Sobotka

[glen a richter]

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/m/518ef721 ... rning.html

Raise your hand if you're surprised.

So the contingency plan, I assume, will be Yan Stastny?

[theohall]

What? No one raised their hand??

[ecbm]

Sobotka's doing what he thinks is best for him. It is unreasonable for anyone to expect any different.

That Sobotka was not under contract when he signed with Avangard is not some technical nicety. He had not signed, so he was not under contract. That's how the IIHF interprets it. Related: he didn't file for arbitration, the club did. That he wanted a multi-year extension was precisely the issue. That Army lavished one on Berglund-who had just finished his worst season with the Blues and was inferior to Sobotka in every measurable way and by the eye test-likely irritated Sobotka. Ever watched a mediocrity down the hall shoot past you at work based on...well pretty much nothing? Yeah, he might have jerked Army around.

The suggestion that the KHL is unfairly poaching players from the NHL will fall on deaf ears, if those ears are at all objective. Evgeni Malkin, anyone? $200K to break any contract = maximizing leverage. If the NHL does it, they have no reason to expect anyone else not to. Anyway, the butt hurt there is completely belied by the total lack of criticism of Armstrong. He's dropped the ball yet again, and yet again, Blues' fans are not only falling all over themselves to forgive him, but are actively making excuses on his behalf. Good work, Army-you've locked Perron into a top-6 spot.

The only good in this is that Fabbri gets a crack at centering the third line. I'd feel a lot better about that if he wouldn't be between Berglund and ??? though.

Army isn't as much an idiot for saying no to his demands than he is hanging out hope that Sobotka might return and allowing players like Backes to leave without having a solid plan to replace his production (David Perron is literally half the man stats-wise as Backes and I would argue he's more the replacement of Sobotka at this point -- But how can you not do better when Perron is replacing someone who isn't there?).

I really think the idea was for Perron to replace Brouwer's production which, hits aside, isn't unreasonable: DP was 12-24-36 last season to TB's 18-21-39. Sobotka would be the prospective Backes replacement and while he wouldn't score at the same clip, he'd do fine in the 3rd-line C role Backes would have had. The scoring would presumably be made up from a full season of Schwartz and Fabbri getting more than 13 minutes a night. Sobotka really was a linchpin though because he would have kept Fabbri on the 2nd line wing and Perron on the third. Now we're left hoping Jaskin or Rattie can hold down a spot...

[cardsfan04]

Sobotka's doing what he thinks is best for him. It is unreasonable for anyone to expect any different.

That Sobotka was not under contract when he signed with Avangard is not some technical nicety. He had not signed, so he was not under contract. That's how the IIHF interprets it. Related: he didn't file for arbitration, the club did. That he wanted a multi-year extension was precisely the issue. That Army lavished one on Berglund-who had just finished his worst season with the Blues and was inferior to Sobotka in every measurable way and by the eye test-likely irritated Sobotka. Ever watched a mediocrity down the hall shoot past you at work based on...well pretty much nothing? Yeah, he might have jerked Army around.

The suggestion that the KHL is unfairly poaching players from the NHL will fall on deaf ears, if those ears are at all objective. Evgeni Malkin, anyone? $200K to break any contract = maximizing leverage. If the NHL does it, they have no reason to expect anyone else not to. Anyway, the butt hurt there is completely belied by the total lack of criticism of Armstrong. He's dropped the ball yet again, and yet again, Blues' fans are not only falling all over themselves to forgive him, but are actively making excuses on his behalf. Good work, Army-you've locked Perron into a top-6 spot.

The only good in this is that Fabbri gets a crack at centering the third line. I'd feel a lot better about that if he wouldn't be between Berglund and ??? though.

Army isn't as much an idiot for saying no to his demands than he is hanging out hope that Sobotka might return and allowing players like Backes to leave without having a solid plan to replace his production (David Perron is literally half the man stats-wise as Backes and I would argue he's more the replacement of Sobotka at this point -- But how can you not do better when Perron is replacing someone who isn't there?).

I really think the idea was for Perron to replace Brouwer's production which, hits aside, isn't unreasonable: DP was 12-24-36 last season to TB's 18-21-39. Sobotka would be the prospective Backes replacement and while he wouldn't score at the same clip, he'd do fine in the 3rd-line C role Backes would have had. The scoring would presumably be made up from a full season of Schwartz and Fabbri getting more than 13 minutes a night. Sobotka really was a linchpin though because he would have kept Fabbri on the 2nd line wing and Perron on the third. Now we're left hoping Jaskin or Rattie can hold down a spot...

The rational part of me agrees with a lot of this. I definitely don't expect Sobotka to act against his self-interest. That's obviously unreasonable. But, it still rubs me the wrong way.

I get what you and theo are saying about there being a difference between having a contract signed and a team merely possessing the rights to pursue a contract. I understand that they are not fundamentally identical situations. What rubs me the wrong way is that the KHL apparently considers RFAs to be under contract for purposes of leaving the KHL. Yet, they were fine accepting him to their league and now want a $1MM buyout to let him go back to the NHL.

I don't think the KHL is really poaching NHL players per se. And, while I don't know the specifics of Malkin, it's an easy sell that this kind of thing goes both ways. My initial post was mostly meant as snark, but the apparent double standard does bother me some.

[Toasted Oates]

So much hubbub over a 3rd liner at best, flames of which were fanned by the GM and coach.

ecbm laid it out there--you jerked the guy around in negotiations throwing money at a player who did nothing to deserve it. If you wanted him so badly, should have paid him. Since you didn't, move on.