Yes he did. According to Craig Patrick, the former Penguins general manager who drafted Jagr 26 years ago, the Czech winger did his best to manipulate the draft so that he could end up in Pittsburgh playing alongside Mario Lemieux.
When you give quotes to the media, it really doesn’t matter how you meant them to be taken, all that matters is how they are perceived. It seems petty and reflects Torts in a pretty poor light with our other prospects and our future draft picks (fingers crossed he isn’t around much longer, but with this team you never know).
Two points tonight after not actually being sent down. Worse than replacement level take.
There were no cap reasons that prevented them from signing their top prospect at the time. They absolutely could have done so as soon as his freshman season ended but opted not to. Once they decided against it, it seems the damage was done. Where did you see that they allegedly told him it was due to cap reasons?
The financial damage was already done to Gauthier once he wasn’t signed last season.
How long do you think torts will be there? It’s a high turnover job in general and his act wears thin quicker than most.
Cmon. Young hockey players have idols. Crosby is a superstar. Nothing wrong with that. Comment he made was more him knowing this info would get him in trouble so to speak in the room.
Not true though. Average tenure is 3.5 years. Tortorella did between 5 and 7 yrs in TB, NYR and Clb. Lasted 1 yr in Van. Still above average.
His average tenure with a team is higher than the league average. No idea here this narrative has come from. 7 seasons at Tampa, 5 at Nyr and 6 at Columbus. Only time he didn't last long with a team was the disaster with Vancouver. Even that wasn't about his ''act wearing thin''.
Was there an explosion of NFL players who said they wouldn't play for whoever drafted them after John Elway and Bo Jackson said it to the Broncos and Buccaneers respectively, and Elway forced a trade and Jackson went to play baseball? Did it happen after Eli Manning's dad told the Chargers "don't pick him" and the Chargers did, and the Eli told them he wouldn't sign with the team and forced a trade?
Why chance it?
If he told the team he didn't want to talk to them or their representatives, and then they blindside him without his advisor/agent there, I can see why he'd decline a meeting with them, and he would be within reason to.
Let’s not pretend his reputation hasn’t changed. He isn’t as bulletproof as he once was.
I agree on this. I also think the lack of young talent in Philly may be part of it. Next 5 years are most likely not going to be pretty
Who said that he was an all star? There's a very big difference between an all-star and a below replacement level player. Lacombe is fine. He's a rookie who got thrown into a situation he couldn't handle on a team that is just structurally bad. But he's not as much a liability as you think he is. Point was he didn't get sent down because he's not good enough.
He’s never been bulletproof imo. People have always hated him. He lasts and stays because he’s actually a good coach. His “act” is that he demands accountability, hard work and commitment to the system. He’s a dick about it, no doubt. Teams clearly like the approach. When everyone buys in he has success. Eventually teams tune him out like they do any coach. He’s making the Flyers better right now this year, they’re playing hard. They outwork teams just like his old Cbus teams would when they were good. Flyers management knew they had a bad room so they hired him to help fix it, and the results are there. I get why people hate him, but I also get why others don’t. He won’t last forever but he’s helped turn that ship around.
