[Trade] Jets trade Rutger McGroarty to Pens for Brayden Yager

[Snuffleupagus]

Originally Posted by sch19lks

Yager can rip pucks. I think he has 40 goal potential.

Good deal for the Jets all things considered

Always love his game, he also has great hockey sense, vision and brings it when the games mean the most, watch this kid take off with 15lbs of needed muscle.

[CliffFletcher]

We can argue the ethical merits of labour freedom in the NHL until the cows come home. But I hope Flames fans realize that the more freedom players have, the worse it will be for this franchise. We can already see the outlines of a not-too-distant future where we’re back to a two-tiered NHL.

[Aarongavey]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

We can argue the ethical merits of labour freedom in the NHL until the cows come home. But I hope Flames fans realize that the more freedom players have, the worse it will be for this franchise. We can already see the outlines of a not-too-distant future where we’re back to a two-tiered NHL.

The best thing that could happen to a team like the Flames would be to keep the cap and lose the draft. Everyone is a free agent once they turn 18 and teams can sign them for whatever amount they want. When the contract is the exact same no matter where you play why would you not try to play where you want if you can.

[The Cobra]

Originally Posted by Aarongavey

The best thing that could happen to a team like the Flames would be to keep the cap and lose the draft. Everyone is a free agent once they turn 18 and teams can sign them for whatever amount they want. When the contract is the exact same no matter where you play why would you not try to play where you want if you can.

If there was no draft, I think you would find that Calgary is not a huge destination.

At least the draft gives you a chance.

[devo22]

Originally Posted by SuperMatt18

You know...at least McGroarty was honest about it with the Jets.

not about the reasons, it seems. If you're Cheveldayoff and the Jets, how is "it just didn't feel right" a satisfying and "honest" response from the player's camp? How, as an NHL franchise, do you use that kind of feedback in order to learn from this and improve in the future? You can't.

[SuperMatt18]

Originally Posted by devo22

not about the reasons, it seems. If you're Cheveldayoff and the Jets, how is "it just didn't feel right" a satisfying and "honest" response from the player's camp? How, as an NHL franchise, do you use that kind of feedback in order to learn from this and improve in the future? You can't.

I also take everything I read with stuff like this with a grain of salt.

I highly doubt Cheveldayoff was going to go in the media and say "The kid said he just didn't want to play in Winnipeg because he didnt' like the city".

[devo22]

Originally Posted by SuperMatt18

I also take everything I read with stuff like this with a grain of salt.

I highly doubt Cheveldayoff was going to go in the media and say "The kid said he just didn't want to play in Winnipeg because he didnt' like the city".

oh, no doubt. Not sure "Winnipeg just sucks" is helpful feedback either though.

[Aarongavey]

Originally Posted by The Cobra

If there was no draft, I think you would find that Calgary is not a huge destination.

At least the draft gives you a chance.

But if you had cap space you could get the guys you want. Gavin McKenna is going to take your 3 year 24 million dollar contrat no matter which team offers it. Depending on where you were in your competitive cycle you could just buy elite talent. If a player is going to be paid the same everywhere and somebody will eventually want them there is no incentive to just go to whatever random city drafted you.

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by devo22

oh, no doubt. Not sure "Winnipeg just sucks" is helpful feedback either though.

Sometimes you have to choose between honest feedback that isn’t helpful and dishonest feedback that feels like it is.

[SilverKast]

You can't just equate it to the same situation as "I work and get to choose where I work, if I don't like it I just go to another company" either. I doubt any of us work in an industry where there are only 32 companies and revenues depend upon paying customers that show up if they think their team has a chance to be competitive.

Imagine what it would be like if players just got to go play wherever they felt like going. Without a cap all the talent would go to places like New York, LA, Miami, Chicago or Toronto. Big cities with lots to offer as well as relative anonymity. How would small markets like Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg etc ever be competitive?

Support for the small market teams would tank if you knew you'd never ice a decent team or ever have a chance of winning. Sports leagues need some sort of mechanism to distribute talent and give every team hope of some sort. Otherwise us small market teams would all be in perpetual decades of darkness borne not of incompetence, like up north, but because all the best talent would never choose to play here.

[SilverKast]

If it doesn't feel right then go become a doctor, lawyer, accountant or whatever and work wherever you want doing whatever you want.

I get that players put in a ton of work and sacrifice to make it, and that most don't, but they do so knowing there's a huge potential payday as well as the fame and notoriety of being a pro athlete. But that also means you have to play along with the system to some extent (maybe until free agency) as part of the deal in order to maintain these leagues with huge revenues and player salaries.

[Aarongavey]

Originally Posted by SilverKast

If it doesn't feel right then go become a doctor, lawyer, accountant or whatever and work wherever you want doing whatever you want.

I get that players put in a ton of work and sacrifice to make it, and that most don't, but they do so knowing there's a huge potential payday as well as the fame and notoriety of being a pro athlete. But that also means you have to play along with the system to some extent (maybe until free agency) as part of the deal in order to maintain these leagues with huge revenues and player salaries.

They are playing within the system though. So I would bet that the guys who refuse to sign and force a trade are fine with how the system feels. The folks who say it does not feel right are the ones who want to change the system. Teams still have the right to just not sign them, something that teams do all the time.

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by Aarongavey

They are playing within the system though. So I would bet that the guys who refuse to sign and force a trade are fine with how the system feels. The folks who say it does not feel right are the ones who want to change the system. Teams still have the right to just not sign them, something that teams do all the time.

Or not draft them in the first place if that’s a concern.

The fact is, 100% of the players play within the system. For the vast majority, that means they sign with the team that drafted them. For a very tiny minority, it means they don’t.

I get the notion that just being drafted is a privilege and an honour, but at the same time, it’s one that has been completely earned by the player. It’s not some gift, it’s a direct result of the work they’ve put in and the talent they posses. If Winnipeg didn’t draft Rutger, someone else would have. He doesn’t owe the Jets anything beyond what’s stated in the CBA, nor do they owe him anything beyond that.

I think the system is largely fine the way it is. An extra year to take NCAA players a year past graduation might be just what the doctor ordered here, but beyond that people are getting into territory where you have to start arguing for teams having to sign players regardless of if they want to.

If a player shouldn’t have a choice but to sign with the team that drafted them, teams shouldn’t have a choice but to sign every player they draft.

[SuperMatt18]

Originally Posted by devo22

oh, no doubt. Not sure "Winnipeg just sucks" is helpful feedback either though.

But isn't that the most likely reason here...let's be honest. And maybe it's not even Winnipeg specifically but more "I don't want to play in Canada".

I don't' think it's an organization thing - Jets seem like a pretty well run organization that has been able to keep their talent.

Sometimes you just aren't going to be able to outrun the feelings people have about your city.

[cannon7]

McGroarty is another cautionary tale of a Canadian team drafting an American kid.

[Sidney Crosby's Hat]

I feel like (from reading between the lines of what people like Friedman were saying) that his real reason is because the Jets wouldn't play him down the stretch and burn the first year of the deal because they were in a playoff race. But he probably doesn't want to come right out and say that because it makes him look entitled.

[PepsiFree]

And to the point of players being “entitled,” it’s probably deserved. Yes, fans “pay their salary” but fans are also paying to see those players. In early rounds, especially the first, it’s as much of a privilege for the teams to draft those players as it is for them to be drafted. The power dynamic is weighted far too heavily toward the teams when the players are the ones driving revenue and providing the value for the tickets. This is for good reason, as it keeps small market teams viable, but as fans (especially as fans of a mid-market team) we shouldn’t forget that the system is heavily designed in our favour.

[The Cobra]

Originally Posted by Aarongavey

But if you had cap space you could get the guys you want. Gavin McKenna is going to take your 3 year 24 million dollar contract no matter which team offers it. Depending on where you were in your competitive cycle you could just buy elite talent. If a player is going to be paid the same everywhere and somebody will eventually want them there is no incentive to just go to whatever random city drafted you.

You think Calgary is the only team that would offer him 3 years and $8M?

You are only expressing this opinion because of where Calgary is in its cycle. They would still need to pay a premium to attract players. And long term, that's the kiss of death.

Buying elite talent is never the long term answer. Developing elite talent is.

[The Cobra]

Originally Posted by Sidney Crosby's Hat

I feel like (from reading between the lines of what people like Friedman were saying) that his real reason is because the Jets wouldn't play him down the stretch and burn the first year of the deal because they were in a playoff race. But he probably doesn't want to come right out and say that because it makes him look entitled.

If you want an American kid to sign, you need to burn a year off his ELC when his college year is over. That's why Johnny signed with Calgary. He got his 2nd contract a year earlier.

[Parallex]

Originally Posted by SilverKast

Without a cap all the talent would go to places like New York, LA, Miami, Chicago or Toronto. Big cities with lots to offer as well as relative anonymity. How would small markets like Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg etc ever be competitive?

... How many Stanley Cups have those teams won in the Salary Cap era vs. the pre-cap era.