Quote:
Originally Posted by gvitaly
Since this turned into the Huberdeau thread, here are my 5 cents: - NHLers don't hold a teammate's contract against him. Any player would've signed that contract. See EDM and Nurse.
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I used to think that, but after listening to Rhett on Bar Burner talk about it, I think there is an expectation especially since the cap came in, that players live up to their cap hit. He talked about that aspect of it, and also the pressure a player has in their own minds to live up to that. He also talked about how when you bring in a new big ticket guy, the guys who have been there for a while and put in a lot of work can sometimes feel a little put off if the new expensive guy isn't contributing. Think about it, if you went through tough negotiations with a team to get a contract and suddenly they bring in a new guy and just hand him more money than anyone on the team, there is going to be some disillusion with management if that player isn't at least better than you. I think this was part of the reason why Lindholm didn't like playing with Huberdeau and started to mail it in. And it isn't Huberdeau's fault that Treliving gave him that contract and he would have been stupid to turn it down, but I believe based on the comments of a former player, it can easily change the dynamic in the dressing room. Even as a normie in the workforce, I have worked for companies that negotiate hard with long term employees for raises, but then poach new workers by enticing them with more money, and it created workplace team issues if that new person with the bigger pay cheque isn't at least bringing more to the table.
Regarding Nurse as an example, I suspect there are players on the Oilers that look at Nurse with a little bit of disdain. Of course, players rarely ever call out team mates publicly, and will tpyically build them up for optics. It really means nothing when players say nice things publicly. It's like trying to pick up a date by telling them that your mom says you're a real catch.