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Bad moves by good players Michael Peca, Eric Lindros, Nikolai Khabibulin, Alexei Yashin. You have to ask: What the hell is wrong with these guys? These guys found out the hard way that it's tough to bargain when you have no chips. Tough to make owners blink when they have the power. And for once, the fans should be siding with the owners. Let's go case by case. First, Michael Peca. Here is an excellent two-way center, a leader who plays a physical, in-your-face style. He plays against other teams top centers and can turn the tide of a game with his ferocious bodychecks. Buffalo GM Darcy Regier and Peca could not agree on a deal. Peca wants 3.5 million. Buffalo is offering 2.5 million, with salaries escalating to 3 million by the fourth year. You don't have to be a mathematician to see that they are not too far apart. Regier has said that Buffalo will not be the Minnesota Twins of the NHL, meaning they will not develop young talent to be auctioned off when the price tag goes up. And with Peca being 27 years old, Regier is not being pressured to move him. OK, so Peca is a stubborn man, but what is the point of sitting out? Where is agent Don Meehan in all of this? Shouldn't he be reminding Peca that he is not getting paid? Shouldn't he be reminding his client that he is four years from true free agency? Is the difference between 2.5 and 3.5 million enough to sit out and not play the game you allegedly love?
	The failed Russian experiment The Alexei Yashin situation should have proved a point to everyone last year. When owners have the upper hand, they have no problem using it. Last time we checked, the outcome of the Yashin situation made the Ottawa ownership look great, and made Yashin look like an idiot. He forfeited 3.5 million and a year of hockey in his prime. He could score 150 goals in a season and he will forever be known for his holdout. The same goes for Nikolai Khabibulin. What has he proved other than the fact that he is a money hungry malcontent? He hasn't stopped an NHL puck in two years and the first thing out of his mouth is that he wants a full years salary for this season. It looks like even Russian players have forgotten what their predecessors and other Europeans used to do to play in the NHL. You remember, don't you? Running away in the middle of the night, stowing away on airplanes, leaving their families behind, etc.
How is not playing helping Mike Peca?
	Eric the Petulant The Eric Lindros saga is a whole other story. Here is a man who has held his breath and stamped his feet numerous times in his brief NHL career. Now he is hamstrung because his Toronto or bust maneuver, well, busted. Philly GM Bobby Clarke was right all along. Lindros dictated the terms and therefore, put himself in the position he is in. Here's Clarke, who could only deal with one team for the most part, trying to trade a known malcontent with a head that's softer than a custard cone in August. Of course, Lindros, forever the diplomat, managed to place most of the blame on Clarke. Lindros just doesn't want to realize that his value is not quite what he thinks it is. And besides his health, teams would have to be wary of the next Eric soap opera/power play. Perhaps he'll sit out next because they only have banana Power Bars at the practice rink. It's no secret that Clarke and the Lindros family aren't on friendly terms. Clarke has been almost as stubborn as Lindros in these contentious negotiations. But business is business and when Clarke says Lindros could sit out until he's an unrestricted free agent, he very well could. Lindros, who is used to getting his way, got a dose of reality this year. Let's see how inflexible he is when this drags on through next season. He might agree to play for Tampa Bay at that point. The old CBA Until a new collective bargaining agreement is in place, these guys don't have a leg to stand on. They can argue that they have a right to play where they want, for as much money as they can get. But until that becomes the rule of the economic landscape, these players will sit out. Maybe sitting out proves the point that they are upset, but it doesn't change anything other than their W-2's. Isn't playing for a few million and a shot at the Stanley Cup better than not playing at all?