about his one and only season in 1969 spent pitching for the one-and-done Seattle Pilots (that franchise became the Milwaukee Brewers the following season), and later the Houston Astros.  Ball Four is known for being the first real "Tell All" book in sports, on many levels (his portrayal of Mickey Mantle as a boozer and not always warm-and-fuzzy towards fans got a lot of notice, and supposedly was a big reason why he was "banned" from participating in Yankee Old-Timer games for many years). 

 

One of those levels had to do with player contracts and salaries...Bouton and some others, well aware that MLB owners at the time wanted to keep "everyone dumb" so they could keep salaries down, decided to go public with exactly what they were making, which predictably made GMs and owners everywhere furious...there was basically an unwritten rule that players wouldn't discuss their salaries either publicly or with each other.  Bouton would even go so far as to tell the press when he thought the Yankees were full of sh!t in their negotiating approaches as they were happening, which also enraged his franchise (even some teammates and players around the league took issue with Bouton doing this). 

 

But yeah, suffice it to say things have changed a LOT, due to guys like Bouton.  Now even "undisclosed" contracts become common knowledge pretty quickly, and everyone has a strong approximation of their market value.  The world gets smaller and less mysterious by the day. 

Edited July 27, 2015 by Colorado Rockies 1976

[Triumph]

Damn, you really hit the nail on the head, that's actually a great comparison.

 

Previously, maybe you had 5-10 guys you kept in touch with regularly. Maybe someone left the team who you and your family were close to so you keep in touch. Maybe he tells you stuff about the organization he's at that piques your interest; similar to what I think went on between Elias and Zidlicky in 2012 before that trade (and maybe Elias and Havlat last offseason).

 

Now, if you're 25 years old and a future/big name player, chances are you've met every similar player of your age and stature; between EA Sports commercials/events, All-Star Weekends, NHL Awards, etc. They had these events before, but there are more now, and they are more publicized (and possibly more fun for the athletes). Athletes in the 90s weren't scheduled by the NHL to do John Varvatos suit fittings together and/or Snapchat takeovers with rival teams' players. In the 90s, you probably wouldn't have taken down one of these guys' home phone number and kept in touch throughout the season, but now with Twitter and iMessage, all the guys you've met are at your fingertips. These guys keep in touch, they text and Tweet each other publicly. They go out to dinner now when they play each others' teams, and show everyone on Instagram.

Just think about Ryan Suter and Zach Parise during our 2012 Playoffs run. I don't think Suter and Parise talk during the playoffs it were the 90s. I don't think Suter calls Parise's home phone during the playoffs to "check in". I don't think that distraction ever comes up at any point before the iPhone is invented, and Parise and Suter probably do not BOTH "end up" in Minnesota with identical contracts.

 

I don't think Kevin Hayes or Martin St. Louis go to the Rangers last year, without the iPhone, social media, and the internet rumor mill. Mike Richards would still have a job, maybe he and Jeff Carter never get reunited in LA in 2012? Maybe they're both still Flyers? 

 

I can buy the idea of Suter and Parise not staying in touch if it weren't for technology, but remember that besides the 90s, basically all the hockey players knew each other anyway because they were all mostly from the same regions in Canada.  And in addition, do we really see that many guys leaving their teams?  No.  It really doesn't work that way.  Martin St. Louis left Tampa for a myriad of reasons but I don't think any of them had to do with the rise of social media or cell phones - his family lives here and he wasn't put on the Olympic team and those were reasons enough for him to want to leave.  Kevin Hayes was a free agent and left Chicago for lots of sensible reasons and this was a thing that was done before this stuff was popular.  

 

We're not seeing this sort of thing become a trend.  People like to stick with their team, still.

[themightyall]

Some people bring up Shero's firing more than a year ago to discredit him or his experience. I personally think it's great that he had one whole year to rethink his approach and rewrite a blueprint of his own. I'd actually feel less encouraged if he were hired directly from being active the Penguins office. A year off gives you time to really study and re-evaluate the game, which it sounds like he's done (with USA Hockey mostly).ter

 

I actually have thought a lot about Shero.  I am always trying to remind myself to not use his time at the Pens against him.  I sort of blame the reason he did not build more teams that won the cup because of the owners' pressure to be so sort sighted each year.  If he has to spend every trade deadline buying players because having two generational talents that are expected to win, it ruins a chemistry that a GM is supposed to take into account.  But if your boss is saying, "you better win THIS year" EVERY year, it lends itself to trades that you would not have normally made.  So spending a year away from that mindset hopefully had him understand that it's just as much about culture as is it about players.

[DJ Eco]

I can buy the idea of Suter and Parise not staying in touch if it weren't for technology, but remember that besides the 90s, basically all the hockey players knew each other anyway because they were all mostly from the same regions in Canada.  And in addition, do we really see that many guys leaving their teams?  No.  It really doesn't work that way.  Martin St. Louis left Tampa for a myriad of reasons but I don't think any of them had to do with the rise of social media or cell phones - his family lives here and he wasn't put on the Olympic team and those were reasons enough for him to want to leave.  Kevin Hayes was a free agent and left Chicago for lots of sensible reasons and this was a thing that was done before this stuff was popular.  

 

We're not seeing this sort of thing become a trend.  People like to stick with their team, still.

 

May be true. Although, indirectly (and I agree, maybe this is a stretch but it's worth noting), someone like Martin St. Louis (in 2014) is more prone to hear about Ryan Callahan's contentious contract negotiations going into the trade deadline. It's being reported on a daily basis with feedback and opinions all over the "Twittersphere". The progress (or lack thereof) is making daily headlines suddenly in this day in age. The world knows when Callahan's agent walks into MSG and what his mood is going out. Someone like MSL (or his family or his agent) are all tuned into it as we are.

 

Whereas the details surrounding this stuff may have been much more opaque in the 90s, every little factor leading up to his trade request was right out there in the open, for him and his agent to look at and react to. 

 

He has a guy on the inside in Brad Richards who he can shoot a quick text over to talk to Glen Sather. And, like you said, the "Olympic snub" situation comes up, and MSL/his agent already have the whole situation surveyed and figured out a week before the trade deadline.

 

I'm not saying this trade doesn't happen in the 1990s. I'm just saying it happens a lot more easily and directly now, and almost without any qualms on MSL's part. It's almost a new-era form of collusion at the player-level, although there is no paper trail to investigate, and we're just satisfied with chalking it up to "people are more connected now".

[NJDevil1530]

Team crest has been re-designed ...

 

 

Ha! I played on a midget A ice hockey team out of Montclair many years ago and our name was the jersey penguins with the same logo but red instead of gold