-He wanted a multi-year deal, Flames offered 1, he decided to try free agency. Flames found someone else and moved on. He didn't find the multi-year deal he wanted, Flames option was now gone, so he accepted something else.
-He wanted to play somewhere else. Maybe there's a Calgary connection with his personal struggles, maybe he didn't want to spend every day around people who knew every painful detail, maybe he wanted to go somewhere where hockey players can be a little more anonymous?
Neither one seems like a reason to hate him.
Or he thought that the Flames would be desperate to not let a 27 year old player they heavily invested in leave as a UFA and thought he could pinch the organization for more.
Just because he had mental health issues, doesn’t mean he is fragile and not cutthroat negotiator.
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"A pessimist thinks things can't get any worse. An optimist knows they can."
It's weird we want our athletes to have this nonsense loyalty and give up rights we all have and use daily.
When a co-worker quits to go somewhere else we usually say "take me with you" not "you're a fataing piece of crap".
But he was drafted by the flames. The honor!!! Draft is not a benefit to players, its a sentence. It reduces your options from 32 to 1 for many years. Imagine being drafted by CNRL or some crapco or the Calgary Flames. Sorry to break it to you, the Flames are a pretty crappy team to be drafted by.
We should be proud the Flames handled this the way they did but the player used his god given right to look elsewhere. He's probably pretty sick of being forced into decisions he had no choice over.
If I was in the top percentiles of my profession and had the choice of 31 other places, I don't think I'd choose Calgary. 4 months a year the climate can murder you. Why? But we have lots of Vietnamese restaurants. We are just a little better than Edmonton and Winnipeg.
God given right? LOL. How about CBA given right?
Widely inaccurate statement which seems on par with the rest of this post. Yikes.
It is, in fact, a God-given right* to look for another employer, which the CBA takes away from players for a set number of years in exchange for the possible privilege of playing in the NHL for ridiculously high wages. Collective bargaining agreements do not confer basic rights on anybody.
After the term is up, the freedom comes back, but the wages are liable to go away.
*Substitute ‘natural human freedom’ if talk about the Big Guy offends you.
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It is, in fact, a God-given right* to look for another employer, which the CBA takes away from players for a set number of years in exchange for the possible privilege of playing in the NHL for ridiculously high wages. Collective bargaining agreements do not confer basic rights on anybody.
After the term is up, the freedom comes back, but the wages are liable to go away.
*Substitute ‘natural human freedom’ if talk about the Big Guy offends you.
‘god given’ seemed to be laying it on a little thick to me.
Unless, of course, NHL = God and NHLPA = Satan. Or maybe it’s the other way around….?
One thing I know, for sure, is that when I make a claim to my health care provider for my latest dental appointment the first thing I think is I’m glad god gave me that right.
Or he thought that the Flames would be desperate to not let a 27 year old player they heavily invested in leave as a UFA and thought he could pinch the organization for more.
Just because he had mental health issues, doesn’t mean he is fragile and not cutthroat negotiator.
Then he gambled and lost. I still don't see that as a reason to hate him.
Do you think the Flames supported him just because they're kind and sweet? Or did they do it because they hoped to see a good return on their investment or good publicity or make Calgary look like a desirable place to play?
The employer will have no trouble being a cutthroat negotiator when it suits them, so why shouldn't the employee? It didn't work out in this case, but if that's what he did, he's not getting any ill will from me.
Then he gambled and lost. I still don't see that as a reason to hate him.
Do you think the Flames supported him just because they're kind and sweet? Or did they do it because they hoped to see a good return on their investment or good publicity or make Calgary look like a desirable place to play?
The employer will have no trouble being a cutthroat negotiator when it suits them, so why shouldn't the employee? It didn't work out in this case, but if that's what he did, he's not getting any ill will from me.
The problem for many fans is the business side of it and the players integrity. You would be hard pressed for people to hate on him if a team offered him a 4 year contract with a sizeable pay increase. Where things get dicey is in the sense that he took a worse deal than what the Flames had offered.
Barn Burner hit the nail on the head. This is a guy who praised the flames and seemed committed to reciprocating the good will gesture they extended his way. Rather than making this seem like a slam dunk he could have easily said for his mental health that a change was needed. It comes down to what was being said publicly vs what was happening behind closed doors.
Certainly no reason to “hate” on him, but questioning his motives and his words of appreciation towards the club seem legitimate. Sure it’s a business but I believe he burned quite a few bridges and definitely overplayed his hand. His agent could have been the driver, but ultimately the player dictates the final decision.
It’s time for everyone to move on, but this doesn’t look good on Kylington (but pretty sure he also doesn’t care at this point).
Hear you. But if the longer multi-year deal offered by another team is true, then i'm pretty sure almost everyone here would take the certainty of a contract that sets you up for life after almost leaving the game with nothing.
I just can't fault him for that. Sucks we didn't benefit from some allegiance, but the offer away was too good.
He would have given us first right of refusal to match i imagine. We couldn't and shouldn't.
The agent should have ferreted out the strength of the long term contract offer. #### show.
I would surmise the Flames would have provided him with the same or better money over a similar term but depending on his health and renewal of 2 year contracts. Risky.
A fantastic consolation prize? The reputation of this team as one that cares and takes care of its players is ROCK solid after this. Great as a fan to know we are cheering for good folks. And it's something that matters when players want to sign/re-sign.
I didn't hear about a multi-year deal being offered. Who made that offer and where did it go? If he signed a 3 or 4 year deal I'd definitely understand him leaving.
If he actually just wanted a change of scenery, he could have just said that instead of making contract demands that were completely unreasonable. I also doubt someone with severe mental health problems would put a price on their well being like that if he really thought it would help to move on.
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"A pessimist thinks things can't get any worse. An optimist knows they can."
I don't buy it. He (and his agent) simply miscalculated his worth as a player. Calgary moved on and replaced him and he took the deal he could so he wouldn't be back in Europe making $75,000.
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I don't buy it. He (and his agent) simply miscalculated his worth as a player. Calgary moved on and replaced him and he took the deal he could so he wouldn't be back in Europe making $75,000.
I am not even sure I buy that. Kylington’s agent is one of the most dialed in and would have had a good grasp of the market before free agency even hit. I don’t think they miscalculated the entire market, but they miscalculated Conroy and the Flames specifically and were probably caught off guard at how quickly the door shut and the Flames pivoted.
They probably thought with how the Flames had terrible luck with free agents lately, pending or otherwise, and all the talk about not walking players to free agency, that the Flames would quickly cave. I doubt they would have tried what they did with almost any other team in the league. They probably looked at the sunk costs the Flames endured with Kylington already, the relatively high dollar amount on the table, the optics of losing a free agent for nothing, the amount of cap space available, and thought Conroy would be desperate and pushed around. Good for Conroy for not entertaining it.
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"A pessimist thinks things can't get any worse. An optimist knows they can."
Last edited by FlamesAddiction; 08-11-2024 at 02:42 PM.
I don't buy it. He (and his agent) simply miscalculated his worth as a player. Calgary moved on and replaced him and he took the deal he could so he wouldn't be back in Europe making $75,000.
“Coming to a team like Colorado with the players they have and the seasons they’ve had behind them. It was very compelling factor that they wanted me so much that I felt that all the pieces beyond that felt natural to choose.”
They wanted him so much that it was 6 weeks after July 1 and he still had no contract and eventually signs a one year deal. Like you said, Oliver and his agent got greedy and miscalculated his worth.
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