Despite what the fans, and the coaches/owners think, this situation, and the Le’veon Bell situation are not simply a matter of not being team players.
The reality is that William Nylander used the only leverage he had (since the NHL owners greedily avoided giving RFAs immediate arbitration rights which would have solved this problem months ago). And by sticking to his guns, he ended up improving the contract offer by as much as $9m (if we assume that Toronto’s starting offer was around $6m a year for 6 years).
Let’s face it, fans want to believe the players on their team are all devoted to the “higher” cause of the team, and more importantly, the fans who root for that team. But, it’s a business. Every single player has a limited number of years to maximize the value they get from being a professional athlete. (Whether that be money, fame, championships, etc.). Once those years are over, you can bet those same owners and fans will be more than happy to dump any player who isn’t as good as the shiny new one, without much more than a thank you and a video tribute.
You gotta take care of you. Can’t blame players for doing the same thing any of us would do.
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