Terry Yake
Registered User
- Aug 5, 2013
- 27,449
- 16,147
sureNo, I don’t think I will. It’s your thesis, you prove it.
I’m also done tilting at windmills. I’m saying that politics do matter to some people, because…clearly they do. Not that they always do, not that they must, but that they CAN. Plenty of people openly say they believe so. Your position is that because you don’t think politics matters for you, it cannot possibly be the case that they’d matter for anyone else, and again, the fact that there’s an argument about it is prima facie evidence that my position isn’t correct.
Also, the world is a far, far more polarized place than it was 15 years ago. Quoting attitudes from 15 years ago isn’t necessarily relevant.
koivu, emery, souray, lydman, winnik, vermette, grant, and miller were all successful FA signings during the ducks contention period. obviously there are more players who were brought in via FA but i only listed the guys who were actual difference makers in their time here and weren't overpaid (like stoner). there's also kesler who was acquired via trade but had anaheim as one of his preferred destinations
no, my position is that its silly to blame state politics for players not wanting to sign with one of the worst teams in the league. especially when that team has never been a big player in FA or willing to throw money around to begin with. its also silly when you consider that there are a number of other NHL teams in states with similar politics to CA (as well as the kings/sharks) that have still signed quality FAs in recent years and continue to do so.
if the ducks had been a playoff contender for the last few seasons and were still having to resort to overpaying guys, then maybe there'd be some merit to this argument. but why would anyone choose the ducks over a playoff contender or a team on the cusp of contention if they were being offered similar $?