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Originally Posted by Flames Fan, Ph.D.
It's interesting that in player - owner disputes, be it player versus team or NHLPA versus NHL, there is a slight tip in opinion towards favouring the owners and questioning the dedication / attitude of the players.
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Interesting, but not surprising. While the players love rhetoric like "there is no game without us" during labour disputes, the simple fact is that the team is what anchors us to the sport. The players are utterly replaceable.
Jarome Iginla is a fine example of this. The guy is one of the greatest players in history and easily the greatest in this franchise's history. Yet by the end of his tenure here, many wanted him dealt so we could acquire the next big thing (rational) while some focused their disappointment in a poorly constructed team into a near hatred of Iginla (irrational). When he came back the first time with Boston, we celebrated him with loud cheers as a brief acknowledgement of what he's done for us. Then nothing. Now any game he plays in town is just another game.
Iginla is gone. The Flames remain. Our loyalty is tied to what is here.
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The NHL acts as a cartel and players such as Drouin have very few rights. I think he should be free to do whatever he thinks is necessary to maximize his short career. He asked for a trade, which is not illegal. He's now trying to protect the vehicle for his success, his health, and seems to be accepting the consequence of his actions and has kept his mouth shut.
I don't see a whiner; I see a guy challenging the system. I'm reading more whining from those who ask him to submit to a system that severely limits his rights as an employee.
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Jonathan Drouin chose - of his own free will - to enter into a contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning. That contract itself operates within the collective bargaining framework that his union representatives negotiated on his behalf. And speaking of rights, he also has the right of a guaranteed salary. And unlike most of the rest of us right now, the opportunity to turn good work into significant bonuses and a large raise.
This is not a player heroically challenging an unjust system. This is a petulant child insisting on special treatment.