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Players that completely checked out after getting paid

it’s hard to imagine too many guys who had the bonkers drive to work their whole lives to get to that level checking out after signing a contract.

but a question for older flames fans: roman turek?

up to signing his cintract on nov 19, 2001:

13-0-2-2, 1.62 GaA, .940 SV%, 3 SO

first in wins, zero regulation losses, 2nd in averaging stats (somehow brian boucher was ahead of him), flames were 2nd in the league behind the deteoit team that added hasek, chelios, hull, and robitaille as ringers

after: 17-26-9, 2.84, .859, statistically a bottom ten starter in the league. and it wasn’t like a gradual decline either. after signing that contract he went winless in his next five games.

but not sure what happened here, whether he stopped trying or got the yips with new and bigger expectations or it was just a hot streak.

but i can tell you that after initially looking like an amazing free agent grab he murdered my fantasy team that year.
 
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Warh1ppy said:
Nobody mentioning Subban?
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This is a stupid take, your getting me personally here, because Subban was one of the best in the league the following 2 years in mtl where he signed the 9.5 mil contract. He then got his heart broken with the trade to Nashville, he still perfomed as one of the best in the league for Nashville the following 2 years and even made it to the sc finals.

He sustained a back injury.

And he was forced into a bridge contract, its as if he had signed a 10 year contract of 7.7 mil per.
 
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Cup Or Bust said:
I don't think a lot of guys necessarily check out it's just that they signed big contracts at older ages and couldn't always maintain the same level of play or teams signed them expecting them to be better then they were previously which is always a terrible bet. I also think there are probably a lot of guys really good at hockey who played it all their lives and found they could make a really good living doing it that didn't really love the game. I grew up playing with some people that lived the game day in and day out and other guys that played it because of their parents or because of the social group. I never heard any of them ever talking about hockey or watching it though. I am sure there are guys like that in the NHL too so in a sense for them it might feel like going to the office to collect a paycheck.
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Don't kid yourself: there are some guys who don't actually enjoy playing and just want to get a life-changing payday. As soon as they have the bag, they're going to stop grinding. Happens in every single sport.
 
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Bombshell11 said:
Carey Price, after that 10 mil contract he was constanly the worst goalie in the nhl almost every year for good chunks of each season… at some point he was 60th in goalie stats…. Thats just crazy
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Yeah I posted my pick for price as well. It’s too bad. But substance abuse got the better of him. Imho, if there was a poster child for this thread, it’s Carey price.
 
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Sharongovich looks to be trending that way but maybe he bounces back. James Neal lol what a chump.

People saying Huberdeau are crazy. The effort has always been there. He’s been incredible of late.
 
I Hate Philadelphia said:
He's played basically 2 full seasons now since coming back from that injury, you don't get to use that as an excuse forever.

You're telling me that his version of trying as hard as he can, leaving it all on the ice, is a 40-45 point center? That is dire.
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Major injury. Getting hurt like that and aging are not a good combo and it’s clear he can’t compete at the same level as he used ro. It’s not like he’s not trying but he’s slow as hell now in a game that’s never been faster.
 
TheDawnOfANewTage said:
I just wanna point out- I don’t think “checking out” is a conscious decision, and I don’t think guys ever do it fully (except for maybe Daigle. PLD of past. Ok, it’s rare.)

Guys are naturally gonna be a bit more focused when their next contract is on the line, and given that they’ve made it through the first deal, ya, that’s often when they’re at their best. Then they sign, suffer an injury, and don’t rehab with the same vigor they had that one season. It’s not being lazy, it’s just not pushing yourself as much, not keeping to that Mackinnon routine all the time. You eat another bowl of ice cream, watch a lil less tape, yada yada you get what I’m saying.
Half these dudes mentioned had their body parts implode on ‘em and they still tried to hockey, come on now.
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of course they did.
What we are discussing is the ones that couldn't keep it up........not the reasons why they couldn't keep it up.
 
PaulD said:
of course they did.
What we are discussing is the ones that couldn't keep it up........not the reasons why they couldn't keep it up.
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“Checked out after getting paid” is 100% about mentality. “Got hurt after getting paid” is very different, but is probably 75% of the names listed.
 
Also just because a player declined after their contract kicked-in does not mean they "checked out". Same goes for short-term or chronic injuries. I guarantee almost 100% of the league plays with career-long chronic injuries you don't hear about. Don't get it twisted, you have to have absolutely elite skill to make it as an NHL player. There are always players willing to work harder to take your spot.
 
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ViD said:
What are some examples of players that were never the same after getting a big long term contract ?

Rick DiPietro ?

Is Pettersson trending in that direction right now ?
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Dipietro was simply injury prone IMO.

How about yashin in new york? His numbers were not horrific but compared to his talent level, I think there was so much more there.
 
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WarriorofTime said:
I would say David Clarkson but he was the same player. Just had one season where a bunch of pucks bounced off him into the net.
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That's a good one actually. I don't think he tried to suck after the contract that was immediately the worst one in the league.............

I won't say more, ok I was in a commercial with the guy and he's a good dude.

The whole time I'm hanging out with the guy I can't stop thinking about how much money he's getting paid and how much he sucks playing for my favorite team............

So I didn't say those thoughts to him because it's not his fault he's a multi millionaire and I'm making near minimum wage while hanging out with the guy briefly.

But it's really hard not to think about that.
 
Bombshell11 said:
This is a stupid take, your getting me personally here, because Subban was one of the best in the league the following 2 years in mtl where he signed the 9.5 mil contract. He then got his heart broken with the trade to Nashville, he still perfomed as one of the best in the league for Nashville the following 2 years and even made it to the sc finals.

He sustained a back injury.

And he was forced into a bridge contract, its as if he had signed a 10 year contract of 7.7 mil per.
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A lot of excuses rolled out for what is the crux of the thread.
 
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