Every young guy should learn to emulate the attitude and work ethic Ericsson has had this season and likely the last few. Here's a guy that's been absolutely **** on by his teams fan base for almost a decade. Something I'm sure he and his family are well aware of. Over the last calendar year, there's been multiple opportunities for him to say F it, tell the team he can't do it anymore, hang them up and collect the rest of his contract from LTIR. Instead, he's kept his head up and has tried to the best of his ability to stay on and contribute to the team however he can. I mean the dude apparently woke up super early and COMMUTED from Detroit to GR for games and practices when he got sent down so he could get in as much time as possible with his family and still try to get back to the NHL team. When he was sent down, there apparently wasn't even a plan for if/when he would get called back up. If he really wanted to, he could've mailed it in down in GR to stay there so he could collect the rest of his contract free of Escrow and put a extra few hundred thousand dollars in his bank account. But instead he played well and found his way back to the NHL, where a couple of accidental sticks to the face added even more to his rough year and yet he's still trying to stick around.
What an interesting JFE rehabilitation essay.
Ericsson signed a deal. Can't blame him for taking the foolish money Holland offered.
But in the salary cap world, you absolutely can judge him against it.
And he's been a failure by that metric.
All this stuff about mentorship?
No thanks.
I think they'd learn more from McIlrath - a former well-thougt-of prospect stuck in the minors - a guy who values every second he plays in the NHL
Ericsson? Guy has made $4M+ a year to play like garbage for 3-4 years now. Just took his regular shift and sucked and sucked and sucked with very little consequence.
I'll play JFE if there's no one else. If Cholo continues to suck and Hicketts is overmatched.
But don't ask me to get all misty-eyed and defensive about him.
