"I'm happy it went quickly, but I'm sorry things ended the way they did. If things weren't so tight...

"I'm happy it went quickly, but I'm sorry things ended the way they did. If things weren't so tight with the salary cap, things would be different. I stated my case that I wanted two years and if it didn't work out in Philly I'd move on."

"We talk about loyalty in pro sports and as an athlete you want to stay with one team. You get excited about living in your community and you get attached to the fans in the city. But sometimes you have to put it behind you and move on."

"I felt the same way now as I felt when I left Boston (four years ago). I have a lot of great friends here."

Mike Knuble on his departure today.

over 2 years ago Ben Rothenberg 10 comments 1 recs |

Story-email Email Printer Print

Comments

It’s unfortunate that it had to happen, but I’m glad that Knuble got what he’s worth, albeit with another team.

by Ben Feldman on Jul 1, 2009 7:03 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs

thanks for the snipper shots knubs

flyers need some of those PP goals in the playoffs though, so not sad that he is moving on but now he is a cap so im yawning with anticipation…

by fitzy first on Jul 1, 2009 8:10 PM EDT reply actions

Some more from Ed Moran…

Knuble said he was disappointed that he was not able to work something out with the Flyers, but felt that their offer just wasn’t good enough.

"The terms were the same, a 2-year deal, the same terms, but the salary that [general manager Paul Holmgren] could offer, based on his cap situation just wasn’t what we were looking, wasn’t even fair," he said.

"It’s only been less than 24 hours I figured out I wasn’t going to be in Philly. All things considered I feel good, yesterday not so good. But today good because you have got to move on. All things considered, you have to move on with it.

"We drove back to Michigan [Tuesday] and we stopped in Ohio and somewhere in Ohio I got the call that [Holmgren’s] final offer was. We didn’t feel it was very reasonable and it’s just kind of the way it worked out.

"I was very disappointed that it wasn’t going to work. It was kind of a sleepless night, [Tuesday] night in some strange hotel with my family trying to make our way back to Michigan."

by AshburnAlley on Jul 1, 2009 8:26 PM EDT reply actions

it’s a shame he wasn’t willing to take a discount to stay.

by Momus1 on Jul 2, 2009 7:53 AM EDT reply actions

I don’t think it’s fair to expect that, honestly.

Broad Street Hockey - SB Nation's Philadelphia Flyers Blog. Makin' it look mean since 1967.

by Travis Hughes on Jul 2, 2009 10:21 AM EDT up reply actions

Did he actually make comments stating that? I know it’s not “fair” to expect that, but do the Caps really present a better shot at a Cup than we do?

by AshburnAlley on Jul 2, 2009 10:44 AM EDT up reply actions

fairness in business i think he meant…

i read that he wanted 2 years and the flyers only offered him one.

by fitzy first on Jul 2, 2009 10:47 AM EDT up reply actions

Per CSNPhilly and Philly.com, they ended up offering 2 years, but with less money per year. I believe the INITIAL offer was 1 year, with a lot of incentives…which…TBH…was the smartest deal on Homer’s part.

by AshburnAlley on Jul 2, 2009 12:05 PM EDT up reply actions

Knuble has a Cup. He spent the first half of his career (roughly up to age 30) as a grinder/checker/4th line guy so he never had a chance for a big payday in his prime. He maybe has one contract left after this one, why would he take a pay cut to stay with PHI? Granted, PHI is a Cup contender right now, but so are the Caps. It’s hard to say who has a better chance of winning the Cup right now because both rosters are probably still going to be tweaked. Both teams have questionmarks, both teams have serious skill.

by Rob Parker on Jul 2, 2009 7:33 PM EDT up reply actions