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In the run-up to the draft, much was written about Russian prodigy Matvei Michkov. Fans who had watched highlights were salivating at the thought of their team picking the talented winger, but what they didn’t know was that some teams didn’t even have the option to do so. It was revealed after the draft that Michkov had refused to meet with three teams: the Anaheim Ducks, the Arizona Coyotes and the Washington Capitals.
While some say, “good for him, he’s in a position to do so so why shouldn’t he?… I think that’s a rather short-sighted point of view. The National Hockey League is built on a system which dictates that struggling teams have better odds of picking earlier in the draft. This ensures that weaker teams get better rookies and it’s meant to encourage parity. For the system to work, newly drafted players have got to go to the team that selects them. That’s the way it works and that’s how young players can have the privilege of playing in the best league in the world. When a player refuses to play for the team that drafted them, they are in essence saying that they are bigger than the games, that the rules shouldn’t apply to them, and I think that’s unacceptable.
I know, Michkov isn’t the first player to try and pick his spot. Mario Lemieux refused to get on stage when he was selected by the Penguins in 1984, Jaromir Jagr told several teams he had no intention of crossing the pond for a good long while in the hope of slipping to the Penguins who were selecting 5th in 1990, Eric Lindros refused to put on the Nordiques jersey in 1991 and refused to play until they traded him. It’s not because it’s been done before that it’s fine to do it though. Thankfully, Mario Lemieux eventually came to his senses and reported to the Pens which he ended up saving not once, but twice, once as a player and once as an owner.
Imagine if more and more players star doing this? How would you feel if the team you support were unable to select high end talent in the draft because none of the prospects wanted to play with them? It’s bad enough that some teams struggle to attract unrestricted free agents without those same team having to worry about the draft. No one player is bigger than the game and if they want to be in the NHL, they should have to play by the rules.
Aside from the draft rules, there’s also a collective bargaining agreement in the NHL which states when players can become unrestricted free agents. When they reach that stage, they are free as a bird and they can pick where they want to play, the decision is entirely up to them. Before then though, they should be playing with the team who owns their right. You can probably see where I’m going with this, restricted free agents should not be able to dictate where they want to go.
I’ve got nothing against a player warning his team that he will be testing the market once he reaches free agency and has no intention of signing a long-term extension like Mathew Tkachuk did. However, a restricted free agent who says the same thing but also adds and by the way, I’m not signing a short-term contract with you, and I won’t play until I’m traded like Pierre-Luc Dubois did. That’s another example of a player thinking that the rules shouldn’t apply to them. Like it or not, Dubois was selected by the Blue Jackets and then traded to the Jets in a blockbuster deal. To acquire him, the Jets had to give valuable assets and they did so thinking they would have control over Dubois until he reached free agency because those are the rules.
My thinking is also the same for players who were drafted and decided to wait until the team’s rights over them expired to pick their own team like Jimmy Vesey or Adam Fox. Every team deserves to have talented players and play on a level field, that’s why there are rules and a collective bargaining agreement in place. Nobody is bigger than the game itself and the health of the game goes through the system being respected.