The problem there is it assumes only one team is willing to pay you 5mil, and is a take it or leave it situation. That clearly isnt the case for Kane as multiple teams would bid for his services. If you have options to not be a scapegoat elsewhere while being paid the same 5mil, why wouldnt you take it(or in this case force the situation to play out)?

It is the same reason that Toronto can't attract free agents without overpaying.
- Rawdog9755

At the time of his contract, Winnipeg was the only team he could sign with (they could match an offer sheet).

I just can't see myself forcing a team to trade me after paying me millions of dollars to play a game.

But it's not the team that hated him, it was the fans. Once the fans started, he began to act like a spoiled baby, which led to the team hating him. You don't exactly see Brandon Sutter causing a big media circus like that, do you?
- jmatchett383

From the sounds of it, there's been locker room rifts (particularly between he and Byfuglien) for a very long time.

Bort is a 7, and Dumo and Harrington play different games. Make the assumption that Martin and Ehrhoff don't return....

58-47
3-51
6-8
4-41

Like I said, they get young really quick, they are fine back there. We all bag out on Shero but he did leave the back end in pretty good shape, how the staff used the players was as much a coaching decision as a GM drafting choice.
- walshy66

I'm not a big fan of carrying 8 Dman simply due to Cap issues. However, at least 1 Dmen does always seem to be injured so it really does seem to be necssary if you want a 7 healthy Dmen.

I still think they end up bringing in a veteran Dman like Petry to repalce one of Ehrhoff/Martin; Just seems likely to me given what i have ready & the overall feel of the team. Hope the guy they show the door would be Scuderi, but my gut says it would be Harrington to WBS.

At least from what I can tell, Despres can certainly play Top-4 & would look amazing next to either Maatta or Letang. Letang/Despres, Maatta-Petry, Pouliot-Harrington/Dumoulin would be my ideal line-up, but w/ Scuds & the lack of a rising Cap, not sure its really possible.

From the sounds of it, there's been locker room rifts (particularly between he and Byfuglien) for a very long time.
- BulliesPhan87

That's 1 player. And, as much as I don't like Byfuglien, Kane's apparently been acting like a spoiled, entitled brat for quite some time, so I applaud him for giving him some poop.

Why? You have the contract already. Demand a trade and take it with you to greener pastures. The thing is, when big talent like Kane signs a 5 mill contract in a town like Winnipeg, Arizona, Edmonton, or Buffalo, you're doing them a favor, and not the other way around. No one wants to play in those places and by signing with them you're giving their fans a better team to watch and increased profits through ticket at merch sales. You could have made that much money or more on the open market, so the organization should be working with you and the fans should love you. I understand that franchises are a business and management will have its differences with players, but once the fans start crucifying you then its time to give them the finger and leave. All of Kane's major problems started when the scapegoating began.
- Victoro311

I don't know enough of the history but I will say when a player X is disciplined by a team mate & that team mate willingly talks about it in the press that team has had enough of that player X. If the team who knows the player X best stops their support that player X is the problem.

How many fans give players a hard time? Read the Winnipeg blog & a few of them have said he wasn't crucified by the fans like the press have made out. If your fair dinkum how much crap do Pens players get off their fans - Sutter?

In a professional sport both sides are supposed to be professional regardless of the circumstances - there's too much at stake.

That's 1 player. And, as much as I don't like Byfuglien, Kane's apparently been acting like a spoiled, entitled brat for quite some time, so I applaud him for giving him some poop.
- jmatchett383

Well, you're entitled to your opinion. It seems apparent to me that there's more involved in the locker room drama than just "Evander Kane is a big baby", to the point that it's not reasonable to just assume one side or one person caused this rift.

I'm not saying Kane is a paragon of maturity, to be clear. Just that everybody shouldn't immediately blame him 100% because he's the "talked to money like it's a phone" guy.

At the time of his contract, Winnipeg was the only team he could sign with (they could match an offer sheet).

I just can't see myself forcing a team to trade me after paying me millions of dollars to play a game.
- jmatchett383

Its not playing a game though. That is where everybody gets this wrong. Lacing up your skates and heading to the local rink for beer league is playing a game. This is his job. No different than an accountant heading into a firm every morning. Ever worked somewhere that you hated? Disliked your boss/coworkers?

If Kane puts up points in Buffalo, this all goes away. No different than Eli Manning making it known he wouldnt play for the Chargers if they drafted him---but nobody talks about that anymore.

But it's not the team that hated him, it was the fans. Once the fans started, he began to act like a spoiled baby, which led to the team hating him. You don't exactly see Brandon Sutter causing a big media circus like that, do you?
- jmatchett383

Thats what I'm saying. It sucks to have to say good bye to the boys you go to war with, but when the entire town that you play for and live in hates you for something that's not your fault its time to go. Why would you put yourself through that? I guarantee he will be loved in Buffalo and make blood bonds with the young roster over there. Buffalo is a great hockey town. I mean Zemgus Girgenson was received the highest amount of votes for the all star game for Christ sakes! They deserve a star and Kane deserves to go somewhere he's appreciated. Can't let loyalty to a town that hates you hold you back.

The point about Sutter comes down to questions about personalities. Kane is blunt, energetic, and outspoken with a lot of media attention. Sutter benefits from not being as ridiculous of a human being as Kane and being on the same team as Crosby, Malkin, and Fleury. The media and casual fans will always pin the Pens' successes and failures on those three. Sutter gets to fly by unnoticed while Kane does not.

Well, you're entitled to your opinion. It seems apparent to me that there's more involved in the locker room drama than just "Evander Kane is a big baby", to the point that it's not reasonable to just assume one side or one person caused this rift.

I'm not saying Kane is a paragon of maturity, to be clear. Just that everybody shouldn't immediately blame him 100% because he's the "talked to money like it's a phone" guy.
- BulliesPhan87

I never really cared about the money like a phone thing, I actually thought it was funny. And I never really thought he was that great of a player, either. Good, but not the next Wayne Gretzky like some made him out to be.

But when you are deliberately doing things just to be a Richard (not showing up for games, breaking curfew on game nights, wearing inappropriate attire), that's when I have a problem with the guy.

Its not playing a game though. That is where everybody gets this wrong. Lacing up your skates and heading to the local rink for beer league is playing a game. This is his job. No different than an accountant heading into a firm every morning. Ever worked somewhere that you hated? Disliked your boss/coworkers?

If Kane puts up points in Buffalo, this all goes away. No different than Eli Manning making it known he wouldnt play for the Chargers if they drafted him---but nobody talks about that anymore.
- Rawdog9755

Professional hockey is as much a game as day trading is gambling.

I'm going with the "calling the coach 1 hour before game time and saying he wasn't going to the game" theme.
- jmatchett383

Thats what I think too, so many better ways to handle it, couldn't have handled it much worse, could he?

I never really cared about the money like a phone thing, I actually thought it was funny. And I never really thought he was that great of a player, either. Good, but not the next Wayne Gretzky like some made him out to be.

But when you are deliberately doing things just to be a Richard (not showing up for games, breaking curfew on game nights, wearing inappropriate attire), that's when I have a problem with the guy.
- jmatchett383

Well, there's some "he said, they said" going on with the attire/practice thing. Given the team decided to make matters public, I'm not going to assume either's story is 100% true.

The curfew stuff, well, that's on Kane. I'm going to go out on a limb though and say this happens more often than we hear.

Thats what I'm saying. It sucks to have to say good bye to the boys you go to war with, but when the entire town that you play for and live in hates you for something that's not your fault its time to go. Why would you put yourself through that? I guarantee he will be loved in Buffalo and make blood bonds with the young roster over there. Buffalo is a great hockey town. I mean Zemgus Girgenson was received the highest amount of votes for the all star game for Christ sakes! They deserve a star and Kane deserves to go somewhere he's appreciated. Can't let loyalty to a town that hates you hold you back.

The point about Sutter comes down to questions about personalities. Kane is blunt, energetic, and outspoken with a lot of media attention. Sutter benefits from not being as ridiculous of a human being as Kane and being on the same team as Crosby, Malkin, and Fleury. The media and casual fans will always pin the Pens' successes and failures on those three. Sutter gets to fly by unnoticed while Kane does not.
- Victoro311

Well, if being a "ridiculous human being" isn't a bad thing, I guess we're not going to agree.

My point, is, if he quietly went to management and voiced his displeasure, as opposed to being an outright wiener about the whole thing, I'd think differently. But when you deliberately go out of your way to be a jerk, that's when I have an issue with you.

I can't believe the trade proposals I am seeing for Vermette, he isn't an upgrade over Sutter. He isn't faster, he isn't gritty, he is always injured.

Look at what worked last night.
- Hard forecheck
- Hard to the net
- Hard along the boards

Vermette, Tlusty, Bergenheim do not bring this. They are finesse players who are useful play makers if you don't have a Crosby or a Malkin. We have both a Crosby and a Malkin.

It sounds like everyone wants to replace soft players like Sutter and Bennett, which I'm completely for. But then we're looking to replace them with the exact same thing and we expect something different.

We need bigger, heavier players or players who play bigger like Hornqvist. Not more butterflies like Bennett.
- stackthepads[/quote

See your point, but think youre wrong on Bergenheim. He plays very similarly to Comeau and I wouldnt consider Comeau finesse/perimeter.

Well, there's some "he said, they said" going on with the attire/practice thing. Given the team decided to make matters public, I'm not going to assume either's story is 100% true.

The curfew stuff, well, that's on Kane. I'm going to go out on a limb though and say this happens more often than we hear.
- BulliesPhan87

And what about not showing up on the team bus and calling the coach 1 hour before the game to let him know you're not going? I'm sure that stuff goes on a lot, too.

I'm not a big fan of carrying 8 Dman simply due to Cap issues. However, at least 1 Dmen does always seem to be injured so it really does seem to be necssary if you want a 7 healthy Dmen.

I still think they end up bringing in a veteran Dman like Petry to repalce one of Ehrhoff/Martin; Just seems likely to me given what i have ready & the overall feel of the team. Hope the guy they show the door would be Scuderi, but my gut says it would be Harrington to WBS.

At least from what I can tell, Despres can certainly play Top-4 & would look amazing next to either Maatta or Letang. Letang/Despres, Maatta-Petry, Pouliot-Harrington/Dumoulin would be my ideal line-up, but w/ Scuds & the lack of a rising Cap, not sure its really possible.
- s0rcerer1984

Its not carrying them, there are your 4 pairs, if you want a vet presence then they are already carrying dead weight in Scuderi for that purpose.

Rotate the bottom two pairs into that 3rd pairing however you want but that back 6 will be fine.

I think Harrington is a more mobile version of what they think Scuderi provides. Difference being Harrington can hit his outlet pass and not treat the puck like a grenade.

As flawed as Pouliot is in his own end, and he is, he gets the puck out of the zone quickly and on the tape. I will take that with his errors ahead of, Scuderi and Bortuzzo who do not have the ability to hit an outlet pass on the tape with forechecking pressure.

4-2 penguins win tonight

And what about not showing up on the team bus and calling the coach 1 hour before the game to let him know you're not going? I'm sure that stuff goes on a lot, too.
- jmatchett383

Woah, attitude. Anyways:

According to the report, teammate Dustin Byfuglien threw Kane's tracksuit into the shower after the team's morning skate, presumably to send a message about the breach of protocol.

Kane then failed to show up for the team bus and pregame meeting, according to the report. Although it was reported that, when finally reached by the Jets, Kane told the team he would not play Tuesday, a source told ESPN.com's Pierre LeBrun that ultimately it was Winnipeg that told Kane not to show up.

Kane was on his way to the rink but was late getting there and the decision was made by the organization to make Kane a healthy scratch, so Kane was instructed to return to the team hotel, a team source told LeBrun.

http://espn.go.com/nhl/st...ow-game-incident-teammate

#Leafs believed to be seeking 2nd round picks for upcoming UFA's Daniel Winnik and Mike Santorelli. #TradeWatch

Looks like we're looking elsewhere... Hopefully..

Like...?
- errey12

I back this question...

Stack...instead of just bashing our ideas...give us some new ideas on who you think the Pens should be targeting...

#Leafs believed to be seeking 2nd round picks for upcoming UFA's Daniel Winnik and Mike Santorelli. #TradeWatch

Looks like we're looking elsewhere... Hopefully..
- znagle

I dont know enough about Santa. Could he be a good 3rd line center? Winnik is an ideal 4th liner but not sure he's good enough to be a 3rd liner.

(this is based on cup contending standards, not simply "better than what Pit currently has")

Well, if being a "ridiculous human being" isn't a bad thing, I guess we're not going to agree.

My point, is, if he quietly went to management and voiced his displeasure, as opposed to being an outright wiener about the whole thing, I'd think differently. But when you deliberately go out of your way to be a jerk, that's when I have an issue with you.
- jmatchett383

Maybe it was a bad word choice. Maybe I should have said quirky. And its not a bad thing. Diffrent and interesting personalities should be celebrated especially in the sporting world as it adds to the entertainment value.

And how do you know he didn't try to quietly voice his displeasure to management. I'm almost positive he did. Peg's management was pretty open about how dead set they were on keeping Evander, and it wouldn't surprise me to find out that Kane started wanting out due to the bad environment he was in, management told him to (frank) himself, and then he had no choice but to act like a poop head to force management's hand.

I read an article that said the Pens were looking to add a veteran dman too, why? I get that we have injury issues but we have serviceable ones that can fill-in in the mean time.

I dont know enough about Santa. Could he be a good 3rd line center? Winnik is an ideal 4th liner but not sure he's good enough to be a 3rd liner.

(this is based on cup contending standards, not simply "better than what Pit currently has")
- YouMeAndDupuis9

I really couldn't tell ya. I don't watch any Leafs hockey so I stay out of these Winnik/Santa trades

Only real men like me can successfully mate with a Balrog-goat mixed breed.
- jmatchett383

did you seriously just refer to your wife that way?