Brad Lambert wants to leave Winnipeg
sports network: Elliott Friedman on 32 Thoughts: Podcast – Struggling Edmonton Oilers episode about the Winnipeg Jets allowing forward Brad Lambert to pursue a trade partner.
** Transcribed by NHLRumors.com
Kyle Bukauskas: “Just to report, Brad Lambert, their 2022 first-round pick, his camp has been cleared to find a trade partner. So, he’s only played four games with the Jets this year. It looks like he’ll have a hard time breaking into the lineup on a regular basis again and heading to the American League again. So, where is that stuff out there and can you add more to this story?”
Friedman: “Well, I’m not terribly surprised. You know, the very next day, the news came out about (Pavel) Mintyukov, right? The reaction to it was really interesting to me because there were a lot of people talking about it and if you don’t play, your days of patience are over.
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Like, I don’t sound like the middle-aged man from Saturday Night Live here, “When I used to go to school, we used to walk up the hill, whether it was at school or at home, and we loved it.” No, that’s not the point. I, but I do think it’s a recognition, especially among young players, that there’s less patience now. They, they don’t want to, most of the time, it’s different for everyone. If they can’t see the road, they’ll want to get out faster.
You know, certainly Lambert, you know, Winnipeg is a good team. He has to be a top-six forward. If you look at this lineup, there really isn’t much room for him. Maybe 20 years ago, he might have waited longer and been more patient. That’s not how today’s players are wired. The young players are full of energy.
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So they’ve got the win now, but I think that’s the reality that we’re facing in the NHL right now, kids, they want to play faster. They don’t have the patience they had or were forced to have with the NHL.
Now, Lambert, it’s hard to see him cracking the top six. Their loads are quite large. So I’m not terribly surprised. You know, me, he’s still young. I can see him, I can definitely see teams being interested in him.
Like I saw with (Pavel) Mintyukov. Mintyukov is a young defenseman who can move the puck. There will definitely be an interest in him.
For Lambert, my opinion is my opinion, and the most reliable predictor of future behavior is always past behavior. Winnipeg, they’re used to it. You know, they’re used to people saying, “Maybe I want to leave, or I want to move on,” and they’re actually pretty good at dealing with that now.
(Rutger) McGroarty, that happened to him a few years ago. What did they do? They are very patient. They are very patient. They are very patient. They said, look, if you want McGraotti, you have to give us something in return that we feel is equal. They got (Braden) Yeager.
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Well, that’s how I see it. If Lambert were to leave, the Jets would be patient, but they would say, “We want something like Lambert in return.” Everyone around the league would know that. The Jets figured he was either an equal or something they could use for something else. That’s what their history with McGroarty proves to people.
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