Does anyone opt out of returning?

[dino7c]

Gaudreau won't sign here
Gaudreau won't sign here again
Gaudreau won't sign here for the third time
Gaudreau won't play on the covid-offs

lol

[Fire]

Not a popular opinion I'm sure, but I would definitely negatively judge any player from backing out from playing, unless they have a medical condition. Not showing up to play with your teammates for the chance of winning the Stanley Cup would tell you a lot about them as a person.

[1qqaaz]

Originally Posted by Fire

Not a popular opinion I'm sure, but I would definitely negatively judge any player from backing out from playing, unless they have a medical condition. Not showing up to play with your teammates for the chance of winning the Stanley Cup would tell you a lot about them as a person.

I'm inclined to agree, but it's hard to judge without knowing the full picture. Perhaps a player lives with their elderly parents, maybe someone in their close family has a health condition. There's a chance that a justifiable reason might never be revealed.

[getbak]

Originally Posted by Monahammer

i.e. if Mrs. Brodie has to operate more in the community (and potentially increase her risk) because TJ can't be there to support her, that may weigh upon his decision.

That's probably why the return-to-play plan includes a provision where the league will provide assistance to the player's family (such as grocery delivery) while the player is participating in phases 3 & 4.

[dammage79]

More in the East than the West. Canadas good but we have our Hotspot and they're over there.

[MrMike]

I wonder if one of the hub bubbles gets an outbreak when the other one is clean how that would go.

[Snuffleupagus]

Originally Posted by Monahammer

Johnny (father's health) and Brodie (Wife's health) are two in particular I could see opting out.

No one should be judged for opting out.

Gaudreau's dad has a better chance of getting covid-19 sitting on his step in NJ than his son bringing it back from a 3 month bubble in Alberta, same goes for Brodie unless rules are broken.

[Mr.Coffee]

Originally Posted by Monahammer

No one should be judged for opting out.

Yea, I’m not so sure I buy that nobody should be judged. This will for sure be unpopular but, so be it. I don’t think I would lose respect for anybody making that call (reasons wont be given and recall they don’t have to be), but I’m not sure it’s free reign not to have opinions about it. I think fans will very validly have opinions about it and likely opinions with some merit despite nobody on this site seemingly agreeing because it isn’t the PC way to look at things.

Ex. Does the NHL discount prices on its product for viewership or merchandise if its’ stars aren’t playing?

I have the same trouble with preseason ticket prices. Kinda BS.

[GordonBlue]

Originally Posted by Fire

Not a popular opinion I'm sure, but I would definitely negatively judge any player from backing out from playing, unless they have a medical condition. Not showing up to play with your teammates for the chance of winning the Stanley Cup would tell you a lot about them as a person.

I'm at the opposite side in this Covid world. that they value health and family over a job would tell me alot about them as a person in a positive way.
Would show me they have the courage to make the best decision for themselves to matter the peer pressure or what people would think.

[Mr.Coffee]

I guess the question people should ask themselves is, is the NHL product one which the teams are playing but it doesn’t matter what players? Or is the NHL product one which has the best hockey players in the world playing in it?

To blithely say nobody can judge a decision to not play... I dunno. It depends on the reason, so since we don’t know, we don’t know if people can judge or not, and thus negative opinions about not playing may indeed have merit. Would you feel the same about a players choice not to play if they were instrumental in your favourite teams’ success but they stayed home not so much about COVID but because they wanted to play XBOX all day instead? I think most would not.

[calgarygeologist]

Originally Posted by Crown Royal

I think we see fewer than 5 players league wide opt out.

I expect it will be a quite a bit more than that. I would say at least one player per team average.

[dissentowner]

Originally Posted by calgarygeologist

I expect it will be a quite a bit more than that. I would say at least one player per team average.

Not a chance.

[Bourque's Twin]

Troy Brouwer would opt out.

If James Neal didn’t have something to prove to Calgary for his complete disinterest last season, he’d opt out too.

[AC]

Originally Posted by Bourque's Twin

Troy Brouwer would opt out.

If James Neal didn’t have something to prove to Calgary for his complete disinterest last season, he’d opt out too.

Weird dig at Brouwer.

His issue wasn't a lack of effort if that's your suggestion by your comparison to Neal. Brouwer seemed like a hard worker that cared, the polar opposite to Neal.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by Mr.Coffee

I guess the question people should ask themselves is, is the NHL product one which the teams are playing but it doesn’t matter what players? Or is the NHL product one which has the best hockey players in the world playing in it?

To blithely say nobody can judge a decision to not play... I dunno. It depends on the reason, so since we don’t know, we don’t know if people can judge or not, and thus negative opinions about not playing may indeed have merit. Would you feel the same about a players choice not to play if they were instrumental in your favourite teams’ success but they stayed home not so much about COVID but because they wanted to play XBOX all day instead? I think most would not.

At the end of the day, hockey is a game. Who is any one of us to complain that a player decides not to participate for any reason?

There are far more meaningful things in life about which to expend our frustration.

Sent from my SM-G960W using Tapatalk

[Mr.Coffee]

Originally Posted by Textcritic

At the end of the day, hockey is a game. Who is any one of us to complain that a player decides not to participate for any reason?

There are far more meaningful things in life about which to expend our frustration.

Sent from my SM-G960W using Tapatalk

Sure, yeah, I get it, however this is a hockey message board to lay out ideas, thoughts and opinions... like I am doing. I’m definitely not at all “frustrated”, and the insinuation is both hilarious and bizarre. Again I’ll repeat it for clarity but I don’t know if it’s fair to say players should or shouldn’t be judged for opting out. There could very well be some asinine and ridiculous reasons for some players to opting out. Just like how there could be some good / legitimate ones. Since we’ll probably never know the reality one way or the other, I guess we’re all left to simply speculate which as you know happens all the time with the highest profile athletes and celebrities we have made these people out to be.

It’s similar to say, not being allowed to have an opinion about what a celebrity does or doesn’t do. Now you can sit there and say who are you to judge on your high and mighty stance, but I’m not sure all the money, power, fame and influence these people have should come free or more to the point, that just because they are celebrities and we’re not allowed to judge anything or anyone anymore because of hurt feelings or... something? Reality check time. Everybody judges everybody, all the time, every day. So people can stomp their feet and say “who are you to judge” all you want but opinions are opinions and people think?

So why is it that people believe the players and the NHL should be allowed to have it all ways. Have their cake and eat it too? Are they not extremely wealthy for their craft, on the backs of fans? Who pays these salaries ultimately? Why do people pay so much money to watch these specific players? It’s because they’re the best at what they do. We know that. So should fans be okay with forking out similar dollars for suboptimal players? Isn’t that what the NHL markets, that it’s the best league in the world because it has the best players? Or is it possibly the best collection of players that feel like their up to it?

I think the NHL and pro-sports is in for a wild reality check because you’re spot on, there are more important things in life and COVID really has taught many people that. It’s also going to reallocate entertainment dollars. So if I’m a multimillionaire athlete you bet I should be feeling crazy pressure to play to preserve the business model as best as possible. Anyway fun to speculate and think about and if a player decides to stay home I hope they have a good reason is all my point is, because fans have become accustomed to watching the best and if they don’t, maybe the market will help the NHL decide what’s best. If not, good on them- but also if not- it’ll prove the players value is not what they think it is and IMO would justify reducing salaries but extracting the same value on the product because fans don’t care to watch the best players play. It’s one way or the other here. Do people watch for the best players, or do they watch for the team? Why do they watch? We’ve been long taught that it’s because it’s the players so it is quite an odd stance to have such a take it or leave it attitude depending on who “feels like it” (potentially...).

[united]

There have been a couple fairly notable NBA players opt out (starter on the #2 team, all-star coming back from injury), and a few utility players. Listed in this thread: https://forum.calgarypuck.com/showth...=179682&page=3

I don't follow baseball at all but added a few players in the list from the news, however today whoever David Price is decided to opt out. Must be someone notable as there was quite the reaction on social media.

[Crown Royal]

Originally Posted by united

There have been a couple fairly notable NBA players opt out (starter on the #2 team, all-star coming back from injury), and a few utility players. Listed in this thread: https://forum.calgarypuck.com/showth...=179682&page=3

I don't follow baseball at all but added a few players in the list from the news, however today whoever David Price is decided to opt out. Must be someone notable as there was quite the reaction on social media.

I don't think we can compare hockey to the NBA and MLB

MLB is still going to be traveling back and forth across the US, they also seem to have had multiple players for most teams test positive already. In part because so many of the spring training facilities are in the petri dish that is Florida.

NBA is having their entire return in Florida. You couldn't pat me enough to go to Florida right now, that place is bad enough without the covid epidemic.

[Monahammer]

Originally Posted by Snuffleupagus

Gaudreau's dad has a better chance of getting covid-19 sitting on his step in NJ than his son bringing it back from a 3 month bubble in Alberta, same goes for Brodie unless rules are broken.

If you looked later I explained, I think it is more about being with Family (especially those more at risk) members while this is going on, and being able to support them.

Not at all saying this is the case for Johnny, but thinking about my own situation I am not sure that I would want to guarantee spending three months away from my Father who recently had a heart attack knowing that the potential exists for him to catch it and for things to quickly go wrong. I would prefer to be with him.

[Monahammer]

Originally Posted by united

There have been a couple fairly notable NBA players opt out (starter on the #2 team, all-star coming back from injury), and a few utility players. Listed in this thread: https://forum.calgarypuck.com/showth...=179682&page=3

I don't follow baseball at all but added a few players in the list from the news, however today whoever David Price is decided to opt out. Must be someone notable as there was quite the reaction on social media.

I would say this is roughly equivalent to Carey Price opting out. (Edit: not only because of name, happy coincidence! Because Pitchers roughly equal goalies in terms of team importance, and because David Price was a former 1st overall with quite the career record who is declining a bit but still relatively solid.)