You’re getting fooled by the worst character team in the league.
Ever wonder why Winnipeg has so much regular season success and so little in the playoffs?
This is the team that ruined Patrik Laine. Blake Wheeler and Mark Scheifele bullied him for playing too many video games until he lost his love for the sport, had to go into the player assistance program, and is now a shadow of what he once was.
This is the team that made Jacob Trouba into what he’s become. A so-called captain who selfishly (along with the help of his maniacal agent) uses coercion to turn a limited no trade clause into a full no move clause.
This is the team that reputable Finnish journalists have started questioning for how they’ve ruined numerous Finnish players over the years such as Laine, Ville Heinola, and Kristian Vesalainen. All first round picks with a ton of buzz around, and none reached their potential.
Yes, the problem was definitely the guy who generates rave reviews for his character and captains every team he plays for because he wanted to get what literally every player in a similar situation gets. What a monster.
I'm indifferent on Rutger, but man, what a kind of bizarre jumble of nonsense is this?
Laine? His best years were with the Jets. Those two bullies are the guys that set him up for 80-90 PP goals when the Jets powerplay was basically built around setting up Laine.
Trouba? Great player with the Jets. He wanted a trade to be in the US close to where his GF was studying. He got traded and both sides seemed happy with the return. What he does now with no trades is on him (and his maniacal agent).
Heinola? I'm a fan. He would have been in top six last year but got hurt. Same thing this year. Just bad luck for both him and the team.
Vesalainen? Probably our worst first round pick. He was given over 50 games in the top nine to do something and he full on sucked. Hope your favorite team takes him on as a reclamation project.
Rutger will have himself a fine career (as will Yager). I agree that counting points through a handful of AHL games is dumb...but so is doubling down and throwing out a bunch of conspiracy theory crap in response.