Good players who didn't prioritize winning

[blood gin]

Shane Doan comes to mind. Was very happy playing on a poor franchise in anonymity for so many years in a desert and never took the opportunity to leave and try for a Cup. Always wondered what exactly was keeping him there and why he really didn't care about the Stanley Cup

Any others that come to mind? I don't mean the Oleg Kvasha or Patrik Stefan types but rather guys who had a good reputation around the league

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[quoipourquoi]

It might be a little cruel to say someone didn’t prioritize winning by staying on a franchise long-term. I’m sure Shane Doan wanted to win a Stanley Cup with the Coyotes.

 

[ShelbyZ]

Jeremy Roenick would answer Roman Cechmanek.

 

[BigBadBruins7708]

while the OP wording may be a little harsh, the point has merit.

There are/have been players that value comfort and pay over winning. It happens. For some guys this is just a way to a paycheck, and not all consuming in their life.

Think Daigle

 

[brachyrynchos]

Jagr. No, not all the time, just when he became a distraction with his sour diva attitude. When he wanted to play he could dominate, but when was unhappy it often looked like he could care less about winning, appearing to only think about himself.

 

[Michael Farkas]

Tough thread, but didn't Marcel Dionne say in an interview that he wouldn't trade any of his 2.4 trillion goals for a Cup...?

 

[ShelbyZ]

I remember during the whole Bryan Burke Leafs era Mats Sundin "I don't believe in rentals (unless I'm sitting as an unsigned UFA and let half the season go by before I sign with a playoff team)" fiasco, a lot of people were saying stuff about how Mats was content with his Olympic gold and didn't care about winning a Stanley Cup.

 

[double5son10]

Rick Vaive and Bill Derlago come to mind. Undisciplined coach killers who liked to party. Perfect leadership for Ballard's trainwreck Laughs.

Cherry has always claimed Ken Hodge was in it for personal fame & fortune.

 

[optimus2861]

Shane Doan comes to mind. Was very happy playing on a poor franchise in anonymity for so many years in a desert and never took the opportunity to leave and try for a Cup. Always wondered what exactly was keeping him there and why he really didn't care about the Stanley Cup

I'd wager family was his big driver. By the time Doan was 30 he had a wife and four children and had spent about ten years in Phoenix. He had roots pretty firmly established and that's no small thing in a man's life. Whenever he thought about leaving, and I'm sure he must have, he probably decided it wasn't worth the upheaval it would have caused for he & his family. Gotta respect that.

 

[KMart27]

Doan made it to a conference final with the Coyotes. There's no guarantee he does any better than that by bouncing around the league trying to join a contender. I would think more players have failed at it than succeeded. At least since in the era with so many teams.

 

[Ralph Spoilsport]

Who can forget this nugget?

If they don't want to sign me, they don't need me. I don't consider Pittsburgh my team any more. I love the fans; Pittsburgh has great people. But if they have no money, trade me. I want to be traded where there's beaches. I have two Stanley Cup rings. I don't need more rings. I just need money and beaches and girls.

Jaromir Jagr, 1993

 

[blood gin]

Who can forget this nugget?



Jaromir Jagr, 1993

Sounds like a 21 year old.

Though I think some of that was tongue in cheek

 

[TheDevilMadeMe]

Jagr was the first to come to mind based on the title of the thread.

Based on the content of the OP, I'll say Teemu Selanne. In 2003, he was on the bottom feeder San Jose sharks. The Sharks had a deal in place to trade Selanne to the 1st place NJ Devils in exchange for Scott Gomez (who was in Pat Burns' doghouse). Selanne vetoed the trade, purportedly because he didn't want to leave behind California's weather. At the time, Selanne was really struggling with nagging injuries and looked to be on the down side of his career, and it was speculated that he was giving up what very well could have been his last chance at winning the Cup.

The Devils, of course, went on to win the Cup with Gomez in the lineup.

 

[brachyrynchos]

Who can forget this nugget?



Jaromir Jagr, 1993

He also said "I love to play for Pittsburgh. If they can't afford me, then I'd love to play in L.A. or New York".

 

[quoipourquoi]

Based on the content of the OP, I'll say Teemu Selanne. In 2003, he was on the bottom feeder San Jose sharks. The Sharks had a deal in place to trade Selanne to the 1st place NJ Devils in exchange for Scott Gomez (who was in Pat Burns' doghouse). Selanne vetoed the trade, purportedly because he didn't want to leave behind California's weather. At the time, Selanne was really struggling with nagging injuries and looked to be on the down side of his career, and it was speculated that he was giving up what very well could have been his last chance at winning the Cup.

It wasn’t the weather; he hated trades in general, going back to when he was traded away from his pregnant wife in 1996.

For a player the day is agonized, because the uncertainty about the future of the career is always bothersome. I often think, how cruelly and heartlessly they treat players here. Loyalty has no room in this world where everything is up for sale. We players are mere pawns in the big business. Few people understand how it feels to be traded – not just mentally but in practice. Especially for those with family it’s a huge project.

He left San Jose in the off-season to chase the Stanley Cup in Denver.

 

[Tarantula]

Cherry has always claimed Ken Hodge was in it for personal fame & fortune.

I'd argue it was Sour Grapes who was in it for fame and money.

 

[The Panther]

I really don't think, as casual fans, we are in a place to judge who "didn't want to win". I don't know anything about Shane Doan personally, but I can respect a guy who wanted to stay with one franchise as its established captain/leader. I mean, suppose the Red Wings didn't win in '97 or '98 -- Yzerman's name would be all over this thread as the guy who "didn't want to win" because he didn't request a trade.

 

[puckpilot]

Yeah, it's hard to say who did or didn't care about winning. I think some players have an attachment to one team and city and it's the only place they want to win with.

I mean what's a cup worth if it's with a team that you have no true friends on and in a city that you have no attachment too? I'm sure it would be nice, like eating a nice meal in a restaurant, but it can't ever beat a meal cooked at home by mom or dad.

 

[Jim MacDonald]

Who can forget this nugget?



Jaromir Jagr, 1993

Wow.....was Jagr a restricted or unrestricted free agent after the 92-93 season??!! I guess you can't be pissed if he's being truthful! lol! wow...

 

[crobro]

Pierre Larouche

 

[FerrisRox]

Tough thread, but didn't Marcel Dionne say in an interview that he wouldn't trade any of his 2.4 trillion goals for a Cup...?

No, I don't think he did.

Marcel Dionne, when he was ending his time with the Los Angeles Kings, was approached by management about a trade and a deal was in place that would have landed him with the Edmonton Oilers. Marcel was told that they would bring him in to center their third line and that he would have a great chance to finally get a Stanley Cup. Marcel didn't like the idea of being "gifted" a spot on a roster of a serious cup contender. He felt if he had won in that scenario, it would be tainted. He asked the GM what other options there were, and a few days later he was presented with a few additional clubs and Dionne selected the Rangers as a team that he thought he could help push into contender status. He (obviously) never did get that Cup, but for Dionne, if he was going to win it, he wanted to be part of the winning formula, not a passenger. I respect his stance.

 

[FerrisRox]

Any of Toronto's "Muskoka Five" can fit into this conversation. They all preferred to stay in Toronto and cash their pay cheques rather then be traded to contending clubs and chase the Cup.

 

[Admiral Awesome]

It wasn’t the weather; he hated trades in general, going back to when he was traded away from his pregnant wife in 1996.



He left San Jose in the off-season to chase the Stanley Cup in Denver.

And took a well-below-market-value deal to do so, if I remember correctly.

 

[quoipourquoi]

And took a well-below-market-value deal to do so, if I remember correctly.

Yes, he turned down an option in San Jose that would have paid more than what he took with Colorado (and even then, that $6.5 million contract he signed with San Jose in 2002 after the Game 7 loss to Colorado was by their GM’s admission far less than what others were offering).

Really, Selanne and Kariya made one of the most blatant attempts to chase a Stanley Cup in the Summer of 2003, taking just $7 million combined.

 

[Admiral Awesome]

Yes, he turned down an option in San Jose that would have paid more than what he took with Colorado (and even then, that $6.5 million contract he signed with San Jose in 2002 after the Game 7 loss to Colorado was by their GM’s admission far less than what others were offering).

Really, Selanne and Kariya made one of the most blatant attempts to chase a Stanley Cup in the Summer of 2003, taking just $7 million combined.

And I know one of them took a much larger portion of that $7M than the other but I can't remember which one.