from Damien Cox of the Toronto Star,
When it all goes sour, no one remembers the flowery compliments, the strong words of commitment and belief.
That’s mostly because it was all hot air anyways, all public relations chatter designed to get people to buy tickets and invest their money and affections in the supposedly golden future of an NHL team.
Remember, for example, the words of Colorado executive Joe Sakic back in July 2013 when the Avalanche inked blue chip young forward Matt Duchene to a five-year, $30-million (U.S.) contract.
“Matt already is and will be a big part of our team’s nucleus for the long term,” said Sakic. “We all felt it was important to secure his rights.”
Well, four years later, the Avs are trying to get rid of him, and Duchene wants out. The team is terrible, and “locking up” the core of Duchene, Gabriel Landeskog (seven years, $39 million) and Nathan MacKinnon (seven years, $44.1 million) has led the Avs exactly nowhere....
The Oilers do appear set up better than any other Canadian team for a run at the Stanley Cup, and for those among us who would very much like to see the Cup back in Canada, this would be a fine thing indeed. At this point, after a quarter century of watching U.S. clubs from Carolina to California hoist the grand trophy, it hardly matters which of the seven Canadian teams manage to get the job done.
Both McDavid and Draisaitl are coming off terrific seasons. They might be Edmonton’s answer to Pittsburgh’s dynamic duo of Sidney Crosby and Evgeny Malkin. But the wealth they now have may change many things for them. Moreover, we live in an age when can’t just assess hockey players on their talent. You have to assess their impact on their team’s cap situation, among other factors.
more on both teams...
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