kinot-1 Posted March 25, 2011 Report Share Posted March 25, 2011 I have been thinking of this for the last few years and,,,,,,well, back in the day,,,,when you were drafted, you were very proud to put on the sweater of the team that drafted you. It didn't matter which team it was,,,,you gave your all on the ice. Now it seems that players (if they have the skill) play only for the dollars. You have 2-3 good years and lo-and-behold, they give you a big contact. After that, you can float for the remainder of the contract. You could probably go through every team and find a player or 2 that has a big contract and ends up floating. In particular,,,,(because I have been following the Habs since forever), in the 60's, 70's, and early 80's, the Habs players played for the Crest on their sweaters. Not anymore,,,,,,they play for the bucks. JM2C Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CANADIENS27 Posted March 25, 2011 Report Share Posted March 25, 2011 Aren't most players, regardless of the sport, mercenaries? So we know what their motivation is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hatethosebruins Posted March 29, 2011 Report Share Posted March 29, 2011 Unfortunately, I feel with all this free agent stuff there is almost no loyalty, just if I'm not happy here I'll go get more money and different team mates where I can. I think Montreal is in need of a Hejduk, Sakic, Lafleur, Richard, Lidstrom, etc. who play their entire career for the franchise they were drafted in...where they love to play and can make a difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FirstStar Posted March 29, 2011 Report Share Posted March 29, 2011 Unfortunately, I feel with all this free agent stuff there is almost no loyalty, just if I'm not happy here I'll go get more money and different team mates where I can. I think Montreal is in need of a Hejduk, Sakic, Lafleur, Richard, Lidstrom, etc. who play their entire career for the franchise they were drafted in...where they love to play and can make a difference. Free agency and the cap makes loyalty a thing of the past. As much as I like Marky, his 6 million could be better spent getting someone a lil healthier. PG has some hard decisions to make about Marky's and our dmens contracts. If this was pre-cap era, by all means, give marky the money he wants and pick up some insurance over the summer. WE don't have that luxury anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FirstStar Posted March 29, 2011 Report Share Posted March 29, 2011 Aren't most players, regardless of the sport, mercenaries? So we know what their motivation is. Some are yes and some are not... Koivu could've easily (in his prime) gotten more money somewhere else. He liked Montreal and wanted to stay. Hossa (I believe) was offered a lot of money from the pens to stay, but if memory serves, he took less money to play with the wings... Then, signed that huge contract in Chicago. So... Also, I think it was BG who offered Shanahan big bucks to play in Montreal, but he turned us down and ended up playing for less in NY. For the most part they like to earn good money, but they don't always settle for the biggest offer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hatethosebruins Posted March 29, 2011 Report Share Posted March 29, 2011 Free agency and the cap makes loyalty a thing of the past. As much as I like Marky, his 6 million could be better spent getting someone a lil healthier. PG has some hard decisions to make about Marky's and our dmens contracts. If this was pre-cap era, by all means, give marky the money he wants and pick up some insurance over the summer. WE don't have that luxury anymore. We also don't have the luxury of first dibs on Quebecois players I like Markie too, but if hes gonna be all stubborn over 3 vs 1 year deals....ugh id still rather not see him go Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RSD Posted March 29, 2011 Report Share Posted March 29, 2011 All about the money, ask Mike Komisarek. I'm happy we didn't end up signing him, but he left over $500,000. Like FS said, loyalty is a thing of the past. There are a handful of guys like that left in the league, they're a dying breed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hatethosebruins Posted March 29, 2011 Report Share Posted March 29, 2011 All about the money, ask Mike Komisarek. I'm happy we didn't end up signing him, but he left over $500,000. Like FS said, loyalty is a thing of the past. There are a handful of guys like that left in the league, they're a dying breed. Class is also a dying breed *cough boston and philly cough* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FirstStar Posted March 29, 2011 Report Share Posted March 29, 2011 All about the money, ask Mike Komisarek. I'm happy we didn't end up signing him, but he left over $500,000. Like FS said, loyalty is a thing of the past. There are a handful of guys like that left in the league, they're a dying breed. Koivu, Alfie and a few others are players who are rare... I think Saku took less money to sign and play with the Ducks (a chance to play with Teemu). Alfie signed with the sens and could've easily made more money elsewhere. They may be rare, but they do exist. A lot of the guys on the wings squad make less money in detroit, when player with lower numbers make more elsewhere. I really don't know how detroit does it, maybe the players really believe in the team and it's more about winning than the pay check. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RSD Posted March 29, 2011 Report Share Posted March 29, 2011 Koivu, Alfie and a few others are players who are rare... I think Saku took less money to sign and play with the Ducks (a chance to play with Teemu). Alfie signed with the sens and could've easily made more money elsewhere. They may be rare, but they do exist. A lot of the guys on the wings squad make less money in detroit, when player with lower numbers make more elsewhere. I really don't know how detroit does it, maybe the players really believe in the team and it's more about winning than the pay check. Detroit is really a special case if you think about it. Original Six team, in a decent market. I've been to games in Detroit, they might be struggling economically, but they like their sports and hockey. So, they're in a hockey market and they don't have to deal with the stresses of a Canadian market. It is a hockey players dream really and there are some really nice parts of Michigan just past Detroit where most of these guys live. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29-Dryden-29 Posted April 7, 2011 Report Share Posted April 7, 2011 Koivu, Alfie and a few others are players who are rare... I think Saku took less money to sign and play with the Ducks (a chance to play with Teemu). Alfie signed with the sens and could've easily made more money elsewhere. They may be rare, but they do exist. A lot of the guys on the wings squad make less money in detroit, when player with lower numbers make more elsewhere. I really don't know how detroit does it, maybe the players really believe in the team and it's more about winning than the pay check. I think having Stevie Y around all those years helped make those guys realize what they had in Detroit and how good that organization really is. When Kenny Holland finaly decides to retire or what have you I guarantee you that Stevie Y picks up the GM riens in Detroit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roy_133 Posted April 7, 2011 Report Share Posted April 7, 2011 All about the money, ask Mike Komisarek. I'm happy we didn't end up signing him, but he left over $500,000. Like FS said, loyalty is a thing of the past. There are a handful of guys like that left in the league, they're a dying breed. To be fair though, how do we know that was the only factor? 08-09 was a disaster and it could be he just simply wanted a change. Players are people, they make big, life altering decisions for their own reason. Money/financial stability is a big factor, especially on your first UFA contract but there are certainly many other deciding factors. The vast majority of guys still bust it for their teams, they have a ton of pride and competitiveness. In every sport people often long for the "good old days", memories are often better than reality and it's not just sports but the honest reality is in 30 years my generation will be probably be longing for the 90's and 00's. The talent level is higher than it's ever been and while there are some things I'd like to change, returning to the days when greedy owners pocketed a large portion of the money, treated the players like slaves basically with very limited rights and shutout 90% of the world from being able to play in the NHL isn't what I'd have in mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3thehardway Posted April 12, 2011 Report Share Posted April 12, 2011 For better or worse, the game has changed forever and there's no turning back. Back in the day you could buy a jersey of your favorite team or player and know they would be with that team until they retired or got traded. That isn't the case in today's NHL but there are also a lot of things that have changed for the better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FirstStar Posted April 12, 2011 Report Share Posted April 12, 2011 To be fair though, how do we know that was the only factor? 08-09 was a disaster and it could be he just simply wanted a change. Players are people, they make big, life altering decisions for their own reason. Money/financial stability is a big factor, especially on your first UFA contract but there are certainly many other deciding factors. The vast majority of guys still bust it for their teams, they have a ton of pride and competitiveness. In every sport people often long for the "good old days", memories are often better than reality and it's not just sports but the honest reality is in 30 years my generation will be probably be longing for the 90's and 00's. The talent level is higher than it's ever been and while there are some things I'd like to change, returning to the days when greedy owners pocketed a large portion of the money, treated the players like slaves basically with very limited rights and shutout 90% of the world from being able to play in the NHL isn't what I'd have in mind. Well said Roy... As crooked as Eagleson was, he did do a lot of good for the players. Before him, most players got peanuts to play hockey, while the owners racked it in, specially in the post season when tickets sky-rocket. I think baseball (or football) was one of the first to create a players association. Eagleson decided to follow the lead after seeing an x NHL star begging for change in downtown Toronto. His first thought was, "wow, this guys was a big star, what's he doing homeless and begging for change...". Eagleson did take a lot of money from Or, but he also put the money in the hands of the players (instead of the owners who weren't stopping pucks with their faces). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hatethosebruins Posted July 17, 2011 Report Share Posted July 17, 2011 Well said Roy... As crooked as Eagleson was, he did do a lot of good for the players. Before him, most players got peanuts to play hockey, while the owners racked it in, specially in the post season when tickets sky-rocket. I think baseball (or football) was one of the first to create a players association. Eagleson decided to follow the lead after seeing an x NHL star begging for change in downtown Toronto. His first thought was, "wow, this guys was a big star, what's he doing homeless and begging for change...". Eagleson did take a lot of money from Or, but he also put the money in the hands of the players (instead of the owners who weren't stopping pucks with their faces). If only the NHL had people like this now... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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