With Jeff Carter being unhappy in his stint in Columbus, I wanted to ask which players were unhappy playing for your favorite teams? One that comes to mind is Kirk Muller with the Islanders, although they aren't my favorite team
Scott Stevens in NJ before 1995. He was supposed to be St Louis' captain, signed a long term contract with the team and bought a house. Then was awarded to NJ as compensation for St Louis signing Brendan Shanahan:
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Initially, Stevens refused to report to the Devils for training camp, and would not report until September 26, 1991, 22 days after the arbitration ruling. The Devils were already worried after captain Kirk Muller walked out of camp.[28] Stevens and his wife had made plans to settle in St. Louis, and he wanted to end his career with the Blues.[27][28] In addition, he was concerned about the apparent lack of unity in the organization, citing Muller's walkout as proof.[27] Several Devils players were upset over the feeling that Stevens was being forced upon the team; some players, including Ken Daneyko, wanted more money, while other players wanted general manager Lou Lamoriello to trade Stevens.[28] He would eventually report to the Devils three weeks later.[29]
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After the 1993–94 season, Stevens was a potential free agent. Officials from the St. Louis Blues discussed a return to the team with him, and persuaded him to sign an offer sheet worth $17 million over four years on July 4, 1994.[34] Five days later, the Devils matched the offer, and thus Stevens remained in New Jersey. However, the Devils later found out that Stevens had heard from St. Louis management before the free agency period began, which was illegal under NHL policy. After a five-year investigation, the league fined the Blues $1.5 million USD, and awarded the Devils two St. Louis first-round draft picks.[2][34] Devils general manager Lou Lamoriello felt the punishment was not enough; he wanted five first-round draft picks plus damages. Despite the investigation, there was no evidence that Stevens was aware of any wrongdoing.[34]
Stevens was so upset that the Devils matched the Blues' offer that his head wasn't in the game and the team only won 9/24 games in the first half of 1994-95. Supposed Claude Lemieux lost it on Stevens, calling him a disgrace of a captain, and Scott turned his game around
Scott would fully embrace being a Devil for life after the 1995 Cup win
It's been a while since someone really wanted off the Canucks.
Bure was the last one I can remember. Before that, Craig Janney refused to report when we traded for him, and waaay back Fred O'Donnell jumped to the WHA rather than join the Canucks in a trade.
Stevens was a professional about it for the most part. Other players demanded trades from NJ over the years.
Bill Guerin demanded a trade because he felt that his stats and contract value were held down by Lemaire's system. He got what he wanted - traded to teams where he could out up great stats and get big bucks and not have to worry abou winning games (yes, I dislike Bill Guerin). I was quite disappointed to see him win another Cup as a role player in Pittsburgh.
John MacLean asked for a trade at one point because he hated Lemaire's system. It was denied and he dropped the request. Later on, he asked to be traded to a team that would give him more ice time as a declining player and he was traded. But that kind of request is common and probably not what you are lookin for.
Brendan Morrison demanded a trade because of ice time and got his wish.
It's been a while since someone really wanted off the Canucks.
Bure was the last one I can remember. Before that, Craig Janney refused to report when we traded for him, and waaay back Fred O'Donnell jumped to the WHA rather than join the Canucks in a trade.
Nedved and Bure are the most famous cases in Vancouver, but there have been a few lower-profile instances over the years.
Gerald Diduck asked for a trade to an American team during the lockout-shortened season because (so the story goes) his wife wasn't a big fan of living in Canada. Eventually he got shipped to Chicago during the lockout year as Quinn dismantled the 1994 team.
Jan Bullis reportedly asked to be moved during the 2006-07 season because he wasn't getting enough ice time, but nothing ever came of it.
Heh. Whatever it took. It's sure easy to forgive a guy for not wanting to be there for 4 years when he spends the next decade bleeding the blood of the team
This is what I remember and I could be wrong in some details. IIRC, Nedved was a restricted free agent before the 1993-94 season and rejected Vancouver's contract offer. So he decided to sit out most of the season. No team offered him a contract because, presumably, of the potential compensation they would have to surrender to Vancouver. But the Blues, already looked down upon by the NHL for their habit of signing RFA's (Stevens, Shanahan) signed him to an offer sheet in March. Vancouver didn't match the offer and Nedved was a Blue until being traded that summer.
Alexei Yashin really didn't want to be in Ottawa for the 2000-01 season. He had held out for the previous season, and was planning to go to free agency in 2000 until an arbitrator ruled he still owed the Senators a season on his contract.
Yashin played well in the regular season that year.
I remember Paul Coffey wanting out of Hartford, but oddly enough later in his career he had no problem with playing in Carolina. The really odd part is that was during the Greensboro days where they were lucky if they drew the lowest they've had this season.
There are a few that definitely wanted out though. Eric Belanger was visibly disgruntled in how Laviolette was using him the season after the Canes won the cup. Their top 2 centers at the time? Eric Staal and Rod Brind'Amour (enroute to his second Selke), he wasn't about to get more ice time.
Aaron Ward, his second go around here, was absolutely notorious in wanting to get out. When he went to the media of prettymuch every city the Canes went to expressing his desire to leave, despite obviously being the worst player on the ice about 3/4 of all games, the fanbase turned on him fast on here.
I think Paul Coffey wanted out of almost all the teams he played for.
Coffey wanted out of Hartford I know that. He got his wish right away.
Quote:
Originally Posted by overpass
Alexei Yashin really didn't want to be in Ottawa for the 2000-01 season. He had held out for the previous season, and was planning to go to free agency in 2000 until an arbitrator ruled he still owed the Senators a season on his contract.
Yashin played well in the regular season that year.
Yeah, but in true Yashin form he had one assist in a playoff sweep. Then he's traded to NYI and is rewarded with that stellar playoff performance by Mike Milbury with the worst contract in the history of the NHL.
Other examples:
I don't know about the rest of you but I can't help but think Eric Staal is very unhappy in that death trap called Carolina. He doesn't seem motivated and isn't putting up the numbers he is capable of.
Heatley wanted out of Ottawa. He got his wish and wore his welcome out in San Jose pretty quickly. He is also the type of player that now doesn't have to worry much about winning in Minnesota. Low expectations there so it probably suits him well.
For the Flyers, the first one I can think of is Garry Galley. Galley was acquired from Boston in 1992 and Galley wasn't thrilled to be coming to a non-playoff team like Philly, who were in the midst of a five season drought of missing the playoffs. A locker room lawyer who was always the "inside source" for reporters when the team was slumping, he was shipped to Buffalo for Petr Svoboda just as the Flyers were re-emerging as a power in the mid 90's.
During the end of his first stint as a Flyer, Rick Tocchet openly expressed his desire to be traded to a contender. It got to the point that Tocchet, despite being the captain, was a divisive force in the locker room. After he was traded to Pittsburgh, Tocchet publicly ripped the organization, particularly GM Russ Farwell. This prompted Kevin Dineen to say that they were a better team without him and would have made the playoffs had Tocchet been traded earlier. Ten years later, with Bobby Clarke back as GM, Tocchet happily returned to the Flyers as though nothing ever happened.
A more recent one was Jiri Dopita in 2002. Hailed by the Hockey News as the best player outside of North America in 2000-2001, Dopita was miserable in his only year in Philly. It didn't help that injuries and his play was sub par throughout the year, which relegated him to 4th line center. He was dumped to Edmonton for a 2003 1st rounder that turned out to be Mike Richards. Dopita played a year in Edmonton before returning to Europe.
For the Leafs, Ric Jackman wasn't happy about his lack of playing time, and asked to join a team that would play him. He was actually playing pretty well offensively. He continued his decent play after being sent to Pittsburgh. I drafted him in my fantasy league after the strike, but he only briefly played well before becoming healthy scratches in Pittsburgh.
On the other hand, we've had the opposite, where Mats Sundin wanted to stay, but the team, and many fans, wanted him traded.
Our basketball team had the worst case though, Vince Carter did everything possible to get a trade from the Raptors. Supposedly he told the opponents about a designed play.
For the Flyers, the first one I can think of is Garry Galley. Galley was acquired from Boston in 1992 and Galley wasn't thrilled to be coming to a non-playoff team like Philly, who were in the midst of a five season drought of missing the playoffs. A locker room lawyer who was always the "inside source" for reporters when the team was slumping, he was shipped to Buffalo for Petr Svoboda just as the Flyers were re-emerging as a power in the mid 90's.
During the end of his first stint as a Flyer, Rick Tocchet openly expressed his desire to be traded to a contender. It got to the point that Tocchet, despite being the captain, was a divisive force in the locker room. After he was traded to Pittsburgh, Tocchet publicly ripped the organization, particularly GM Russ Farwell. This prompted Kevin Dineen to say that they were a better team without him and would have made the playoffs had Tocchet been traded earlier. Ten years later, with Bobby Clarke back as GM, Tocchet happily returned to the Flyers as though nothing ever happened.
A more recent one was Jiri Dopita in 2002. Hailed by the Hockey News as the best player outside of North America in 2000-2001, Dopita was miserable in his only year in Philly. It didn't help that injuries and his play was sub par throughout the year, which relegated him to 4th line center. He was dumped to Edmonton for a 2003 1st rounder that turned out to be Mike Richards. Dopita played a year in Edmonton before returning to Europe.
Coffey wanted out of Hartford I know that. He got his wish right away.
Yeah, but in true Yashin form he had one assist in a playoff sweep. Then he's traded to NYI and is rewarded with that stellar playoff performance by Mike Milbury with the worst contract in the history of the NHL.
Other examples:
I don't know about the rest of you but I can't help but think Eric Staal is very unhappy in that death trap called Carolina. He doesn't seem motivated and isn't putting up the numbers he is capable of.
Heatley wanted out of Ottawa. He got his wish and wore his welcome out in San Jose pretty quickly. He is also the type of player that now doesn't have to worry much about winning in Minnesota. Low expectations there so it probably suits him well.
I despise Milbury but if there's one person I despise even more it's Charles Wang - I'm pretty sure it was him that negotiated the Yashin contract. And I wouldn't call it the worst contract in NHL history, but the 2nd worst after another one Wang negotiated - the 15 year Dipietro deal.
Eric Lindros & John Ogrodnick for the Nordiques. Guy Lafleur for a little while right after getting tricked by Sam Pollock into signing a contract with the Canadiens when he could have made a lot more money going to Quebec in the WHA.
I remember Paul Coffey wanting out of Hartford, but oddly enough later in his career he had no problem with playing in Carolina. The really odd part is that was during the Greensboro days where they were lucky if they drew the lowest they've had this season.
There are a few that definitely wanted out though. Eric Belanger was visibly disgruntled in how Laviolette was using him the season after the Canes won the cup. Their top 2 centers at the time? Eric Staal and Rod Brind'Amour (enroute to his second Selke), he wasn't about to get more ice time.
Aaron Ward, his second go around here, was absolutely notorious in wanting to get out. When he went to the media of prettymuch every city the Canes went to expressing his desire to leave, despite obviously being the worst player on the ice about 3/4 of all games, the fanbase turned on him fast on here.
Thats interesting to hear. I've heard Ward on TSN several times bring up playing for Carolina and how he and many others enjoyed playing and living there.
Markus Naslund asked for a trade from the Canucks at the start of the 1997-98 season because Keenan was making him a healthy scratch. Of course he would end up being one of a few Canucks from this era to not get traded.
Near the 1999 trade deadline Peter Zezel wanted to be traded from the Canucks to near Toronto. His niece was dying, so he wanted to be around. Burke traded him, but sent him to Anaheim, the farthest city away from Toronto. Zezel never reported to the Ducks, and instead retired to go to Toronto.
I certainly don't have any proof for this but I can't imagine Igor Larionov liking being in Florida. It was his own doing. He signed there as a free agent before the 2000-'01 season. Then three months into the season he is traded back to Detroit. This was the only time in the last decade where he wasn't a Red Wing. I mean, can you imagine the contrast between those two teams?
Miro Satan prior to the 2004 trade deadline scored a goal for the Sabres and then made a gesture like he was on the phone which I thought symbolized him enticing GMs to make a trade for him. You get the feeling he wasn't overly happy in Buffalo.
Did Turgeon want out of Montreal in 1996? They traded him the day after he had a 4 assist night. Seemed like a rushed deal because the Canadiens got nothing in return for him. Turgeon, Rory Fitzpatrick and a young Craig Conroy for Shayne Corson and Murray Baron. Yikes! I don't care how much sandpaper you want on your team, there is no way Corson replaces Turgeon. Anyway was it just Turgeon playing his way out of Montreal or was that just another terrible trade Rejean Houle did? Or both? Probably both. Houle made John Ferguson Jr. look like Sam Pollock
