The Hockey News’s Sam Stockton spoke with the recently-waived Justin Holl regarding his status on the team as a somewhat expendable quantity:
“You get done with pre-season, and you know there’s certain things that may be out of your control,” he said yesterday. “We’re trying to manage the cap as best we can, so that was explained to me, and I understand that from a management perspective, but it’s difficult for the player for sure. I just want to be a part of this group, and I know that I’m an NHL player, so that hurts. But at the same time, all you can do is be focused and stay ready and try to play as well as you can when you get the call.” “When you’re looking at it, you kinda understand that ‘okay, we got a couple guys that are waiver-eligible.’…You kinda read the tea leaves a little bit, like this is possible, but it’s still a little bit shocking,” Holl added.
For Holl, coming to terms with the reality of the business of hockey has happened slowly over the course of his career. “Throughout the years where maybe somebody else is a cap casualty, and you’re like ‘oh wow, so that’s what’s going on,'” he explained. “You kinda understand that there’s different things behind the scenes that need to be done, so I’m always learning, and, like I said, when you experience that and you see it happen, that’s when you can read the tea leaves…and see this is possible.”
“All I can do is just try to play as well as I can, and the rest is out of my control,” he said, showing equanimity in a trying situation. “As hard as that is, that’s just how you’ve gotta approach it.”
Continued; great stuff here from Stockton.