Sykora's Agent Denies Recent Rumors
Matt Bodenschatz | Pittsburgh Penguins
Jul 21, 04:56 PM | Hype this story!
Recently, it was reported in Czech tabloid AHA Daily and translated by Tomas Jandik of LetsGoPens.com that former Pittsburgh Penguins winger Petr Sykora won’t return to the team because of a rift with coach Dan Bylsma.
The report indicated that Byslma’s benching of Sykora in the playoffs was spill-over from their tenure as teammates in Anaheim years earlier.
At the time, Bylsma was a fourth line penalty killer who, according to AHA Daily, was jealous of Sykora’s natural talent and scoring line role. When Bylsma took over as Penguins coach, the roles were reversed, putting Bylsma in a more prominent position and thus leading him to bench Sykora.
Well, the story is now being refuted, according to Joe Starkey of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review following an interview with Sykora’s agent Allan Walsh.
“Everybody regards ‘Blesk’ as a publication that makes up about 90 percent of its stories,” Walsh said. “Petr said he saw the story and laughed. He couldn’t believe it was being talked about on all these Web sites back in the states.”
The article goes on to quote Bylsma, who said he and Sykora weren’t close as teammates, but were civil.
“I thought Petr was a good teammate, and I respected the unique skill that Petr brought to a team and still brings to a team, which is putting the puck in the net,” Bylsma said. “He does it in big situations and has done it his whole career.”
Sykora’s agent is reported to have had serious contract discussions with Penguins general manager Ray Shero in recent weeks, but both sides have decided to go in different directions for various reasons — none of which revolve around the debunked rumor of a player/coach feud.
Comments
Superfan99
Jul 22, 03:55 AM
So I was just browsing nhlnumbers.com, checking up on the payrolls of a few teams I imagined were struggling to reach the cap basement minimum, and I was reminded that the New York Hockey Islanders are still paying Alexei Yashin $3mil/yr ($4.75mil next year!) to stay off of Long Island. I remember Yashin’s buyout, but I don’t think I fully digested the magnitude of that disaster until I saw it in graph form tonight. Phew.
Then I started digging around, thinking about the worst numbers on the books. Yashin’s buyout for sure. Briere and Drury have to be seen as significant wastes of cap space. The $6.5mil hit attached to Redden. $2.0mil cap hit for Chris Neil is a shame. Less frustrating, but Lubomir Visnovsky’s $5.6mil isn’t attractive. And Michael Nylander, who is like a sock full of spent batteries that the Capitals have to drag around for 2 more seasons. I struggle with Scott Hannan’s $4.5mil hit, too.
Just some Tuesday night thoughts.
Dabich
Jul 22, 12:52 PM
Superfan99, your post makes me wonder, in about 5 – 6 years, what Hossa’s cap hit will look like to everyone?
TheOneAndOnlySurge
Jul 22, 01:40 PM
Dabich, I can tell you now that it is a major mistake but not nearlly as big of a mistake as Prongers extension that falls in the 35 and older clause.
bag o' pucks
Jul 22, 07:48 PM
@Surge. That Flyers fumble still makes my day. As long as it sticks. Their attorneys are still debating the matter with the league. And who knows if they may be able to weasel out of it with subsequent CBAs, or whatnot. Otherwise, beautiful…
Dabich
Jul 23, 08:26 AM
Surge, that’s a horrid deal too, good for us tho lol.
Pucks, I can’t see the league letting them weasel out of it, cuz that would set a precedent that won’t want to keep doing.
Matt Bodenschatz
Jul 23, 10:10 AM
@Sueprfan, interesting tidbit about Yashin and the Isles. It’s one I probably knew at one point, but never really thought about, and have since forgotten. It gives you a good idea why some teams have difficulty escaping the basement of the NHL.
@Dabich, Hossa’s cap hit is $5.23 million, which isn’t all that bad, really. The problem with his contract is not the cap hit, or even the length, really, but rather the team that signed him to it. After this season, Patrick Kane, Jon Toews, and Duncan Keith will become restricted free agents. With Hossa, Campbell and Huet making more than $5 million, and another six players making more than $3 million, the Blackhawks will be in a tight position under the cap. To add, these ever-popular “under-35, lifetime contracts” given to guys like Hossa, Zetterberg, Datsyuk, etc won’t be options for Toews, Kane and Keith because all are too young, and the contracts would have to be 20 years or more. There’s no way the league would accept such contracts, and that’s assuming the players would even consider them.
@Pucks, I’m with you. It will be great to see them paying Pronger as he continues his decline. They screwed up, and they now know it. But…
@Dabich, I actually CAN see them wiggling out of it, and here’s how/why: The current collective bargaining agreement will be ending soon, and there surely will be new adjustments made. It will be entirely possible that, just as there was after the last CBA, there will be a buyout period allowing teams to cut the waste without punishment. There’s also the possibility of trading Pronger’s contract — along with another asset, such as a draft pick or prospect — to a team with a low payroll. Something similar happened a few years back between the Devils and Sharks.
Dabich
Jul 23, 02:04 PM
Ehhh…Pronger will be good, but not as good as he has been. I just don’t think he’s worth a large sum for a long period of time.
It will be what it will be, we can only hope they bit the bullet!
bag o' pucks
Jul 23, 04:20 PM
If Holmgren had a fully functional brain, he would have spent an asset or two on trading for Josh Harding from Minnesota, instead of Pronger. The Wild are looking for offense, they have committed long term to Backstrom and signed Dubie this summer, indicating Harding is on the block for the right offer.
That kid is the real deal. He’d have solved Philly’s goaltending carousel for a looong time. But, no, he acquires a fading All-Star, signs him to a retarded contract, then rests his hopes on Ray fricken Emery in net.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s great for Pittsburgh, but what an idiot.
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