Tim Kennedy's KHL Nightmare

[Eleven]

I thought this was interesting enough to merit a thread.  Plus, it's Hoppe, who is always a good read.  Actually, I wish there were more.  Someone could do a magazine-length feature about this:

 

http://www.buffalohockeybeat.com/season-in-russia-became-nightmare-for-south-buffalos-tim-kennedy/

[Sabres Fan in NS]

He's a pretty tough kid to be able to handle that, but in the end he couldn't handle it.

 

I always liked him and wish him the best.  Maybe he will end up in Rochester.

[nfreeman]

I saw this article yesterday -- pretty interesting stuff.

 

I also find TK's story generally pretty interesting, going back to his decision to take the Sabres to arbitration.  He's from WNY and was developing into a nice role player for the Sabres.  He played 78 games  for the Sabres in 2009-10, putting up 10 goals and 26 points.  Then, after that season, he took the Sabres to arbitration and got a $1MM award, which the Sabres walked away from by waiving him.  He then bounced around with 3 different NHL teams and their AHL affiliates, playing a total of 89 NHL games over the subsequent 5 years before bailing out to the KHL.

 

There was also a fair amount of PAFan-induced psychodrama on this board about the greed and betrayal demonstrated by the Sabres in waiving him, IIRC.

 

Moral of the story:  if you're a fringe NHL player trying to make it in the NHL, don't overplay your hand when negotiating your contract.  And if you're a poster on this board, not every management decision regarding a fringe player is momentous or avaricious. 

[That Aud Smell]

Fwiw, I didn't (or at least, I don't) fault either side, or anyone, for what happened with Kennedy during that off-season.

 

It's easy to say, in hindsight, "hey, kid. don't overplay your hand. don't get too big for your britches." but I'm sure he was hopeful and confident that he could continue to grow his game, develop his game, and really find a place in the league. As it turned out, he was wrong. But there's no shame in him thinking he could do it. There'd arguably be more shame in settling for something that he thought was indicative of less than what he wanted to accomplish.

[LGR4GM]

Fwiw, I didn't (or at least, I don't) fault either side, or anyone, for what happened with Kennedy during that off-season.

 

It's easy to say, in hindsight, "hey, kid. don't overplay your hand. don't get too big for your britches." but I'm sure he was hopeful and confident that he could continue to grow his game, develop his game, and really find a place in the league. As it turned out, he was wrong. But there's no shame in him thinking he could do it. There'd arguably be more shame in settling for something that he thought was indicative of less than what he wanted to accomplish.

But in this scenario what he wanted to accomplish was getting more money (from how it went down, I don't think Kennedy is greedy or bad or anything like that) and so he did not accomplish that. Let's look at Johan Larsson. He has produced in limited time in Buffalo. He had 5gwg's last year making him pretty clutch. Now I am not sure if he was eligible for arbitration but he signed a 1year deal with Buffalo in the hopes he can cement his place and get more money, there is no other reason to do that short deal for him accept to see if he can lock it down and get paid for it. If Kennedy had done that and cemented his place on the team he could have continued to develop his game and would have made more money in the long run. 

 

I would like to add that I like Tim Kennedy and wish him all the best. Glad he got out of that bad situation.

Edited May 20, 2016 by LGR4GM

[Norcal]

Sounds like a tough go for the kid

[That Aud Smell]

But in this scenario what he wanted to accomplish was getting more money

 

Yeah. Or wanted to be paid what he thought he was worth. He bet on himself, and lost. I can't really fault him for that.

[Stoner]

I saw this article yesterday -- pretty interesting stuff.

 

I also find TK's story generally pretty interesting, going back to his decision to take the Sabres to arbitration.  He's from WNY and was developing into a nice role player for the Sabres.  He played 78 games  for the Sabres in 2009-10, putting up 10 goals and 26 points.  Then, after that season, he took the Sabres to arbitration and got a $1MM award, which the Sabres walked away from by waiving him.  He then bounced around with 3 different NHL teams and their AHL affiliates, playing a total of 89 NHL games over the subsequent 5 years before bailing out to the KHL.

 

There was also a fair amount of PAFan-induced psychodrama on this board about the greed and betrayal demonstrated by the Sabres in waiving him, IIRC.

 

Moral of the story:  if you're a fringe NHL player trying to make it in the NHL, don't overplay your hand when negotiating your contract.  And if you're a poster on this board, not every management decision regarding a fringe player is momentous or avaricious. 

I can induce psychodrama among strangers. I had no idea I had a superpower.

 

Kennedy comes off as a . If you value your family, come home and be with them, get an education and a job like everyone else. Really, no money saved from all those years to comfortably start a new life?

Sounds like a tough go for the kid

Can we stop infantilizing adult men? The kid is 30. One of my huge pet peeves about this board. "Evander's 24. He's a child. What do you expect? How mature were you at 24?"

[Norcal]

I can induce psychodrama among strangers. I had no idea I had a superpower.

 

Kennedy comes off as a ######. If you value your family, come home and be with them, get an education and a job like everyone else. Really, no money saved from all those years to comfortably start a new life?

Can we stop infantilizing adult men? The kid is 30. One of my huge pet peeves about this board. "Evander's 24. He's a child. What do you expect? How mature were you at 24?"

For that particuliar quote age doesn't matter

[kas23]

Moral of the story: if you're a fringe NHL player trying to make it in the NHL, don't overplay your hand when negotiating your contract. And if you're a poster on this board, not every management decision regarding a fringe player is momentous or avaricious.

Agreed, with the exception of the broken fax machine incident, which is now the stuff of legends. Sure, it ultimately meant nothing, but actually meant a lot.