It is the talk of the league and aside from vague messages from play and Winnipeg Jets, most of the discussion has been fans and media. ESPN, the American-based cable network has been merciless with Helle. They said he is an ungrateful piece who is trying to sneak out of contract...except for the money, to another franchise presumably in the U.S. The reaction was incredulous based on how many years left on the contract and his reasoning.
The reaction on the U.S.-based NHL Network has been more in favour of Helle. The feeling is these U.S. players need to be playing where it will do the league some good. And that isn't in Canada. I'm sure they would say the same for McDavid and Matthews leaving Canada too. In a pinch, they would list a number of Canadian teams that would look good heading to the U.S. And given Trump, you can see him encouraging that thinking.
Social media reports suggest that Hellebyuck's house is now for sale. Cannot confirm or deny that. Likely, Helle's agent wants him out before training camp so he doesn't even have to set foot in the city. He doesn't want to face the media questions except to say how much he will enjoy his new location. If he decides to sit out till he is traded, we may never hear a media interview. No one has sat out since Alexei Yashin sat out the last year of his contract with Ottawa Senators.
Yashin eventually was trade a full season after that and lost his legal case over his contract. Ottawa did very well when a trade did happen. Helle's team must know the legal challenges of trying to break the contract but if he is prepared to sit until Jets have the deal they want, he will sit and his five years resumes when he plays again.
No comments:
Post a Comment