Two Minutes Hate: Tim Erixon
Arik
September 13 2012 12:08PM
Dear Mr. Erixon,
Go to hell.
Why? That's not clear? I guess I can explain.
You were something special. You were a blue chip prospect: you played 20 minutes a night in the SEL playoffs, scored points left and right, could skate and stay mobile, prevented plays before they even developed, and I even gave you the 2nd Annual Kris Chucko Trophy.
And then you refused to sign.
Okay, it wasn't just that you refused to sign. The reasons made sense - Calgary didn't have the greatest track record of giving young guys the opportunity to succeed, and I'm sure the idea of possibly being the best player on the team in a few years was a little depressing. No, that wasn't it.
You are entitled to a free room in hell (HBO not included and yes the swimming pool is closed because some kid pooped in it) because you put on a pair of steel toed boots and took aim at the crotch area of the Calgary Flames repeatedly. It doesn't matter what gender this personification of a sports team is - you did plenty of damage to the soft, tender bits either way.
So how did you manage this feat?
It started by showing up at development camps, saying all the right things. You kept it up by being pretty good in the SEL- playing some decent two-way hockey against men. Sure, you didn’t sign during the first offseason, but that’s okay. The next season rolled around and you were amazing. You were incredible. I wrote weekly updates of your TOI, points, shots, hits, PIMS. You genuinely got Flames fans excited about a Calgary drafted prospect - something that hadn’t happened since everyone thought the Albertosaurus would grow up into a T-Rex (though it didn’t take long for someone even more exciting to emerge).
Then your season ended and we waited for you to sign a contract. And waited. It wasn't until the last two days of the signing deadline that you "decided" you didn't feel comfortable signing with the Flames. Of course, this was all a mirage.
It was dirty: you played the Flames. You pushed for more time and more time until the club had no choice but to trade you to whoever you wanted them to trade you to, almost regardless of the return. You earn this hatred not out of bumbling incompetence like Doug Risebrough, but out of selfish actions that were meant to exclusively benefit yourself regardless of how they affected the team that drafted you and put time into your development.
The "Why" doesn't matter with this, Mr. Erixon. It’s the how. You couldn’t simply ask, in a timely manner, for your rights to be traded elsewhere. You couldn’t express that you didn’t feel like Calgary was the best fit for you. No - you blueballed the Flames until they were picking up the soap in the locker room and had your way with them.
For stealing our collective Calgary Flames heart and then squatting over it to take a rather large sh**, sir, you have earned our hate.
Regards and enjoy Columbus,
Arik
Odd choice for a topic Arik.
http://twitter.com/FN_Arik/status/127217538496073729
http://twitter.com/FN_Arik/status/227493385303375872
"enjoy Columbus"
Harshest insult anyone can utter to an NHL player. If it were anyone but Erixon I'd say it's a low blow. Instead I'll just say hahahahahahaha!
Im actually kind of impressed with how Tim Erixon played his limited cards to leverage things. That said, I'm also not against laughing at him now that his fortunes have soured.
Jan Erixon would be so disappointed Tim
Love this take
Really? I'm pretty sure Jan was the one that orchestrated the tampering that ended up landing his son to the team he played for.
IMO, Jan, you can share the hate!! Eat it!
I'm honestly surprised CBJ accepted him as one of the trade pieces. I assume he'll be demanding a trade as soon as he hits NHL ice.
The more I look at the Erixon trade, the more it looks like the Rangers were working behind the scenes.
How often do players maintain the lie that everything is fine up until 48 hours from the deadline and then demand a trade? Heck, by waiting until the 11th hour Erixon ran a real risk of being sent back to the draft! Why would Erixon want to minimize the Flames return on him? Cui bono? The rangers.
If the Rangers contacted Erixon and told him what to do then this all makes sense. If there's anything the Sutters taught us, blood calls out to blood. Jan's tenure with the Rangers no doubt made the team partial to acquiring Timmy. By having him refuse to sign at the last possible moment and then riding in on a white stallion with an offer just barely good enough to beat sending Erixon back to the draft, the Rangers got a blue-chip prospect dirt-cheap and Erixon got to go play for Daddy's team. Win for Erixon. Win for the Rangers.
Only it didn't quite turn out that way. Poetic justice!
@beloch
Come on now, Sather wouldn't do that to the Flam- okay, I almost made it through that entire sentence without laughing.
I'm surprised the Sather angle hasn't been looked into here. If there was ever a team that had a right to hate Mr. Sather I'm pretty certain that Calgary would near the top of that list. Perhaps more so as a coach, but still...
@RexLibris
It was always assumed there was some hanky panky going on behind the scenes.
@Kent Wilson
I remember reading your initial article relating that the clock was ticking and that there was at least some suggestion that not everything was above board.
It just strikes me as kind of funny that of all the teams that had to give the Flames the shaft, it was one led by Sather.
I'd like to see a little heavier of a hammer in the league's toolkit to use against teams and players that use this method (or the one Justin Schultz played) to get out from under their drafted teams. I understand the optics of indentured servitude when it comes to the NHL draft, but most entry level deals make millionaires of 18 and 19 year-olds so the individual is cogniscant and fairly remunerated for their part in the deal, in my opinion.
Glen Hanky Panky Sather with his big stogie has always been my definition of douche-bag.
The good news for Erixon is that the lockout means he is in Springfield instead of Columbus. That's actually a step up.
What hasn't been mentioned yet is that while we were supposed to be getting railed in the shower Feaster may have given a better reaming than he recieved (can we stop with the prison sex metaphors now? I need bleach for my brain).
Marcus Granlund, Tyler Wotherspoon, and Roman Horak was the return on Erixon, and while I believe Erixon will be a solid NHL D-man we may well have got the better end of that trade.
I for one will raise a glass the first time Granlund buries a chance against CLB.
I have an 'aunt' (actually just a good friend of the family) who dated Sather way back in the day. I believe 'jerk' was the nicest thing she had to say about him.
Great take Arik. Let's not forget the involvement of his agent Jay Grossman. At a minimum he should have been sanctioned by the NHL. If he didn't orchestrate the whole deal, he was at least a willing participant. Douche bag is too kind.
I'm trying relish the schadenfreud of Tom being traded to Columbus, but he's really in no worse of a situation now than he would have been if he stayed in Calgary.
He'll play a significant role on the defence of a not-particularly good team in a city in which he would rather not reside.
Justice would be if he was suspended for a season for tampering.
@The Last Big Bear
The only area where Columbus actually is respectable is on defense. James Wisniewski, Nikita Nikitin, Fedor Tyutin, Jack Johnson are all Top. 5 Defenders. Ryan Murray is a lock to make the team. Not to mention they have other good young prospects in David Savard, John Moore who already have AHL seasoning. Also factor in vets Grant Clitsome, Aaron Johnson.
Honestly Tim Erixon is bound for another year in the AHL in my opinion. Its kind of funny no one ever really ever thought of him as a top prospect, until he demanded top prospect money and was traded. Kind of similar to Justin Schultz only time will tell if he can contribute right away, but his teammate in college put up better numbers (Brendan Smith) needed two years in AHL. Edmonton has zero defense other than Smid, Whitney (Both Band Aids) so maybe Schultz get a good look.
This is more or less how I looked at it too. Could actually turn out to be a big win for us in the long run.
@propositionWes
Haha. Impressive twitter digging Wes.
@Kent Wilson
I remember it clearly because it was the day I got #suckitErixon trending in Calgary. #neverforget
@propositionWes
Hooray for completely missing this paragraph!