Speculation: Erik Cole thinking about retirement?

[PunkinDrublic*]

In fact , you seems to agree with me , not him.

lol.

I have NEVER agreed with him and probably Never will.

I was agreeing with the part where he said no one knows him, this is the internet. And forgot to darken it.

 

[habsfanatics*]

Sure , the timing isn't the greatest , but I can't stand the ridiculous expectations the fans have about the players as far as off-ice behavior goes.These aren't politicians , they are guys that are mostly highschool drop-outs who happens to be good at putting pucks in nets.People have a lot of expectations they wouldn't be able to meet themselves , and while people don't make millions , the players don't make millions for their political skills either.They win millions to put pucks in the net , and Erik Cole did it 35 times last year.

Could he simply have think about it in private? Sure.Are those comments bad enough to deserve the kind of reactions you would expect from a bunch of hysterical schoolgirls? No.

Because let's not lie to ourselves , what I see in this thread is very similar to how a schoolgirl would react to anything that piss her off.How about a little emotionnal control?

Of course Cole's behavior isn't the most sympathetic at the moment , but reacting that strongly to it is juvenile at best.

Could the same emotional control be expected of our 4million dollar man, or just to those fans posting on a discussion board?

Having an opinion on something doesn't make someone an emotional wreck.

 

[Habs Icing]

You are missing the point entirely.

He said he thinks everyone should quit after reading the CBA. He also said it was a sacrifice to play here, and that schools were crap.

Show me where he says that in the RDS clip - where it comes out of his mouth.

I can not believe some of the bullsh*t coming out of some of the members. Did you all go to the RDS school of spinning the facts? Calling him dumb. And what did he do? He said AT THE END OF THE SEASON he will reconsider whether to play or not.

1) Were Lidstrom, Alfredsson, Niedermayer dumb when they announced they would reconsider their retirement at the end of the season?

2) Were those players going through the motions when they declared what they were thinking? So why are you and other members accusing Cole of doing the same? Do I have to remind you that the Habs' training camp starts on Sunday yet Cole was filmed training at Brossard with the rest of his team. Is that someone who is going to go through the motions?

3)Yes, he signed a 4 year contract. All that contract means is if he plays hockey he plays for the Habs. It doesn't mean he's obligated to play. He can retire if he wants. And it's his choice like it was Lidstrom's, Alfredsson and a dozen other players' choices who expressed last year thoughts about retiring.

4) Cole never said the schools in Quebec were terrible. He said his daughter was in a turning point in her life and he needed to reevaluate his playing days. Those are the words of a good father not a terrible team mate.

5) And what he said about his contract is true. When he signed with the Habs, he & the organization agreed to certain terms. He sat down with wife (and family maybe) and discussed the pros & cons. They thought it was worth it. Now the owners swinged it where the past contracts are not worth what was agreed upon. Cole has all the right to re-evaluate his situation.

6) The only point I'm willing to give you is that there's a little bit of provincialism in Cole's statement. He, like many Americans, are uncomfortable living outside of the states. Sometimes it's a sense of superiority, sometimes it's just they feel like foreigners. I think Cole has earned the right to live wherever he wants. He never insulted Quebec or the Quebecois. Grow the phuck up.

I can not believe the attitude of some of the members on this board. And I respect quite a few of those members. I gotta tell you with this thread it isn't Cole who fell in my estimation but the level of maturity of the people on this board.

 

[BenchBrawl]

Could the same emotional control be expected of our 4million dollar man, or just to those fans posting on a discussion board?

Having an opinion on something doesn't make someone an emotional wreck.

Some posts in this thread was way beyond anything Cole said as far as being hysterical goes.

Anyway , I'm out.Said my piece.

 

[swimmer77]

Cole Already Has About Half His Dough

1st Paragraph

Cole, speaking to the media following a workout Friday in Brossard, said family considerations and unhappiness over some elements in the new collective bargaining agreement will force him to review his situation at the end of the season.

He implies one of the key issues is the 50 / 50 HRR split. But wasn't that something decided upon eons ago?

Another Paragraph

Cole is in the second year of a four-year deal with an annual cap hit of $4.5 million. The deal includes signing bonuses which means Cole has already received close to half of the $18 million in the deal.

So let me get this right. One of the NHLPA's mantras (and some fans) was that the owners signed players to these contracts so they should be honored. Does that work the other way too Cole? Hamrlik was right about you. Easy to toe the company line when you're collecting bonuses anyway.

 

[Patrice Brisebois]

Fine, Cole. Take a walk.

More money to try sign Getzlaf or Perry.

 

[crazyd]

Can't shake the feeling that this is not gonna finish well. I'm afraid that as a fan I will feel abused or manipulated here.

For once we had our stabilizing force in the top 6. Gomez and Gionta better step up if we are to lose Cole.

Many more Americans are in the NHL now, and many more to come. Hope this those not become an issue.

 

[PhysicX]

After reading the entire thread.... I regret having read the entire thread

 

[vokiel]

Fine, Cole. Take a walk.

More money to try sign Getzlaf or Perry.

Yeah you probably shouldn't have written that... Now he'll take his "decision" once those 2 have signed elsewhere. Let's just not pay attention to him, he's just being a brat. Sometimes that can fun for anybody.

 

[Whitesnake]

I can also tell you that your way of thinking is flawed, and you need to take a chill pill. Which is what I'm doing, thanks.

There is in no way a double standard. You're ranting, raving, and hurling personal attacks at someone you've never met, and Cole's expressing his opinion on his own state of affairs. And here's where I start to get frustrated. You're in a corner now because you realize that you're a grown man acting like a baby about a comment made by a hockey player on your favourite team. You want desperately to be right when in the back of your mind, the inner assassin, if you will, is telling you "you know what? Maybe this guy has a point." Maybe you should listen to him.

To which I'll answer for you to take a chill pill and if you have so much against people ranting, maybe you shouldn't rant against other people too. I think that what Cole said was uncalled for and stupid.? Poor guy, yet you just said that I'm a "a grown man acting like a baby" See, I have against the statements he made, yet he can be incredibly intelligent, even brillant people do make stupid remarks. But then, you are actually against the way I'm seeing it and do not really slow down on the attacks yourself. I guess the fact that I'm not a big star hockey player makes it possible to do so. I mean, I will never get how people could bash people that bashes. Why don't you use your medicine and instead of calling me a baby, why don't say that you simply disagree with me? If I never met Cole....did you ever met me?

This entire paragraph is proof positive that your jimmies are rustled. My point is that rather that saying "well, I disagree with him, and boy, that puts us at a real disadvantage," you're off on a tirade saying he's stupid for thinking the way he does, in the face of the context that would make his sentiments at the very least reasonable. What if he were actually serious about wanting to call it quits and spend time with his family? Wouldn't you feel like a piece of **** for calling such an aspiration stupid? Because you want your hockey team to do well? Take a step back, man.

Yes, I want my hockey team to do well. In this board, I write as a hockey Habs fan. I'm not here to talk about the advantage or disadvantage of being a hockey player and living away for his family. But in here, I talk about hockey. You want to change the world, fine, I guess that the day we bring philosophy in this board, we will remember you for doing it. To this day, Cole wanting to quit after 2 years places us in a tough spot. How's that difficult to understand? And you say that I could disagree with him.....again....if you use your thought process, who the **** I am to disagree with a guy who wants to retire? I couldn't disagree either. But as a hockey fan, I wanted Emelin to come soon in NA. As a hockey fan, I wanted Kristo to quit ND this year and join the Dogs. Yet, from your perspective, we had no right in wanting Emelin to come in as it is extremely difficult to live the country you were born in, away from your parents and so on. And had no right in hating Kristo's decision as he's graduating from school so he'll have a better education once he quits his hockey career. But again, while I do understand all this, as a HOCKEY fan, in this board, my first preoccupation is to have a winning team. I do am aware of every other aspect of life and do have my own opinion on different other subjects, do believe in education and do believe in the importance of family.....Just for the record. Yet in here, nobody wants to know my opinion on this. And it's not the place for that either.

He can, and is, doing whatever he wants, and nothing he's done is "stupid." You may not like it, but that doesn't change the fact that it's largely justified, in fact, and I'd be shocked if you didn't do 10x worse if you were in an analogous situation.

I believe there's a place in time for everything. Can the guy retires? Absolutely. Is he entitled to do so? Absolutely. Where do I mention that he's not allowed to do so? Now....the "stupid" part comes with the timing of his statement. Did we really needed that now on the verge of a new era, where as fans we were incredibly pissed off because of the lockout, where we still wonder what will happen to Subban, and now have to deal with that. Could he thinks about doing it? Of course...did he really needed to say that 2 days prior to camp? And then goes on by saying that it was not his intention to overshadow the camp by his declarations? In which market does he thinks he's playing? Don't you believe that everybody is entitled to be "stupid" at one point in their comments? You believe I'm acting like a baby, I believe he made stupid remarks. Who needs a chill pill really......Cole is that you? You know that going back to what you said, what I'm writing here and what I wrote in this thread will not change anybody's life either....

And what are you talking about? "**** happens Cole." Yeah, he knows, and now he's weighing his options. Take notes: nowhere is he saying "Ugh, I hate the owners, they're so stupid, takin' all r muney." I suppose that comes with the territory of actually having a name beside the opinion, though.

I can't be more obvious that I had something against his rants and his opinion on that matter. Yeah, I call him "dumb" at some point in my threads, but in no way do I have a history of calling him a stupid person as he never demonstrated to me that he was. So clearly, I have something against his opinioins which I'm entitled to. As far as having a name beside the opinion....yeah right, 'cause all those professionnals and public figures never say anything stupid on TV 'cause they have a "name"......Go back to before the lockout ended and see what some of those players had to say against the owners and Bettman and see if they minded about their "name".

Having said all of that, there is one thing that I agree with you....we will move on and nothing is there is life changing. But it's something that was worth discussing. And if we happen to be emotional doing it, so be it. Professionnals have a right to be emotional, not sure why we can't.

 

[Whitesnake]

I can not believe some of the bullsh*t coming out of some of the members. Did you all go to the RDS school of spinning the facts? Calling him dumb. And what did he do? He said AT THE END OF THE SEASON he will reconsider whether to play or not.

1) Were Lidstrom, Alfredsson, Niedermayer dumb when they announced they would reconsider their retirement at the end of the season?

2) Were those players going through the motions when they declared what they were thinking? So why are you and other members accusing Cole of doing the same? Do I have to remind you that the Habs' training camp starts on Sunday yet Cole was filmed training at Brossard with the rest of his team. Is that someone who is going to go through the motions?

3)Yes, he signed a 4 year contract. All that contract means is if he plays hockey he plays for the Habs. It doesn't mean he's obligated to play. He can retire if he wants. And it's his choice like it was Lidstrom's, Alfredsson and a dozen other players' choices who expressed last year thoughts about retiring.

4) Cole never said the schools in Quebec were terrible. He said his daughter was in a turning point in her life and he needed to reevaluate his playing days. Those are the words of a good father not a terrible team mate.

5) And what he said about his contract is true. When he signed with the Habs, he & the organization agreed to certain terms. He sat down with wife (and family maybe) and discussed the pros & cons. They thought it was worth it. Now the owners swinged it where the past contracts are not worth what was agreed upon. Cole has all the right to re-evaluate his situation.

6) The only point I'm willing to give you is that there's a little bit of provincialism in Cole's statement. He, like many Americans, are uncomfortable living outside of the states. Sometimes it's a sense of superiority, sometimes it's just they feel like foreigners. I think Cole has earned the right to live wherever he wants. He never insulted Quebec or the Quebecois. Grow the phuck up.

I can not believe the attitude of some of the members on this board. And I respect quite a few of those members. I gotta tell you with this thread it isn't Cole who fell in my estimation but the level of maturity of the people on this board.

Point is that the others have retired for the idea of not being able to bring it anymore to the level they thought they were able to. Cole wants to retire because of the CBA. What age were they? Not the same game. Yes, I call him dumb, but CLEARLY do I imply based on his remarks. The timing of his initial remarks and then his reply about not wanting to overshadow the new era. Both makes no sense to me. He can think what he wants. Wasn't the time to say it.

Surely Cole has a right to live where he wants. Not sure being a hockey player is the ideal job for that but I guess that he still can do what he wants. Which in the end, if true, wanting more Québécois on the team shouldn't never be a problem for most of the fans anymore as we'd most likely never have that kind of problem.

 

[Stoneburg]

Cole went to University, he is not a high school drop-out.

He had an overly emotional response to the CBA.

He said he would reevaluate at the end of the season; time heals many wounds, especially emotional ones.

We'll see what he does.

 

[disturbedraven]

As far as I know (since new CBA details are still sketchy at this point). If Cole retires, we still take on his salary on our cap hit until his contract was suppose to be finished. So people thinking that we would have more room to sign other people, not likely.

 

[Whitesnake]

Cole went to University, he is not a high school drop-out.

He had an overly emotional response to the CBA.

He said he would reevaluate at the end of the season; time heals many wounds, especially emotional ones.

We'll see what he does.

The basis of a guy thinking about his career and knowing if he still wants it bad or prefer to spend time with his family is not at stakes here. Everybody can do what they want. The timing for this hockey team and their fans is. And again, don't take my word for it, clearly Cole's already regrets to have said that when he did.

 

[CN_paladin]

Let him retire who cares!

We are nowhere from being a contender so losing an overager like Cole might land us another Galchenyuk.

 

[Jmac1160*]

That's some grade A petty jealousy right there.

"Man, I can't wait till he goes bankrupt so he comes crawling back. That'll show him!"

Is this a recurring fantasy for you?

Alexdaman actually made an excellent post and then you come and take a steaming pile of **** all over it.

The average Canadian makes 50k a yr.

It's not jealousy it's REALITY. The point where he states that Cole makes 80 times the average Canadian didn't make you think? Cole is practically *****ing about still being rich. Sure I get it he has expenses and money tied up but when you make millions I'm sure there is some flexibility there.

He can retire but after his selfish comments I hope we trade him. Last year was a fluke for him anyway. What a vagina.

 

[Jmac1160*]

When did I say he should feel guilty about it, you're putting words I haven't written and in no way reflected my opinion. I'm saying that there's no way for anyone to think that the money is not right enough to keep playing, and that in a world where in one year you make the amount of $ of let's say a doctor would be making by working for 30yrs, that making a case about money does not make sense.

Sure he can criticize all he wants, but he's making it about money. I just don't see him making more money doing something else, he actually said I'm going to see if the financial conditions will be good enough to keep playing, he's going to be making 4M$ next year take out 7% and that's 3.72M$ a year. How can that not be enough?

You're accusing me of hating on him because he's rich, I wouldn't be watching hockey if I actually hated people for being rich. I'm I not able to express my opinion on a valid argument based on crystal-clear facts?

This.

Everything is this post makes sense.

Everything in NotProkofievian posts for the last 48 hours have been nothing but meaningless and childish arguments. Basically he is just looking to argue cause someone must have told him that his other half tasted like honey nut cheerios.

 

[LeHab]

I wonder if Gomez was pondering his retirement whether people would have the same comments.

 

[Habs Icing]

Point is that the others have retired for the idea of not being able to bring it anymore to the level they thought they were able to. Cole wants to retire because of the CBA. What age were they? Not the same game. Yes, I call him dumb, but CLEARLY do I imply based on his remarks. The timing of his initial remarks and then his reply about not wanting to overshadow the new era. Both makes no sense to me. He can think what he wants. Wasn't the time to say it.

Surely Cole has a right to live where he wants. Not sure being a hockey player is the ideal job for that but I guess that he still can do what he wants. Which in the end, if true, wanting more Québécois on the team shouldn't never be a problem for most of the fans anymore as we'd most likely never have that kind of problem.

It doesn't matter what their reasons were. They announced ahead of time they would consider retirement. That's what Cole did. Forget his reasoning! He said AT THE END of the season he would reconsider. If he wants to leave 8 million on the table, it's his effing business. When he signed, his contract was worth X amount. Now after the new CBA his contract is worth X-Y. Things have changed.

Also, you don't know what the puck is going on with his daughter and he does mention her in the clip. Maybe when he signed he thought his daughter could handle the move. After a year of living in Quebec he found out his daughter is having reservations or trouble. That coupled with the fact that his contract today is not worth as much as when he had signed, gives Cole all the right to consider retirement.

It's none of our effing business as long as he comes to play when he's collecting his pay cheque and I have no worries about Cole playing to his best.

Now if i were Bergevin I would look to trading him to an American team so his daughter is no longer an issue in his playing and we would get value in return.

As for this making it more evident that we should go after Quebecois players, I'm guessing you conveniently forgot about Briere, Lapointe, Lecavalier giving the Habs (and their mother land Quebec) the finger.

 

[overlords]

I wonder if Gomez was pondering his retirement whether people would have the same comments.

I would love to see what would happen if Gomez was quoted as considering retirement and where one of his reasons for doing so was that he felt he wasn't getting the money he deserved.

 

[stug*]

Its a bigger chance that Cole leaves his daughter then he leaves money. That boy is all about the cash nothing else.

 

[Natey]

Cole will be back next season.

However, if for some reason he's not, I wish him the best of luck with his family.

It's just a game. I get just as emotional as anyone here but I'm not going to hold it against someone who is fighting for their values.

 

[Seb]

It's just a game. I get just as emotional as anyone here but I'm not going to hold it against someone who is fighting for their values.

Unless it's the WBC

 

[CrAzYNiNe]

Fine, Cole. Take a walk.

More money to try sign Getzlaf or Perry.

Funny how I was just looking at that this morning and was coming to post exactly that! When I open the thread on the latest page, your post is on top of the page. Our team would be so different if we signed those 2. Wonder how the team would fall in place being this though, we would have 5 centers for the top 2 (Eller could be considered 3C but could also surprise if he can do more this year)

I believe Cole is just being honest without really knowing all the details. I mean why would you give up 2 million because you need to put 200 000$ more in escrow? (2 million value is based on a very approximate value of what he might pocket each year with our taxes)

 

[Whitesnake]

It doesn't matter what their reasons were. They announced ahead of time they would consider retirement. That's what Cole did. Forget his reasoning! He said AT THE END of the season he would reconsider. If he wants to leave 8 million on the table, it's his effing business. When he signed, his contract was worth X amount. Now after the new CBA his contract is worth X-Y. Things have changed.

Also, you don't know what the puck is going on with his daughter and he does mention her in the clip. Maybe when he signed he thought his daughter could handle the move. After a year of living in Quebec he found out his daughter is having reservations or trouble. That coupled with the fact that his contract today is not worth as much as when he had signed, gives Cole all the right to consider retirement.

It's none of our effing business as long as he comes to play when he's collecting his pay cheque and I have no worries about Cole playing to his best.

Now if i were Bergevin I would look to trading him to an American team so his daughter is no longer an issue in his playing and we would get value in return.

As for this making it more evident that we should go after Quebecois players, I'm guessing you conveniently forgot about Briere, Lapointe, Lecavalier giving the Habs (and their mother land Quebec) the finger.

Ahead of time like how many years ahead? We have till trade deadline to figure it out. Sorry, but the reason does matter. But then, I'm talking about what at stakes for us. What the Habs have to deal with as of today. Whether I think it's relevant or not is not what at stakes here, or so I repeat it for 1000 times.

But then you talk about Bergevin having to deal him with an American team...do we have that luxury? Or do we have to deal him to a team close to his home which reduces greatly the number of teams?

As far as the Québécois...well you did bring the American issue. I didn't. So my point is that if you are right, and that it is a problem to get the Americans here (which I don't necessarily believe in), well I guess that the whole "close to home" would less apply to Quebecers? And then, this whole Brière, Lecavalier and Lapointe thing goes beyond what I said. First, you draft those Québécois. You don't let them experience elsewhere like those guys did. Then, you surround themselves with a better team and with more local talent. That way, Brière and Lecavalier don't feel like they're the only franco SAVIOUR of this average Habs team. Why the heck would you come to a mediocre team desperately in need of some locals to save it with all the pressure that it means? Some would, they didn't want to.