DO PLAYERS OWE NHL TEAMS LOYALTY?
Tavares may have set precedent this year by ditching an underperforming franchise
When John Tavares decided not to re-sign with the New York Islanders, some angry fans burned his jersey in effigy and called the 2009 No. 1 overall pick who had spent all nine years of his NHL career with the franchise a fraud, a traitor or worse.
But as a player entering the final year of his own contract, Ottawa’s Matt Duchene viewed Tavares’ decision through a different lens.
“He might have been a trailblazer,” Duchene told Postmedia News at last week’s NHL Player Media Tour in Chicago.
“I think in other sports when players go to other teams, there’s not the same angst against that player, because it’s just been done so many times. But for whatever reason, hockey never seems to have that. It just shows that character we have and the loyalty we show.”
Maybe it’s a Canadian thing that has to do with humility. Or maybe it’s because hockey is different than baseball or basketball. The Oilers were a prime example that you can’t win with star talent alone.
As Lou Lamoriello (now the Isles GM) would say, the name on the front of the jersey is far more important than the one on the back. No player acts like they are bigger than the team. When they do, they get called out for it.
“I don’t totally agree with players choosing where they want to go,” said Predators centre Ryan Johansen, who Columbus traded to Nashville six years after drafting him fourth overall in 2010.
“If you’re picked by a team, drafted or whatever by an organization, if a team brings you into the best level in that sport, why wouldn’t you try to win there and appreciate the opportunity to give everything back.”
When reminded that Columbus did not exactly show him that level of loyalty when the Blue Jackets traded him, Johansen responded: “They just stopped believing in me. If they don’t want you, that’s their decision.”
And yet, that old-school way of thinking could be slowly leaving the game, thanks in part to Tavares taking destiny in his own hands.
As New Jersey’s Taylor Hall said two years after being traded out of Edmonton, loyalty is a two-way street.
“Hockey has been a sport for a long time where guys are loyal to their teams,” he said, “and I think in a lot of cases, teams aren’t as loyal to their players.”
Indeed, teams don’t hesitate to move a player who is underperforming. So why shouldn’t players choose to leave a team that has failed to put a winning product on the ice?
That is what happened with Tavares. Sure, part of his decision to sign with his hometown Maple Leafs was because it had been a dream of his to play in Toronto.
But it had more to do with winning.
Some might call his decision a selfish one. And it was.
But at the same time, maybe hockey players could use a little more of that quality when it comes to their careers.
“I didn’t try to be a trailblazer,” Tavares said of signing with the Maple Leafs. “I just tried to be myself. I think each player, each person and each situation has its own unique circumstances.
“Certainly the system, it could take nine years, so it’s not a common thing to be a free agent ... I just looked at this situation at this point of my life and my career. I’m just going to try and handle it the right way.”
Duchene, who was drafted two spots after Tavares, shares the same agent, trainer and equipment manufacturer. He also finds himself in a similar situation with the Senators, who like the Islanders, are not in a position to contend any time soon.
“I paid attention, because you’re gathering information,” Duchene said. “Obviously, you have to take care of your personal business and obviously John did. His process was really well done and he did it really classy and with a lot of humility. I think watching him do that and what it looked like gave me an idea of what potentially that could look like for me depending on what happens.”
It wasn’t just Duchene who was watching the Tavares process unfold. From Ottawa’s Erik Karlsson and Mark Stone to Columbus players Sergei Bobrovsky and Artemi Panarin, there are a number of star players entering the final year of their contract.
Some, such as Dallas forward Tyler Seguin and Nashville’s Pekka Rinne, are in destinations where it doesn’t make sense to move. But others, like Duchene and Islanders winger Anders Lee, might want to look around at what else is out there.
“Who knows if it’s going to set a precedent,” said Lee, adding the NHL is not about to follow the NBA’S example where star players from various teams join forces in free agency.
“I think we’re not there yet at all. There’s something to be said about what we have in hockey, loyalty to one team or one organization. You get drafted when you’re 18 and you’re not a free agent until you’re 25 or 27 — that’s a lot of years in one spot where you’ve put down roots.”
At the same time, what happens when those roots dry up?
What happens when a player who was drafted and developed by one organization gets traded or a team fails to surround him with the pieces to win?
Well, as Tavares showed this summer, he takes his talents elsewhere.
Don’t be surprised if many others follow his lead.
“You sit back and watch and in your head you potentially think, OK, that’s what it could look like for me,” Duchene said.
“At the end of the day, every situation is different depending on the team and the individual. There’s no cookie-cutter formula. But he definitely made a statement with that.”
Obviously, you have to take care of your personal business and obviously John did.