There's some serious underestimation of Niewendyk going on in this thread. Probably a generational thing. If you remember when he not only won the Calder, but spent his rookie season chasing the record for goals in a season by a rookie, you know what I mean. Imagine if Monahan had 48 goals so far this season and every game you were tracking his pace against Selanne's record of 76.
The guy was the third-fasted player in NHL history to reach 100 goals, behind only Bossy and Richard. And he was excellent defensively, a face-off man and penalty killer, trusted with shutting down top opposing players when holding a lead.
Niewendyk was all class his time here. Eminently coachable, great team-mate, well-spoken, squeeky-clean off the ice. Praised by everyone he played with for his unselfish approach to the game. In his final seasons as a Flames he had to carry a steeply declining franchise that sold off most of its assets in a uneven NHL playing field. The esteem he's held in by every other franchise he's played for speaks volumes. There was almost a player mutiny in Dallas after he was traded.
As for the contract holdout, I doubt 90 per cent of fans who remember the Cup win are even aware of it. And most of the the rest don't care. It's only relevant to about 50 bitter uberfans.
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