NyQuil
Big F$&*in Q
Ha ha. I know how you feel as we get older & in our head we still think we can do what we did yrs ago but somehow the body just can't do it anymore & some younger kid blows by you. It sucks getting older.
However, in this case Seth Jones is the younger player & has managed to work himself into the best defenceman on the Blue Jackets & one of the best in the league, specifically on the right side. He probably gets the most ice time & certainly the most PP time, don't you think that if nothing else it would hurt his pride that the team went out & brought in a player to replace him in the top spot & push him down & reduce his ice time.
I'm sure you have been around athletes with big egos or super confident & proud who would take that quite personally? While winning is great & it is & when you are used to be "The Man" contributing to your team's success, I don't know a lot of people who would be okay with a diminished role unless of course your skills are also diminishing but Jones is moving into his prime, he is only going to get better. I don't think they need Karlsson & could use those assets to improve the team elsewhere.
In my case, I'm actually still improving but we have some ringers on the team now that actually make it much more fun to play.
It's a team game after all.
I sort of understand the point you are trying to make (e.g. look at Kyrie Irving) but I don't think it applies as often in hockey where the goal is a team championship and there are a lot of players getting the ice time.
Was Niedermayer pissed about the acquisition of Pronger in Anaheim? Or did he just smile at him as he raised the Cup over his head?