| 30 September 2009
Perhaps no scene from a movie better explains the Michael Nylander situation than this not-so-memorable-but-yet-I-know-it quote from the movie "Sgt. Bilko."
Private: "I think the guys don't like me."
Bilko: "Why would you think that?"
Private: "They wrote me a note. 'Rodney, we don't like you.' "
At the beginning of training camp, Bruce Boudreau hoped the rumors swirling around Michael Nylander wouldn't become a distraction for his club.
It's official, he is a distraction. And it's affecting players who outright deserved a spot on the roster. By now you've probably heard the news: Chris Bourque was claimed by the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Bourque, who was a key part of the Hershey Bears' Calder Cup runs, secured a roster spot after a nail-biting training camp that featured an injury and roster-clinching goal in the final preseason game. Of course it helped that Tomas Fleischmann and Eric Fehr were hurt but, still, Bourque earned his spot.
Now his "Welcome to the NHL" dinner date with Bruce and his father, NHL legend Ray Bourque, is cancelled.
It sucks. On one hand, you have a kid who's given his heart-and-soul in camp and in the AHL to make the NHL roster, and on the other, a veteran who just doesn't get the message.
The team couldn't be any clearer about Nylander's role with the team.
He doesn't have one. Yet he remains and enforces his no-movement clause.
But can you really blame Nylander?
Why shouldn't he wait until the best opportunity arises? Why should he accept a trade to any team when he's nearing the end of his career and would want to go to a team that a) appreciates what he can bring to the team and b) actually wants to play him for more than 10 minutes a game.
Nylander produced 33 points in 72 games last year, a far-cry from his usual production, but George McPhee can't seem to find a trade that an opposing team would accept or that Nylander would accept.
Some might argue that Nylander selfishly caused Bourque's exit from the team. But considering that Bourque made the team by the pure fact that Fehr and Fleischmann were injured, most are just mad that of all teams, the very last team on the waiver wire, the hated Penguins, picked the young Bostonian up.
A day away from the puck drop, Caps fans can either continue to moan about the Nylander saga or accept the truth.
The Nylander situation is no longer "Where can we trade him?" but "How can we use him?"
Making Nylander the highest-paid person in the Verizon Center press box is not an ideal solution.
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
