Quote:
Originally Posted by Sawdalite
Bringing all this KJ discussing into context: At that point in time the Flyers were still stinging from key players lost to concussions and subsequent PCS... Lindros was out during a major SC push, as well as other points, and Primeau the captain and team leader was battling and losing to PCS... Kim went down and IIRC could not recover for the final postseason of his contract.
Before KJ could return to the ice symptoms free and prove he could play that way his contract lapsed and he demanded #1 D-man dollars in the Cap Era... Clarke leery about dealing with another key player having continuing PSC problems did not want to sign Kim for what he wanted... and Kim didn't have to worry about lowering his demands once Minny came calling with their contract in hand.
If Primeau was in any way involved it was in that he suffered from PCS, as did Lindros and KJ.... and that unfortunate circumstance added to Clarke's being cautious with his Cap dollars when it came to another key player with PCS... Keith's attempts to return to his team did not preclude Clarke's signing Kim, and IMO it is unfair to attack Primeau for his unwillingness to give up without exhausting all avenues.
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The real problem in addressing the Primeau situation is focusing on KJ (I understand why, but it's a red herring). The real problem was that they couldn't sign
anyone to fill the voids left on that roster following that season, and that's a big reason why the team cratered the way it did.
In reality, not the worst thing in the world. Richard, Carter, Umberger, etc. all got a lot of ice time because of that roster, which helped them out. And now you have JVR on this team because of that year (it pays to suck when you're rebuilding).