As much as I love Kipper & all he has done for the organization, I can't get behind him electing to not honour his contract which he negotiated in good faith & has paid him lucratively over the years.
I agree that family is important and that professional athletes aren't exempt from wanting to be there with their children as much as possible, can't blame Kipper for feeling that way & wanting to be there.
However, he knew that this was a possibility in signing this deal & allowing for his original NTC/NMC to expire prior to the end of the deal.
It's not like the Flames are trading him at the start of a season where he'd have to be away for 6-7months....there's a month left in the season where the team is away over half that time on road trips. Even with a long playoff run to the Finals that's just another 2 months on top of the final month of this season...fulfill your obligations Kipper!
None of us have the option to be home all the time with our kids that we'd like, we all miss things and don't get that time back. Must be nice to be a multi-millionaire though and get the luxury to pick and choose the commitments you want to honour.
While I think we were all aware that Kipper was most likely not coming back next year, this just sours his final month as a Flame for me...it's hard to respect someone who has chosen to put himself ahead of the team that has provided so well for him with full knowledge of what the risks of his profession entail.
Disclaimer: This is my opinion with the assumption that his newborn is healthy & the report is accurate....if his child is sick I'd never hold it against him if he told them he wouldn't leave, that's a whole different kettle of fish.
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