When Players Hang On Too Long...
Matt Bodenschatz | National Hockey League
Mar 6, 04:44 PM | Hype this story!
We all saw the end coming for Gary Roberts a year ago, when he missed a large portion of the season due to injury, then was benched during game one of the Stanley Cup Finals.
Now it’s here, as Roberts is expected to formally announce his retirement.
Roberts thought he had one year left in him when he signed this past summer with the Tampa Bay Lightning, but that just wasn’t the case.
The grizzled veteran of 1,224 games played just 30 games this season in a limited role. He scored seven points (3 goals, 4 assists) and accrued a minus-11 rating in that time.
He was placed on waivers earlier this week, and after going unclaimed and untraded, the message apparently was received.
Roberts, a cult-like figure during his year with the Pittsburgh Penguins, will finish his career with 910 points and 2,560 penalty minutes.
Is his career Hall of Fame worthy? Only time will tell. But one thing is certain: “Scary Gary” made his mark on the NHL and won’t soon be forgotten.
Comments
RELENTLESSFORECHECK
Mar 6, 06:01 PM
The Lightning organization should be ashamed at the way they handled this whole thing. To waive him for the first time in his career was a pretty pathetic move, but to do it and not even tell the guy about it? Classless.
No matter what you thought of Gary Roberts, he gave everything to the game of hockey and to every team he played for. He was a throwback, a warrior, and a legend… and he didn’t deserve to go out like this.
WWGRD? For damn sure, he would have treated the player with respect.
Kevin
Mar 6, 06:42 PM
How long before we see Roberts behind the bench in a coaching capacity?
The leadership and powerplay smarts would definetely outduel those of Mike Yeo….just an idea…
Doc Nagel
Mar 6, 08:20 PM
Relentless, I haven’t seen anywhere that they waived him without telling him. Does the CBA allow management to fail to inform players about their status or assignment? That doesn’t sound like a very good contract provision!
Jonathan Farzalo
Mar 6, 08:45 PM
While I agree that Tampa Bay didn’t handle this well, the same can be said of John Leclair here in Pittsburgh. Both players deserved a better fate. That’s not to say Ray Shero didn’t TRY to do more for John, but he met his end in much similar fashion. I think the thing we all must realize, and it IS hard to do at times, hockey is a BUSINESS...
TheOneAndOnlySurge
Mar 7, 02:38 AM
@Jon, Leclair was diffrent in the respect that his situation occured very early in the season. Roberts could of finished the year in TB without much of an issue. It’s not like they are heading to a playoff birth. Also, Leclair should of joined WBS and got his act together. He still had some skill but didn’t want to have to work at it. Roberts on the other hand puts everything on the ice every night and every shift.
Jonathan Farzalo
Mar 7, 06:48 AM
@Surge, agreed. Just pointing out that both are/were great players, and both kind of got shafted out of leaving with their head high in some regards. But what you said it true…
RELENTLESSFORECHECK
Mar 7, 08:37 AM
@DOC
TSN ran the article a few days ago; Roberts found out he was on the waiver wire from his brother in Toronto.
@JONATHAN
Different situation. As was even the way Tampa handled Dave Andreychuk. Tampa didn’t need any reason to get under the cap. They didn’t take on any additional salary, and in fact dumped even more of it in a trade with Toronto. Roberts had a provision in his contract (awarded by Tampa) that paid him $10k additional per game. Tampa wanted to motivate him to play, but in the end they were just motivated by the desire not to pay him. Otherwise, the organization could have easily picked up his salary to move him to a playoff team and finish out the season… and his career.
Honestly, I think the next go around with the CBA they might revisit the provisions involving waivers. Too many teams are using the waiver system to easily absolve themselves of bad contracts: Satan in Pittsburgh, Avery in Dallas, and now Roberts in Tampa. I think the teams should still be required to have half the salary count against the cap…
Jonathan Farzalo
Mar 7, 09:16 AM
@ Relentless…
While a different situation the same things hold true, a vet who deserved a better fate. That’s really what is at the heart of it all here. But, let me ask everyone this…as the title of the article suggests….
“was it more the players fault for ‘hanging’ on to the game too long?”
“Being a business is it really the job of a GM or the “company” to worry about how a player looks or feels when they no longer feel they have something to contribute? Compare that to the people being laid off right now all over the country, it’s all about the money and the “bottom line”.
Matt Bodenschatz
Mar 7, 12:33 PM
Great discussion all around.
I’ll add my insight…
Gary Roberts should have hung up the skates at the end of last season. When you’re benched in the Stanley Cup Finals and you’re a player who NEVER is benched, it should be a sign that things aren’t working out anymore.
With that being said, Roberts didn’t retire, and there is very little time left this season. Quite simply Tampa Bay screwed up by waiving him then basically telling him there was no room for him.
The situation is entirely different than that of John Leclair. In this case, the Lightning signed Roberts and forced him out less than a year later — under the same management. In Pittsburgh, Leclair was signed by an old regime, and the new regime quite simple didn’t see how he fit.
As Surge said, the issue with Leclair was an unwillingness to work through his problems. The talent was there. The work ethic was not. In Roberts’ case, the work ethic was there. The talent was not. It is my belief that you reward the hard workers — the ones who sacrifice for the team. The Lightning did not do this.
Lastly, as Jon mentions, it is all about the bottom line. But the reality is, everything is about the bottom line. When you don’t produce, you’re gone. It’s an extremely sad fate for a possible Hall of Fame player, but he should have seen the signs last season — which means he, in my opinion, shares half of the blame for the poor timing of his retirement.
daismog
Mar 7, 02:01 PM
On the LeClaire situation in Pittsburgh a few years ago:
I don’t have any links, but I seem to recall reading that management sat down with him and went over all of his options.
He knew that he was going to be a healthy scratch more often than not and basically asked the Pens to give him a chance to find another team to play for.
He retired when he found that no one else wanted him.
I haven’t seen much about the Satan situation this season in the media, but it seems to me that the Pens management is trying to give him as much of a say in what happens to him as they can.
The Lightning’s dealings with Roberts, on the other hand, seems to have blindsided him, based on the report from TSN. The Lightning are clearly not making the playoffs, so they don’t need the roster spot for a more talented player. They don’t need cap space, and aren’t going to save anything on their payroll. And with the trade deadline passed, he has no chance of finding another team to play for.
While the on-ice situations for all three players is similar, it is the off-ice situation that makes the difference, and in this case, the difference is clear.
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