Daily Faceoff’s Matt Larkin spoke with a host of players taking part in the NHL/NHLPA Player Media Tour at the start of September, and Larkin addressed the fact that more and more NHL players are demanding and/or asking for trades, including disgruntled Red Wings forward Dylan Larkin.
Alex DeBrincat was asked to weigh in on the sticky wicket, and he offered this commentary:
The public-opinion element is very real, and it’s one reason DeBrincat supports Larkin. DeBrincat wasn’t popular in Ottawa after he decided the Senators were no longer the right fit for him, so it’s only fair he sympathizes for Larkin.
“The backlash is a part of it, but you can block it out,” DeBrincat said. “Obviously you want to do anything for your family or yourself to make yourself happy. You’re not just going to sit somewhere you’re not happy with for X amount of years just because you don’t want to get hated on by that fanbase. There’s another fanbase that will love you. It’s not always that easy, but I don’t think you can totally take just the fans’ words for it. You feel their frustration. You know why they’re frustrated. It’s not the easiest thing for you going through, but it is ultimately what you felt you needed to do at the time, and you’ve got to live with that.”
Continued at length, including some comments from NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly; this is a very, very good examination of the “player empowerment” phenomenon. At least some of the players seem to understand that it’s a two-way street.
