I've never played hockey and I agree with
@bert. Too many fans have too strong opinions about things they have no clue about. You have to look no further than the Trouba thread regarding his captaincy right now, as if people on HFboards have any idea who is a good captain or not.
I remembering once listening to a fan-made podcast where one guy would say "hockey isn't some social activety" which has to be among the most absurd hockey related thing I've ever heard. That is something only a person playing franchise mode on EA would say. For the people involved in professional sports, it's just like any other workplace, and there's so many things going on behind the scenes we don't know about that plays into trades, signings and other decisions.
I'm not saying fans shouldn't be allowed to debate or speculate. It's of course all part of the fun. But one could stand to look in the mirror sometimes, and ask what people would be saying about them and their workplace, if their careers in carpenting or nursing was being discussed on an online message board.
In relation to what
@bert was saying, a person on the outside might look at a building and think "it's nice", while the carpenter might see the details and truly appreciate all the hard work that was put into putting it all together. Similarly, a hockey player (or former hockey player) might appreciate the grit or work ethic they see in other hockey players, or understand the importance of someone having a good locker room persona, in ways that many fans on the outside can't quantify.