Yesterday the hockey world starred at their TVs and computer screens in numbness and shock. The unthinkable happened! Ryan Smyth was traded from the Edmonton Oilers to the New York Islanders. For those disconnected from hockey Ryan Smyth was the icon of the Oilers' Franchise. Drafted in 1994 he has never played for any other NHL team. Now, Thursday night he will wear another team's jersey for the first time.
Unable to reach contract agreement and with 20 minutes left till the deadline, Kevin Lowe dealt away Smytty, as most Oilers affectionately call him, for 2 top prospects and 1 first round draft pick. To Oilers' fan this it was like trading Porsche for a 3 Ford tempos.
The whole ordeal reeks of underhandedness. Two months ago it was "leaked" to the media that the Oilers had not yet reached a contract agreement with him, which Smyth was blindsided by in a media conference. When asked about the situation, a stunned Smytty replied, "How did you find out about that?!" Quickly followed by, "We're not focusing on that right now! We're focusing on getting our team into the playoffs!" In the very same manner the media would be the one to tell Smyth he had been traded in the same manner. When a trade is done with class the General Manger or the players agent will tell him, not the media.
As details of how the events unfolded it came out Lowe had this trade in his desk drawer with the papers signed, in case they couldn't reach an agreement. Conversely, it is reported Smyth turned down a deal for 27 million over 5 years , which works out to 5.4 million a year, 100 thousand a year below Smyth's asking price (5.5 million/year). To put this in perspective the Calgary Flames just signed Tanguay, for 5.25 million per year. Tanguay does not have the grit and potentially is not as talented as Smyth, and is definitely not the face of the franchise. The manner in which these events unfolded leave the fans wondering if Lowe ever intended on re-signing Smyth or if he was trying to convince Smyth to play for the Islanders the rest of the season and the Oilers would resign him come July 1st.
A tearful Smyth addressed the media today, and as Oiler fans watched they had flashbacks to 1988 when another icon of the team and an icon of hockey, Wayne Gretzky, was sold to the Los Angeles Kings. Feeling betrayed once again, along with Oiler fans everywhere are wondering if there is any loyalty left in hockey. So often we hear about players having no loyalty to the team and now a player has been betrayed by a team who had his entire loyalty. Gretzky commenting on the trade said: "that's the nature of the game now". If Smyth is not re-signed by the Oilers July 1st, the next signature the Oilers may have is Kevin Lowe's on his forced resignation.
Through the tears Smyth spoke positively and respectfully of Kevin Lowe. Then he promised to do his best to win the cup, as an Islander, so he could bring it back home. This type of class is what will have this fans loyalty cheering for Smytty every game.
11 comments:
Yeah, i was very surprised when this trade appeared on the TSN trade tracker. I've always liked Ryan Smyth and it'll be hard to see him in another uniform.
That being said, the Oiler's sorta fell out of the playoff race and will have a shot to re-evaluate the offer they made to him this summer. I hope they get him back.
I think his asking price is about right. And if they reall did offer only 100,000 less than his asking price, i'm surprised he didn't take it. I sorta doubt they offered that much.
Matthew: It was a grand total of 500 000 (100 000/year). I think you're right that in the hockey world it isn't a vast difference. I got the information on the last offer from Sportnet.
i don't have much pity on a guy who deliberately turned down a few hundred thousand dollars over the course of a few years, esp. when he'd be making like 20 million overall
. how greedy can people be? it's disgusting. i like smyth, and i know big bucks are part of the game....but get over yourselves. you're not worth 20 million bucks. play the game, have some loyalty. quit your crying your pansy, you traded yourself.
Mark: I think the asking price of 27.5 million was absolute lowest, rather than an ideal. I never thought anyone could justifiable call Smyth greedy, and today that's still true. Smyth wasn't even aware he had been traded until the media told him and both Smyth and his Agent, Meehan, thought salary talk would continue after the trade deadline. No one on the Smyth side of things thought Smyth would be traded. The trade was just a LOWe class move.
oh, gimme a break...anyone who turns down 27.5 million dollars for ANYTHING, because they feel like they're worth more, is greedy. don't be a madman.
But I did enjoy your pun. good move.
Mark: In the hockey world Smyth is worth more, and in this barterring process I don't think the "Smyth camp" ever anticipated a trade. I think they had a misconception there was a mutual loyalty and they would work through this deal until July 1st. This trade dispelled the folklore of Edmonton being an organization who has maintained loyalty to players in an age of business. (btw: he turned down a 27 mill deal, he was holding out for a 27.5 mill)
Brewer, I used to think exactly like that in terms of players/greed. But I've changed my thinking a bit. If the players don't make that money, the owners simply pocket it. So it's really a question of spreading the greed around. I'd rather 25 people get rich via greed than 1.
As long as fans are willing to pay $50+ to see a game, players will get millions of bucks. It's the fans fault that salaries are so high.
Smyth has every right to compare himself to similar players and ask for similar salary in my book
BUMMER!!! It does reek of underhandedness...I wonder if it has anything to do with losing the cup last year? Could they still be upset about the cup going down south? I mean, it is not like Carolina is going to keep it, they are doing so lousy this year! Big Wigs make me sick!
I'm not even sure what the big deal was here. As soon as as Ryan is a free agent he'll resign with Edmonton. His big mistake was showing how much he wants to be there which will affect his negotiating of a new contract after the season.
Oh and She Ogre can bite me. Carolina Stanley cup champs. Wooooooo Whoooooo.
Kirk: I would love to see Smytty back in Edmonton, but judging by the hurt he demonstrated, I'm not sure he'll ever play under for Kevin Lowe again. A bunch of us Oiler fans have been discussing it and we're thinking he may end up in Toronto or Ottawa. However, the worse possible options seems to be the most likely...Calgary.
Btw, Sheogre is a Carolina fan too!!
Michelle: I think losing the cup and then losing Progner and Spacek in free agency right after caused allot of problems in Edmonton. Losing Smyth is making things worse.
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