Interesting piece here from George Richards of the Miami Herald about the David Booth trade.
Booth, who was dealt to Vancouver yesterday in exchange for Marco Sturm and Mikael Samuelsson, was quite distraught upon learning the news he was going to the Canucks -- he reportedly broke down in tears before leaving his ex-mates a farewell message on the dressing room white board.
Two thoughts on the matter:
1) Booth’s lived in Florida since 2006 and played all 309 of his NHL games with the Panthers organization, so being upset is understandable. He inked a six-year, $25.5-million deal just two years ago and when you sign that kind of deal, you expect to be with that team for a long time -- not to be traded for a couple expiring contracts two years later. That said, there have been a few regime changes since Booth signed. The GM that inked him, Jacques Martin, resigned four months later. The first GM to inherit Booth’s contract, Randy Sexton, lasted one season. Booth also had three coaches during his time in Florida (Martin, Peter DeBoer and Kevin Dineen). Regime changes and honoring contracts often don’t mix, something Booth found out yesterday.
2) Booth had to know the trade was a possibility, even with a long-term contract that suggested “franchise cornerstone.” Florida’s traded other cornerstone guys and Dale Tallon’s been extremely aggressive in re-shaping the organization. Players shipped out during Booth’s tenure include Olli Jokinen, Todd Bertuzzi, Jay Bouwmeester, Dennis Seidenberg, Keith Ballard, Nathan Horton and Michael Frolik -- the last three dealt by Tallon in a nine-month span.