Quote:
Originally Posted by Flash Walken
Iginla, Nieuwendyk and Gilmour all sat out either while under contract or while their rights were held by the Flames.
Does anyone who follows the NHL (that isn't a Flames fan) even think about that when the name "Iginla", "Nieuwendyk" or "Gilmour" comes up? No. Why? Because no one cares. They care about what those players did on the ice.
Lindros held out at the draft, and while he's certainly remembered for it (But moreso remembered for the trade return that landed him in Philly), it's not even close to the defining characteristic of his career.
Once Drouin is trade, if he starts putting up points for his new team, is a good teammate on his new team, no one will care about this at all except for those who have attached spite to the conversation.
Meanwhile, a team in contention for the cup, a team in their prime competitive window, is missing out not only on Drouin, but also on the potential return he would get and how that would benefit the aspirations of the Lightning to win now.
If this situation was happening right now with Bennett and the Flames, I would be annoyed. If this had happened with the Flames and Phaneuf in his rookie season I would've been absolutely furious.
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Iginla missed 3 regular season games because he and the Flames hadn't reached an agreement on a new contract. This is after getting his own insurance so he could attend training camp. While the Flames held his rights, he was not under contract, and the situation is in no way analogous with the Drouin situation. Which is why no-one thinks of that when thinking of Iginla.
Flames fans certainly think of the screw jobs that Gilmour and Nieuwendyk gave to the Flames. Maybe no other fans think of this, but that is only because it only affected the Flames and happened in an era where every situation didn't play out in the fishbowl of the internet.
This situation is much more like the Lindros or Turris one than most other examples. And neither of those names are brought up without the association of their holdouts also coming up.