There Is A Trade Request Epidemic Currently Running Rampant In The NHL
Out of all the major sports, hockey is the one where the players seem to take the most pride and sense of loyalty to their organization. Hockey players have always been taught from a young age that the logo on the front of the jersey means more than the name on the back. The dream is to be a guy who plays for one organization his entire career and is revered as a hero for that team.
Dylan Larkin was drafted 15th overall by the Detroit Red Wings in 2014. He wore the 'C' on his sweater for the last 6 seasons. Maybe he'll never be as revered as guys like Gordie Howe and Steve Yzerman, who both brought Cups to Detroit. But he's a hometown kid wearing the 'C' for a historic franchise. You'd think there is no place he'd rather be.
Connor Hellebuyck was drafted 130th overall by the Winnipeg Jets. He was never pegged to become an elite goalie. But the Jets took a chance on him, and he's gone on to become one of the best in the world. He was named the top goalie in the NCAA before going pro, he's won 3 Vezina Trophies, he's won a Hart Trophy, he's won an Olympic gold medal, and he's easily the best goalie in franchise history. He could have a statue on every single street corner in Winnipeg if he wanted.
Alexander Nikishin was drafted 69th overall by the Carolina Hurricanes in 2020. He finished out playing a few years in the KHL before coming over to the Carolina Hurricanes for his rookie season last year. He got obliterated by a massive hit in the playoffs, so his ice time went down a bit after suffering a brutal concussion. But he was still in the lineup for every game of the conference final and Cup Final.
All of these guys have requested a trade this offseason. And that's to go on top of Brady Tkachuk already requesting a trade out of Ottawa and getting sent to Florida earlier in the summer. Quinn Hughes essentially got himself moved out of Vancouver. There were the rumors that Zach Werenski wasn't interested in re-signing with Columbus and wanted out.
It would appear that we are witnessing the NBA-ification of the NHL right now play out in real time. We're seeing this newer generation of guys who don't give a shit about previously established power dynamics in the NHL, and realize that the players can take power whenever they want. If GMs aren't going to honor every single contract that they sign guys to, then why should the players have to honor them? Don't like where the team is heading? Demand a trade. Don't like the amount of ice time your getting? Demand a trade. It's chaos, it's anarchy, it's delightful entertainment, but I just don't necessarily know how great it is for the sport of hockey.
Advertisement
Obviously one common theme here with most of these trade requests is that it's coming from guys on the US Olympic Team. These are guys who all finally got a taste of winning for the first time in their career, and they want more. They have a gold medal, now they want to win a Cup, and they realize it's not going to happen where they are currently playing.
The Nikishin trade request is so out of left field. This is a guy who literally just came over to Carolina last year. He won a Cup, and now he wants a change of scenery? Buddy, you barely even saw the scenes in Carolina. How could you need a change already? But when you have players like Jaccob Slavin and K'Andre Miller ahead of you on the depth chart, it's pretty easy to see that Nikishin just wants to go somewhere that sucks and he has more of an opportunity to become a top pairing guy. He won his Cup already so now he just wants ice time to earn a higher payday.
At the end of the day, we are entering a brand new world in the NHL. It's a world filled with a ton of questions, without many answers right now. Do we really want the players conspiring to create a handful of Super Teams in the NHL? Do we really want guys holding their organization hostage to move them just because they are unhappy with playing time? Should we respect and admire the hunger these guys have to win at the highest level? Should we be rooting for guys to make as much money as they can? I feel like you can answer "yes" and "no" to any of these. It really just depends on if your favorite team is getting screwed by this new age NHL, or if you're benefiting.