There were reports well before the trade that sent Tyler Seguin to the Dallas Stars, that the highly talented young center was in hot water with the Boston Bruins organization for his supposedly excessive partying ways. Many believe that the main reason the Bruins were willing to trade him in the first place was because they felt he was more interested in pursuing his social life than his career.
One of the biggest sources of anti-Seguin journalism has been Larry Brown Sports, who has put out multiple articles about his personal life and character. The latest of which vilifies him for throwing a party on the same day that he was traded for excessive partying. It might have been apropos, if he wasn’t traded on the Fourth of July… a day that just about every resident of the United States throws a party. [Larry Brown Sports]
I think I speak for most Stars fans, when I say that his personal life is a non-issue, as long as he performs on the ice as we all expect him to do. There are much worse things a professional athlete can make headlines for than being 21 years old and a fan of the nightlife. This is a team that had it’s best years surrounded by a partying biker culture, headlined by Craig Ludwig and the ultimate party animal, Eddie Belfour, after all.
That said, there is some validity to the public relations concerns that Tyler Seguin can bring to a young franchise. While he isn’t a criminal or a thug, he should still be a little more aware of his role and the expectations placed on him. He recently came under fire for a controversial tweet on his account, where he said “Only steers and queers in Texas, and I’m not a cow.”
Having spent the last decade of my life in my 20’s, I think it’s safe to say that this was probably a case of one of his friends grabbing his phone and doing something stupid with it, but these are the kinds of things that keep you in an unwanted spotlight for the wrong reasons, and are easily avoidable. The good news? Wisdom comes with age, and Seguin is only going to get older. [Yahoo!]
Seguin’s mother was recently interviewed by the Toronto Star about the accusations against her son, and she obviously defended his honor (which I’m sure cramps his style at least a little bit). If nothing else, she seems excited that her son is now a Dallas Star. [TheStar]
The last player to have his love of the night life magnified in this city was Derek Roy, who was traded to the Vancouver Canucks after failing to agree to a long term contract with the Dallas Stars. If he was gambling on a huge pay-day in a weak UFA market, he lost the bet. Roy had to settle for a one year contract with the St. Louis Blues, worth four million. [USAToday]
Another former Dallas Star, Jaromir Jagr, is still looking for his next one year deal, as he looks to keep his marathon of a career alive. His agent said that Jaromir is in no rush to decide where he will play next season, and that they are in serious talks with three different teams about the future Hall of Famer’s services. [Sports Illustrated]
The Phoenix Arizona Coyotes may be staying put in the desert, but that isn’t putting a damper on Seattle’s hopes for an NHL franchise in the next few years. [Ottawa Citizen]
The NHL’s salary cap may have gone down, but it certainly hasn’t caused teams to stop writing checks. [Daily News]
USA Today takes a look at the biggest winners so far this summer, and it should be no surprise that Jim Nill’s aggressive retooling of the Stars roster got some props. [USA Today]
To contrast, The Sporting News took the negative approach, and ranked this offseason’s biggest losers. [Sporting News]
Mark Stepneski is once again keeping us abreast of the goings-on at Stars Development Camp in Frisco, including another video showcasing a pretty unique drill that looks like a mini-game from an EA Sports title. [Inside Edge]
Today’s video highlights one of the more impressive kids from the camp, who hasn’t gotten quite the attention that he deserves… the Stars other first round pick, Jason Dickinson.