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| | Thursday, November 4 | |||||
ESPN.com | ||||||
| Situations like Alexei Yashin's holdout with the Senators drain optimism in professional sports. It's silly to even expect that loyalty to a team or region should mean anything. Money is the key, as it has always been in pro sports -- except in the "old days" dirty laundry was not placed on the public clothes line quite as much as it is in contemporary times.
But then along comes a guy like Bruins goalie Byron Dafoe.
With his three-year, $9.3 million deal, Dafoe gets financial security, but he also gets to stay in Boston. "I'm just looking forward to getting back and playing with them (the team)," Dafoe told The Boston Globe after agreeing to the contract. "It's a family, and you're not there and the days are pretty lonely. (Today's) going to be probably the most excited I'll be about going on the ice with Pat Burns in a long time." Can you in your wildest dreams imagine Yashin, or even Pavel Bure, saying something like that and not sound like the most insincere goofball going? Probably not. Dafoe isn't all warmy fuzzies, but he means what he says: He likes Boston and wanted to stay there. He didn't want to be traded. Ultimately, Dafoe decided to work without his agent, Ron Salcer, and end the hard-line stances. "Whether my guidance was right or wrong, I'm the one who made the final decision," Dafoe said. "In doing so, I'm the one who made the decision to go in on my own and try to salvage what I had here against the advice of going and leaving town." Sometimes agents and the NHLPA can't completely quash a player's enjoyment of a place, team and adequate contract numbers. With Hull, it's never dullDallas Stars forward Brett Hull has never been shy about sharing his thoughts. In recent years, he has become more outspoken about the style of play in the NHL. With about a dozen games into this season, it was time for him to chime in for the first time. "I don't think it's fun for anybody," Hull told the Edmonton Sun recently. "The game has changed. It used to be great, wide open. I don't think we have scored more than two goals, except for (three) times. "I don't think I was hit my first 10 years. Now I'm in the corners and you come to the bench after every shift just beat." Hull has a distaste for the defensive systems in the NHL, as well as for a lot of the clutching and grabbing. The physical stuff is one thing, but Hull shouldn't whine too much about defensive systems because the team he plays for employs one of the game's stingiest. Imagine what Hull would say if he were playing the Stars as a member of the Blues. Despite it all, Hull isn't close to quitting. "I'm going to play until they give me a cane," said Hull. "As long as I can contribute." McPhee back ... with job security Washington GM George McPhee returned to work Monday after serving a one-month suspension for punching Chicago coach Lorne Molleken. Despite the Caps' 2-5-2 record and current 0-4-1 winless streak, published reports state that McPhee and coach Ron Wilson are expected to get one-year contract extensions.
Brian A. Shactman is the NHL editor for ESPN.com. | ALSO SEE Bruins goalie Dafoe ends holdout, agrees to three-year deal
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