Finnmedia reported in 2020 that he stopped doing that "a year ago" and was a stay at home dad for three kids (now 7, 9 and 11) while his wife was specializing as a pediatrician. There's a lot of travelling involved in scouting and it wasn't possible in his life situation.
Or really a classic JR move that sold the future for a chase at one year of playoff hope. Ruutu was coming off a serious injury in Chicago and played a style that was not conducive to staying healthy. Whereas Ladd had a few minor injuries, was younger and just starting to develop his game at Carolina--i think points in 10 straight when he was traded? Just shocked JR didn't include a 2nd round pick....
My post wasn't really an endorsement for JR.
But it really wasn't a good swap--Ladd went on to be play almost every game for the next seven years of his career and became captain of the Jets. He played 534 games over that time with 154 g/358 pts. Ruutu played 474 games over the same time period, scoring 96 g/226 pts. Because he was younger, Ladd cost 27,450,00 over that time and Ruutu 32,650,000. It was JR making a move just to make a move that cost the team more money and got less production.
I’ve always wondered if they have guys who unofficially work for us (or any team) on more of a contract basis. Cover tourneys or hard to reach areas because they can and we slide them some dough for their time and opinions.
It was classic JR. His MO was always to make the team the best it can be right now regardless of how big the elephant in the room (need for a rebuild) was. He would never hesitate to sacrifice a young player for a more established one for immediate gain with eventual consequences. In Ruutu’s case on paper it wasn’t that bad in that he was still relatively young himself and should’ve been able to give us years. Back then there wasn’t as strong an opinion that rough and tumble would lead to a short career. Those guys were always in high demand despite the obvious outcomes.
It was the total package with the Staal trade. That first rounder was high, and it was a good draft. Dumo looked very much like an NHL level prospect. Sutter had at times out performed E Staal in the hustle consistency department and had become a solid number two option for a team light on centers. Of course his career got derailed by injuries but to give up that package plus the contract for J Staal was akin to the amount paid for Wesley in the very early years.
Pitkänen played a long career loyally playing in a bad team eating almost 30 minutes/game.
He'd be commanding $8M per year if he were in his prime now.
One of my top 5 favorite Canes since I started following the team in 05
One of the best distributers from the back end that we've ever had. Muffin of a shot, howevewr.
Sometimes I still hear Maniscalco saying "Joni-land" in my head and I want to reach back through time and punch him in the face.
That Mcbain….he could dance across the line on the pp…..Pitkanen's most-frequent partner by year:
08-09: Anton Babchuk
09-10: Aaron Ward
10-11: Jamie McBain
11-12: Jamie McBain
12-13: Jamie McBain
And you think he needed Jaccob Slavin? Instead of jumping straight to God himself, how about we partner him with someone who's above replacement level first, and see how that goes?
I mean, I know you thought McBain was God's gift...but c'mon now.
.....and those guys were the "best available" on our squad....SMDH
