John Cullen: This comes during a week where both a player agent and a player have used the media to insult or criticize the play of their team(or their players' team). Are the effects harmful?
Pat Andrzejewski: I'm for it. Walsh was just trying to do his job, and in this new age to media, what better to get the word across then to use a very popular media outlet while making a shot at the hockey world's most sensitive fan base. Guaranteed it'll get your name and client out there.
Tim Daily: Walsh was trying to do his job, yes, but his number one responsibility is to his client. The goaltending situation in Montreal is precarious and under constant pressure from media outlets. Confidence is a major part of succeeding between the pipes and Halak will have to prove that he can carry the Habs in the face of these personal distractions.
Eric Kveton: I think suspension is excessive, unless you pull a Larry Johnson and make your message obscene or offensive. At times it proves to be a major motivation. But it makes a lot more sense for a coach or agent to do it, simply because calling out your teammates in the media is a great way to lose teammates' respect. Take care of that business in the locker room.
Nate Wells: It depends a lot on the situation and who is doing it. For example, it's in the agent's best interest to get their client out into the limelight any way possible as long as it's done in a way that the negative hit is on the agent and the player ends up coming out smelling like roses. There are also times when it's much better for a player to use the media in order to get a message across to management [i.e. trade demands] or fans [using Twitter and social networking sites], but for the most part it's a last resort due to the hit they'll take in reputation and by the team.
Management on the other hand is better off taking a cynical view of the media. Unless you are making a point that needs to be made, commenting on something that doesn't involve your team [also known as the Brian Burke special] or debunking a rumor [which is more damage control], it's best to keep your cards close to the vest.
As far as suspension/fines, I agree with Eric.
Dan Husko: Players' and even recently agents' actions through social media outlets show how naive they are in understanding how much of an impact the new age media has these days. Walsh's recent example in Montreal shows how much an impact a message less than 140 characters can make. It is one thing for an agent speak glowingly of his client. It is quite another to speak about your client at the expense of one of his teammates. Actions like this aren't going to win many friends in front offices around the league, nor will it gain popularity amongst potential clients for Walsh as it smacks of unprofressionalism.
One of the major components lost in this argument is how present agents are these days around the internet. People would be surprised how many agents, from all sports, are now routinely frequenting message boards and using outlets such as Twitter to communicate to mass audiences. With this developing trend comes a new form of etiquette that must be followed and upheld.
Nate: Very true, although this is a problem throughout the business world and not just limited to professional sports.
Dan: Yea. I think one of the most interesting things I'm learning through a lot of these stories is how unprofessional people who pull in big money can be. Trying to justify acts to anonymous masses on the internet just seems like a lost cause, yet many engage in it.
Not that it should come as a surprise that a lot of the business is built on lies and put downs, but we hear so much more of it now with how many outlets there are.
Mike Rogers: I don't have a problem with it. Agents don't have any friends in the front office, that just comes with people who are always going to be arguing opposite sides of the player because of their jobs. These comments don't really even put a dent in the relationship at all when agents in other sports (like baseball) have taken the offer sheet from a team and shown it to a more desirable team to get a better deal -- and those agents still have jobs and are representing clients. That sort of seedy "negotiations" are much more damaging. I think the media and fans make more of this type of situation than actual front offices or players do.
Dan: Most of the time the agents don't need friends in front offices. They just need someone to negotiate. But, to go to a cross sport reference here, the Red Sox won't even deal with Rob Plummer, an agent who represents many top Latin American talent. His clients are continually losing out on a top money team in bidding.
Obviously thats an extreme case and much different circumstances. If a team is truly interested in a marquee free agent, it will do business with the agent regardless. However, there is a chance that a player will lose money due to the mistrust of his representative. Its hard to fully grasp since everyone has a different story about how negotiations played out (on the rare occasion that stories do come out).
Mike: In a league where Andrew Raycroft is getting starts, Halak won't be missing out on money.
Dan: It might not affect Halak, but I doubt Carey Price will put Walsh on his speed dial. And really if I'm a fringe goalie looking to make more money, the last thing I would want is an agent mouthing off creating more potential distractions and potentially decreasing my value a little.
Chris Mitchell: I just don't see how Walsh's comments could have benefited Halak in any way. Surely he couldn't be naive enough to think that someone within the Canadiens would agree with him and say "Hey, this douche bag agent is right, maybe we should be starting Jaroslav Halak every night instead of Carey Price."
Tim: Yeah, I agree. The only people I can see benefiting from this are the fans that have been calling for Price's head, because now their favorite advocacy is being brought to the forefront of Habs' discussion.
Nate: Easy. We're talking about it, the media's talking about it, if there wasn't a goalie controversy before this fuels the flames and makes Halak out to be the better goalie even if he doesn't play as much as Price. Walsh doesn't need the Canadiens to agree with him [and in fact it's better if they don't], he just needs the masses to have it in the back of their mind when Halak's playing well or Price is playing poor.
Mike: But it doesn't hurt Halak either. The Habs aren't going to make Carey Price a Luongo the rest of the way and start 65 straight games to punish Halak for his agents statements.
Any pub is good pub (save for run-in's with the law or something of that nature), so if you're a marginal goalie getting your name out there will help getting you noticed. I just don't believe things like this really affect a player's financial gains moving forward.
And if Carey Price doesn't want to hang out with Halak because of what his agent said, that speaks volumes more about Carey Price, his mindset and personality, than it does anything else. To me at least. That would really make me question if Price is the guy to shoulder being the starting goalie in a place like Montreal.
Pat: I agree with Mike 100%. This comment is just a way an agent can get his client's name out there, and whether it throw gas in the fire for the goalie controversy or whether it's a way to get other people interested in Halak, via trade.
If Carey Price is affected by comments like this, especially while being the "goalie of the franchise" in one of the harshest hockey cities, he doesn't and shouldn't deserve to be there.
Andrew Harvey: I just hate the way of thinking that instead of pushing your own clients attributes and abilities instead you put down a teammate. Because Price has poor numbers does that automatically mean Halak is good? Halaks save percentage is as bad as Price's.
Usually when you know your own product is inferior you go this route because clearly making a twitter post about how good Halak has been isnt really feasable.
John: I agree, it's the mentality that a lot of Canucks fans have because they don't know hockey as well out here. If the Canucks are playing poorly or I make a comment about something they're doing I don't like, the common comeback is, "well, what are the Leafs doing?" which is just about the worst argument ever because the Leafs have nothing to do with the discussion.
How Carey Price is playing should have very little to do with Halak--Halak will get the starts when he gets them and his play should be allowed to do the talking. Winning a job should be the result of on-ice performance, not comparative statistics and internet back-talk.
And again, I hate to keep beating a dead horse here, but wins are a TERRIBLE goalie stat. A lot of Price's losses came at the end of last season when the Habs were absolutely awful, were swept by rival Boston in the first round after dragging their rusty carcass into the playoffs, and not only was Price rushed back from injury(largely because Halak wasn't playing great either) but the team defense was downright deplorable. It would be an interesting stat to track, determining just how many losses are actually a goalie's fault. Without knowing how to calculate that stat, I would say 9 out of every 10 losses are a team loss, not a goalie loss, and yet goalies take the credit. It's such a bad stat I'm sick of talking about it.
Corey Sznajder: Yeah, aside from wins and GAA, Halak and Price's stats don't differentiate that much. They have roughly the same save percentage and Halak's GAA isn't terribly impressive. Like a lot have already said, Walsh was probably just trying to get Halak's name out there with that Twitter comment, and it's working.
Andrew: Though its a complete bitch to figure out after the fact even strength GAA is something thats used to measure junior goalies performances.
Power play goals are thrown out the window as are shorthanded because they are usually caused by a defensive lapse.
Mike: I know most advanced analysts on goalie numbers like even strength save % because save% is usually a better number to look at that GAA, even.
Dara Heaps: I don't think public comments should be suspendable unless they're truly obscene. Sean Avery shouldn't have been suspended for as long as he was after the sloppy seconds comment but that's the NHL for you. Walsh is doing what he can to get his player's name out there but I'm personally not a fan of him putting down Halak's teammate to do it. Like Mike said, if Price is going to quit being friends with Halak because of it, it speaks volumes about Price not Halak.
Chris: I guess I'm just in the camp that if Halak's agent is looking to get Jaro some more money, then let his on-ice performance show that he's worth it. If Halak is playing well, teams will take notice. GM's don't need to have an agent remind them (moreso through the media) that their client is playing well.
These comments may get Halak the fans' support, but that won't factor into the team's decision on when he gets to start.
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