Nobody Hates Anything More Than Erik Johnson Hates Players Asking To Be Traded Halfway Through Their Contracts
There's obviously a trend across all sports of former players going into the media side of things, and just constantly feeling the need to shit on the current generation of athletes. Where they constantly need to remind the audience, and themselves, that the game used to be better back in their day.
That's not who Erik Johnson is. He's not some crotchety old guy who hates everything and everyone. From his time spent in Philly, he seems like the type of player who his teammates love having around. He may not have had the most prolific career in hockey history, but let's not forget that he was a 1st overall draft pick and a Stanley Cup Champion. So if there's any sort of criteria that allows you to have a valid opinion on anything regarding hockey, he hits those marks.
Obviously guys are wired a little differently these days as opposed to when Erik Johnson first got into the league 20ish years ago. But guys like Dylan Larkin and Connor Hellebuyck aren't much younger than Erik Johnson. It's not like these guys are a couple of 22-year-olds who grew up in a totally different world. Larkin is 30 and Hellebuyck is 33. Chances are there are a lot more guys in the league around that age who feel the same exact way as Erik Johnson does about players demanding to be traded when they still have years left on their contracts. And that's coming from an American. It's not even like Erik Johnson is a Canadian who hates seeing all these American players demand to get traded out of Canadian markets like Ottawa, Vancouver, and Winnipeg.
You have to wonder how many guys around the league heard what Erik Johnson said last night and totally agreed with him. You'd think maybe it would be a generational thing, but there are definitely some kids in the NHL right now who seem like they're wired to think in the traditional "hockey player" way. Like I'd imagine a player like Macklin Celebrini is wired that way, as opposed to someone like Cutter Gauthier who doesn't give a fuck about loyalty to an organization. You also have to wonder how many GMs think that way, too, and if that's a potential hold up for why there hasn't been a Larkin deal yet. Obviously players like Dylan Larkin, Brady Tkachuk, and Connor Hellebuyck are all great players who are going to help your team win. That's the job right there, and winning goes above everything else. But at some point, maybe some GMs are turned off by the idea of giving up so much in return for a player who is willing to straight up quit on his team with 4 years left on a contract they signed.
Sidenote: On the other side of the spectrum, you have to give credit to Nikita Kucherov for having the most ethical trade request ever. Guy felt disrespected by the Tampa Bay Lightning, told them he has no intentions of re-signing there when his contract is up at the end of the year, but is still out there producing for his teammates.
That's how it's done, boys and girls.