We must be a good team if we are arguing about our 14th forward.
And the bottom line is: if Glass were really hurting the team, even the loyalty of AV couldn't save him. Loyalty goes just so far: AV is management, TG is a player. The second AV feels the team would be better served with another player, TG will be gone, no matter what their history. Might make for a difficult conversation but that's what coaches are partly paid to do. The time comes for all players who choose to play until they have to tear the uniform off. As it is, if we keep him as a 14th forward, he is not going to play all the often. If a roster crunch happens because of injury and we need to acquire a player to fill a long time regular role, TG will be gone. He is skating on "then ice," just hanging on to his NHL career. He might not make it through the year or "live: long enough to hoist the Cup.
But I always try to see the humanity in players who are just like us except for their otherworldly skills. Plenty of players better than TG have crashed and burned, never making it to the NHL, toiling in the minors, year after year. TG has fashioned an NHL career out of nothing. He has played in different cities, made a good deal of money (at least as compared to most non-athletes). Lived a life we all fantasize about. I have to give him credit. Every year when he comes to camp it is the same thing: he is never assured of a spot. One day the bell will toll for TG, maybe this year, maybe tomorrow or next week. He may be a terrible NHL player, but he has been an NHL player for quite a few years now. As much as I think we don't really need him, I still admire him.
