Mike Knuble has been a healthy scratch for the Washington Capitals of late -- as pointed out by Puck Daddy, coach Dale Hunter hilariously used a flawed plus-minus stat in his decision to bench the veteran -- and that's not sitting well with him. His career is starting to run down, but it's not as if he's necessarily playing bad hockey at all.
NHL Trade Rumors: Mike Knuble Unhappy With Washington Capitals, Could Leave Town
He can and should be a contributing piece on an NHL team, regardless of his scoring output or his plus-minus rating, and Knuble spoke out about the fact that he’s been sitting when talking to reporters on Tuesday morning. Via CSN Washington, Knuble’s comments:
"You've got to face reality. You can handle it a number of ways. You can be content and just sit there and let things happen as they may, or you can force an issue. You kind of have to decide that. We're two weeks before the trade deadline. If a player is not going to be used, or in the near future you're not in their plans, then that player probably wouldn't want to be there.
...
"It gets you thinking. We're all competitive. We want to play and we want to contribute. If it's not irritating you and you're not thinking about your options, you might as well stop playing then."
Yeah, we’ll just go out on a limb here and say Knuble’s career with the Washington Capitals might be on its way to a screeching halt. There are plenty of contending teams in the NHL who could use a veteran leadership presence who can still provide solid defensive play at age 39. The fact that his contract expires at the end of this season also helps, too, considering Knuble’s age.
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