This is garbage.
First of all, you're not asking a question, you're on a soapbox being salty about shit you have no idea about.
We all do this, project our feelings on a situation, but this is next level.
First of all, toi: every coach has used him the same, AND, I see 27 leaving the ice early quite often, on his own accord. That is a interesting piece of evidence.
It tells me that Nik himself is managing his ice time down. He surely knows his body more than others and it reaffirms the suspicion I and others have had, which is Nik has a toi sweet spot, and is venture to guess that Ehlers is not unhappy with toi.
Another issue that him exiting the ice early creates is if he's playing with 55 and 81 that is going to f*** up the lines as it would be cumulative and cause other wingers to overplay and maybe even be ready to come off when their linemates get off the ice.
Second: being a good soldier and complying. Nik has not done this. He continually plays a style that is counter to what his coaches and teammates say is the way the team wants to play.
Yes, he's dynamic and exciting as f***, but it's a team sport and oftentimes Ehlers is marching to his own drum out there. Highly skilled players on this team manage to play the prescribed way and create plenty of offense, because they've learned how to use their skill within the parameters that the team has defined. Nik either can't, or won't do that.
moving to eye test, who's eye test? My eye test sees a guy who can be exhilarating and maddening at the same time. He'll do 4 amazing things and then throw the puck away. Probably because he's playing his own game or there some nights.
As for his pay, he signed the contracts and he is paid based on production and performance. Having fancy stats that are suspect at best and don't convert into hard tangible numbers is a pretty flimsy argument.
I'm not going to do a comparison but id bet Ehlers is paid in line with his production.
If I did my job in a way contrary to what my organization wanted and used sus metrics to try and get a raise, or wouldn't go over well. My bosses would use the measures that the industry uses and company has defined to determine my compensation.
Finally, does he re-sign? I sure hope so because outside of my frustrations with him, he's a great guy, I bet a great team mate, and so fun to watch when he's on.
However, if he wants more than he's worth, or feels disrespected here (I don't think that's the case at all) then he should move on. We can get a nice asset for him and start to incorporate some of our similar talent waiting to break in.
I'm sure you ignored this post but I figured since you went on a rant so would I