Kyle Quincey Rips Avalanche After Trade to Detroit

Published: 24th Feb 12 12:42 pm
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by Derek Kessinger
Colorado Blogger
Kyle Quincey Rips Avalanche After Trade to Detroit
Rick Osentoski-US PRESSWIRE

Almost immediately after he was traded to the Detroit Red Wings, a couple of rumors surfaced that Kyle Quincey was not a good locker room presence for the Avalanche. The rumors were quickly dispelled by a Mike Chambers Blog in the Denver Post. Shane O’Brien and Ryan Wilson spoke very highly of Quincey as a teammate. Well it turns out that Kyle Quincey, who had a goal in his Red Wings debut, hates the Avalanche.

Yahoo Sports Nick Cotsonika’s Three Periods column featured quotes from Kyle Quincey about his former team. He obviously had a lot of hard feelings leaving the team and felt sympathy for his teammates:

“Everyone is ready to get shipped out any day,” Quincey said. “There’s a lot of guys, their bags are packed beside the door, and they wouldn’t be unhappy to go – trust me. I know I had a big smile on my face, and all the guys were jealous. I think there’s a bunch of guys that were pissed off they weren’t in a package deal.”

Quincey went on to say that the players do not feel like they are getting a chance to play with the Avalanche. That the team does not feel that ownership has confidence in the players because only seven guys have contracts through next year. He felt that players did not want to play with all of the uncertainty. That included trade rumors that apparently only affect this years Avalanche team:

“There’s guys that have been talked about for two, three weeks – and I was, too, right?” Quincey said. “That’s all I’m saying. With guys getting talked about all the time, your mindset kind of changes. It’s tough there because they’re in a dogfight. When you get talked about every day, it kind of wears on you. You start thinking, ‘Where am I going?’”

Kyle Quincey was given a three-year nine million dollar contract after he was acquired for Ryan Smyth in 2009. He was badly hurt last November, and there was a chance he would never recover. Quincey was also hurt this year. He was always a top four defenseman when playing for the team and had plenty of opportunities on the ice.

The Avalanche are not the Columbus Blue Jackets. They are in eleventh place in the West, only two points out of the playoffs. They still have a fighting chance and have all year. The players are responsible for any shortcomings here.

The whole thing about lack of confidence because contracts have not been extended is extremely ridiculous. If the players really want a payday, why would they sit back and sulk? Anyone who wants to be indispensible to a team, or even get a raise, would play as hard as they can, not sit around fantasizing about getting traded.

Kyle Quincey was obviously bitter about how things turned out. He also never blossomed with the Avalanche the way he was supposed to. Rumors have also circled that Quincey hated his first stint in Detroit. No matter the reason, he comes off as a poor teammate. The Avalanche head to Detroit on Saturday and I wonder if Quincey will skate through that game unscathed.

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