Thinking about the whole Phoenix Coyotes / Gretzky thing a bit.
There is no nobility in the eating of maggots spawned off a body that rots yet has not yet died, and even less if some of its wounds you have, yourself, inflicted.
Phoenix was dead, financially, years ago. As an owner there is no way Gretzky could not have known this. For him to insist on earning $8 million /year, an amount which is:
1. at least $6 million more than the average going rate and
2. probably $7 million more than a coach with his record deserves
it only means that the team, really, meant less than nothing to him. imo.
Gretzky has always had the halo. I know. I am ones of those who has polished it on occassion. But the Gretzky brand has always been one of how he trancends the game, not just a great player but also a great person; he knows this full well.
It is why he wanted his money.
Big halos get lots of polish.
What gets me is that he was/is a founder of this team. Were he just a contractor, or an employee, or even the sole owner (respectively: get mine / get mine / stupid greedy bastard) I could understand it but when the majority owner is, legitimately (not the accounting trickery that Katz is getting LaForge to peddle), losing his shirt, then sticking another sword in the back of the child you helped birth...
... when you are, expressly, NOT SUPPOSED TO BE THE GUY WHO WOULD DO THAT SORT OF THING...
... and then trying to feast on the flies as it dies. Well.
Even Coyotes don't do that.
Somewhere. A couple of years ago. He really should have got out. Or taken a severely reduced pay package perhaps.
I don't like thinking about him in this fashion. I think tonite, I'll spend some time thinking about the way back when. 1979. The Lord Nelson Apartments. And heroes I actually thought I knew.
Heroes are human. They don't have halos. I tell myself.
------
All drama aside.
There have been some GREAT posts/threads over at Lowetide's lately.
I am well represented on the record as saying, and saying so in many ways, that this teams lacks both managerial acumen and a plan. To those who think differently I can only ask this:
Are you, rightfully, telling me that, with pre-season coming to an end, the fulfillment of the Oilers master plan this off-season, was to sign Comrie and then (maybe) trade Nilsson for a draft pick? Really?
Not only was Plan A a little less than brilliant but f^%k me, methinks they have to work on their Plans B through Z as well.
But thats just me.
(Doesn't Tampa Bay need a RW? Find $1 million or so in salary to take off their roster for this year and maybe that can happen. And no. That doesn't mean they would trade us Ranger. Probably starts with Hale. And yes. A trade with Nashville for picks is better financially... but competitively? Debateable.)
------
Have a great evening everyone.
There is no nobility in the eating of maggots spawned off a body that rots yet has not yet died, and even less if some of its wounds you have, yourself, inflicted.
Phoenix was dead, financially, years ago. As an owner there is no way Gretzky could not have known this. For him to insist on earning $8 million /year, an amount which is:
1. at least $6 million more than the average going rate and
2. probably $7 million more than a coach with his record deserves
it only means that the team, really, meant less than nothing to him. imo.
Gretzky has always had the halo. I know. I am ones of those who has polished it on occassion. But the Gretzky brand has always been one of how he trancends the game, not just a great player but also a great person; he knows this full well.
It is why he wanted his money.
Big halos get lots of polish.
What gets me is that he was/is a founder of this team. Were he just a contractor, or an employee, or even the sole owner (respectively: get mine / get mine / stupid greedy bastard) I could understand it but when the majority owner is, legitimately (not the accounting trickery that Katz is getting LaForge to peddle), losing his shirt, then sticking another sword in the back of the child you helped birth...
... when you are, expressly, NOT SUPPOSED TO BE THE GUY WHO WOULD DO THAT SORT OF THING...
... and then trying to feast on the flies as it dies. Well.
Even Coyotes don't do that.
Somewhere. A couple of years ago. He really should have got out. Or taken a severely reduced pay package perhaps.
I don't like thinking about him in this fashion. I think tonite, I'll spend some time thinking about the way back when. 1979. The Lord Nelson Apartments. And heroes I actually thought I knew.
Heroes are human. They don't have halos. I tell myself.
------
All drama aside.
There have been some GREAT posts/threads over at Lowetide's lately.
I am well represented on the record as saying, and saying so in many ways, that this teams lacks both managerial acumen and a plan. To those who think differently I can only ask this:
Are you, rightfully, telling me that, with pre-season coming to an end, the fulfillment of the Oilers master plan this off-season, was to sign Comrie and then (maybe) trade Nilsson for a draft pick? Really?
Not only was Plan A a little less than brilliant but f^%k me, methinks they have to work on their Plans B through Z as well.
But thats just me.
(Doesn't Tampa Bay need a RW? Find $1 million or so in salary to take off their roster for this year and maybe that can happen. And no. That doesn't mean they would trade us Ranger. Probably starts with Hale. And yes. A trade with Nashville for picks is better financially... but competitively? Debateable.)
------
Have a great evening everyone.
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