If you're an NHL GM and this doesn't set off all kinds of bells and alarms then you are not on the ball.
One of your players is at a bar at 4 am(not talking missing a curfew by 15 minutes here) the night before a PLAYOFF game. Bad enough if this was a regular season game, but a playoff game is 10x worse.
Combine that with the Montreal nightlife and it's a recipe for disaster unless he is ready to come here cheap on a 1 year deal hoping to parlay that into a mega deal the following year.
This incident probably drops the odds of seeing him in a Hbas jersey next year to close to 0%.
Montreal has been living (and dying) with reactionary GMs and reactionary coaches.
And we see where we are now.......on the outside looking in.......and constantly complaining about how "Management has not developed the Timmins' draft picks".
Radulov did not commit a crime. He is guilty of poor judgement. For him, this is a teachable moment.
I hope that the Preds sour on him forever. I hope that the biggest majority of the GMs sour on him as well. I would love to have Radulov on this team with a coach who understands how to push players' buttons to get them to excel.
Sergei was the practitioner of poor judgement (or so we were told). And now look at him.
The "Montreal nightlife" is an overused cop-out. There is nightlife in every NHL city........maybe not to YOUR liking but it is there none-the-less.
Again, Radulov did not commit a crime. I want to see him in a Habs sweater next year.
Montreal has been living (and dying) with reactionary GMs and reactionary coaches.
And we see where we are now.......on the outside looking in.......and constantly complaining about how "Management has not developed the Timmins' draft picks".
Radulov did not commit a crime. He is guilty of poor judgement. For him, this is a teachable moment.
I hope that the Preds sour on him forever. I hope that the biggest majority of the GMs sour on him as well. I would love to have Radulov on this team with a coach who understands how to push players' buttons to get them to excel.
Sergei was the practitioner of poor judgement (or so we were told). And now look at him.
The "Montreal nightlife" is an overused cop-out. There is nightlife in every NHL city........maybe not to YOUR liking but it is there none-the-less.
Again, Radulov did not commit a crime. I want to see him in a Habs sweater next year.
The problem isn't that he went out drinking. It's that the night before a playoff game, one that started at 5 pm the next day, he couldn't just stay in his hotel room and prepare for the extremely important game the next day. It definitely sets off alarm bells that he doesn't have the willpower to commit himself to the playoffs.
It doesn't help that he played like crap that game too.
He's not only trying to help his team win a playoff series, he's also playing for a contract. What happens when he's making $5 million a year for the next 5 years, does he have the desire to perform? These are questions you can ask about anyone, but Radulov brought them on himself this time.
The problem isn't that he went out drinking. It's that the night before a playoff game, one that started at 5 pm the next day, he couldn't just stay in his hotel room and prepare for the extremely important game the next day. It definitely sets off alarm bells that he doesn't have the willpower to commit himself to the playoffs.
It doesn't help that he played like crap that game too.
He's not only trying to help his team win a playoff series, he's also playing for a contract. What happens when he's making $5 million a year for the next 5 years, does he have the desire to perform? These are questions you can ask about anyone, but Radulov brought them on himself this time.
You are arguing from a position that "hockey players can never be taught right from wrong".
As mentioned earlier, we have seen this type of leadership and coaching for far too long. And our franchise has suffered for it.
Lets say that Montreal does not pursue Radulov and an enterprising GM with foresight does sign him. And with Radulov's talent, he becomes a 40 goal scorer for his team.
What do we do? Complain (again) about the one that got away? Or why dont we ever have superstars in Montreal?
We have been lacking foresight for too long. You cannot teach talent. You can teach goals and expectations.
You are arguing from a position that "hockey players can never be taught right from wrong".
As mentioned earlier, we have seen this type of leadership and coaching for far too long. And our franchise has suffered for it.
Lets say that Montreal does not pursue Radulov and an enterprising GM with foresight does sign him. And with Radulov's talent, he becomes a 40 goal scorer for his team.
What do we do? Complain (again) about the one that got away? Or why dont we ever have superstars in Montreal?
We have been lacking foresight for too long. You cannot teach talent. You can teach goals and expectations.
I'd love to see him on our first/second line. Either the DD line gets most of the attention, leaving Radulov to do his thing against easier opposition, or they focus on Radulov, and leave the DD line to clean up against easier competition.
I'm just saying I'd worry about his commitment if he's doing stupid things like this in the second round of the playoffs. To me it screams he's all about the money/fame, at least at this point. He's still pretty young though, does he have a gf/wife yet?
You are arguing from a position that "hockey players can never be taught right from wrong".
As mentioned earlier, we have seen this type of leadership and coaching for far too long. And our franchise has suffered for it.
Lets say that Montreal does not pursue Radulov and an enterprising GM with foresight does sign him. And with Radulov's talent, he becomes a 40 goal scorer for his team.
What do we do? Complain (again) about the one that got away? Or why dont we ever have superstars in Montreal?
We have been lacking foresight for too long. You cannot teach talent. You can teach goals and expectations.
Talented, yes he is, but selfish he is also...what does this kind of teammate do to the room? I understand what you are saying, but the guy would be a real gamble...
Does that mean I wouldn't gamble on him? No, he's still very talented, if you can get him for very little you do. We could use all the wing talent we can get.
Would I give up any assets for him? No way. Time and time again he shows all he cares about is himself. To think people on this board wanted to trade our pick for someone like that.
So...let me get this straight. A lazy player who has an attitude problem and who goes to the bar to prepare for playoff games is someone people want on their team?
So...let me get this straight. A lazy player who has an attitude problem and who goes to the bar to prepare for playoff games is someone people want on their team?
Not sure if people realize how great the Windsor Spitfires were in 2009-2010. Hall, Henrique, Wellwood, Ellis, Fowler. And then there's still some possibilities that Ryan and Nemisz develop as well. Very good team.
So...let me get this straight. A lazy player who has an attitude problem and who goes to the bar to prepare for playoff games is someone people want on their team?
You need hard working guys to win but you also need skilled players to keep your opponent on their toes and punish them when they get lazy. Its hard to acquire guys that have both all-star skills and great characters, sometimes you have to settle with just all-star skills.
Besides this whole story is overblown, whoever acquires Radulov is going to be laughing. He's not a monster, he simply missed a curfew. The Preds decision to bench him and AK is possibly catastrophic.
Does Ron Maclean not know how awards voting works?
They just finished interviewing Matt Read, and he said, "Should've been a Calder candidate". Every rookie this year is a candidate, the voting is already finished. Henrique, Landeskog, and Nugent-Hopkins just happen to be the top 3, and I have a hard time putting Read ahead of any of those guys, maybe Henrique. Still doesn't change the fact that Maclean's comment made no sense.
