It’s a double-edged sword, really. On one hand, sports writers/bloggers/snark merchants wish that hockey players and people around the game would cease the endless use of cliches and stock answers. On the other hand, it’s hard to avoid criticizing people whose off-the-beaten-path comments end up being ill-advised.
That’s the basic situation between Martin Havlat, his agent Allan Walsh and the Minnesota Wild.
Walsh is no stranger to making waves with his comments - whether they come via Twitter or, in this case, an e-mail - something he certainly did yesterday with these comments about the way the team is handling his client. Here are the boldest statements from Walsh, via great beat reporter Michael Russo.“When Chuck reached out to Marty Havlat two summers ago after he led Chicago to the conference finals while leading the team in points in the regular season and playoffs, he shared a vision of building an up-tempo offensive team with Marty as a pillar to this strategy,” Walsh said in an e-mail to the Star Tribune. “That’s why he signed with the Wild.
“Since that time, Marty has been used in a purely secondary role. Look at this season, he’s played four straight games at about 14 minutes of ice time, he’s used on the second power-play unit, he sits for long stretches, he’s not used in the shootouts. At a certain point in time, one has to ask, ‘Why is he here?’ One has to ask, ‘Why pay this guy $30 million to not play?’”
Well, OK then. My instinct is to think that this is just aimless whining. After all, if Havlat truly brings as much to the table as Walsh claims, why would the Wild ignore his scoring prowess? Could it be that the team should be upset that Havlat has been unable to live up to his contract, rather than the player airing his grievances with his employer?Still, it’s better to get an expert’s opinion, which in this case seems to concur with mine. Here is what Bryan Reynolds of the SB Nation blog Hockey Wilderness wrote about the situation (the full post is worth a read, as well).
As anyone who is a regular around here knows, I’m a sucker for when someone opens their mouth and firmly implants their foot. The stats, and the facts, simply do not back up what Walsh is saying this time. This isn’t Price vs Halak, this Walsh vs the truth. Havlat is doing his job, and he is performing fairly well for a team that is not playing all that great right now.
However, the fury needs to not be on the coach or the GM for “underusing” Havlat. Maybe the fury needs to be directed at Havlat’s teammates for not keeping the penalty box door from hitting them in the butt on their way out.
That won’t happen though. After all. Those players are his potential clients.So, how do you feel about the situation? Do you think Walsh is right in saying that the team isn’t using Havlat properly or should they just keep their mouths shut and collect those hefty checks? Let us know in the comments.