Zibanajed a casualty of penny pinching?

[yave1964]

From what I have read from several sources Mika Zibanajed has sent down not due to better players beating him out, nor to the cap, Ottawa is not up against it, but simply to save money on his two way contract. if this is true and it appears it is, unlike Bennet, Troffoli and Nyquist who were sent down by clubs against the cap and those players had options the Senators:

are running with 21 players, not the allocated 23.

Are rumored to be in pretty dire financial straits.

Sending him down saves the club near a million dollars and delays the full time arrival of a good young player. I am having a hard time believing it was strictly a hockey move.

One other thing, the club is not happy with his night life, he DJs and raps and parties extensively and quite a bit of it has been captured on camera phones and this may just be a wakeup call to the kid to play hockey and stay away from all of the other stuff. If so and this is just a short term demotion to remind him of how he earns his money and to stay clear of the night life during the season, it could explain the less than full roster, the Sens may be keeping a seat warm for him

[jammer2]

@yave1964  I had not heard the nightlife stuff about Mika. I don't get these kids, they have the world by the balls, could be rich beyond their wildest dreams, but put other stuff ahead of who dolls out the bucks. Part of being a professional is living a clean life, going to bed early to make sure you are at your best for the next game or practice.

 

  You have to sacrifice to be the best. Guys like Gretzky and Bossy were famous for no night life or distractions...they never took their eyes off the prize. I get it to a certain respect, the babes, the nightlife, being a young millionaire...but somewhere along the line, you have to make tough decisions to put secular stuff on the back burner. You owe that to your employers and your teammates and the fans to be the very best you can be when you wake up in the moring, both mentally and physically. There is tons of times for that other stuff, damn...you're under 40 when you retire, do whatever you want then....but until then, be married to the team and honing your skills. Stevie Y would have never put this nightlife crap ahead of the team. It's very selfish, and sets a horrible tone in the dressing room.

[flyerrod]

the club is not happy with his night life, he DJs and raps and parties extensively and quite a bit of it has been captured on camera phones and this may just be a wakeup call to the kid to play hockey and stay away from all of the other stuff.

Well that should make his next contract very interesting...."We sent you down just to show you that we can do it and save money......not because of your play. " I am sure he won't be down long regardless of what "financial" strains OTT is experiencing. I will say this, Ottawa may as well start looking for a trade for him now. Talk about something that will affect your level of play....MZ" You want me to go out there and play my hardest and then you are going to send me down anyhow to save money? I will get right on that.........."

[radoran]

@yave1964  I had not heard the nightlife stuff about Mika. I don't get these kids, they have the world by the balls, could be rich beyond their wildest dreams, but put other stuff ahead of who dolls out the bucks. Part of being a professional is living a clean life, going to bed early to make sure you are at your best for the next game or practice.

 

  You have to sacrifice to be the best. Guys like Gretzky and Bossy were famous for no night life or distractions...they never took their eyes off the prize. I get it to a certain respect, the babes, the nightlife, being a young millionaire...but somewhere along the line, you have to make tough decisions to put secular stuff on the back burner. You owe that to your employers and your teammates and the fans to be the very best you can be when you wake up in the moring, both mentally and physically. There is tons of times for that other stuff, damn...you're under 40 when you retire, do whatever you want then....but until then, be married to the team and honing your skills. Stevie Y would have never put this nightlife crap ahead of the team. It's very selfish, and sets a horrible tone in the dressing room.

 

Not sure you can go with Gretzky, Bossy and Yzerman as the standards. They are more the exceptions - even more with a new generation of player.

 

All three of those guys had the commitment to and the commitment from the franchises they worked for.

 

I would say that there is less loyalty on both sides these days - it's a much more mercenary approach than it ever has been.