Should Mika Zibanejad Sue The Ottawa Senators?
It's not as crazy as you might think.
This dismaying story came out of my hometown recently, and any kind of preamble wouldn't do it justice, so I'm just going to quote it:
The family of a former Webster Thomas hockey player has sued the school district and hockey coach for keeping him at the junior varsity level for four years "in spite of his advanced skills."
[The player] made the varsity team as a freshman in the 2008-09 season, according to the lawsuit, but was demoted to junior varsity after a period of academic ineligibility.
For most of the next three years, he participated in the team's off-season activities, attended extra practices and "dominated" at junior varsity but was kept at the lower level by Evans, who allegedly told him, "We see you from the outside in."
Is the same thing not happening to Mika Zibanejad right now? The youngster is already dominating at the AHL level, but the team clearly told him he's on the outside while Stephane Da Costa and Jean-Gabriel Pageau are on the inside.
The era of Trustache is dead. If the Ottawa Senators are too blind to see the truth, Zibanejad must sue to get his way.
In fact, now that I think of it, more than a few players have grounds to sue the team:
Stephane Da Costa - Team will not provide a helmet that fits properly.
Jean-Gabriel Pageau - Teammates continue to harass him in the locker room.
I'm sure there are many more. Maybe you have some suggestions? Just remember: When life hands you lemons... sue.