Mathieu Perreault: “Trade me if I’m not a part of your plans”
Sometimes life as a hockey player can be frustrating (well, life in general can, but stay with me here). Whether it’s your team losing, you personally struggling, or your coach not giving you the opportunity to succeed, you occasionally find yourself a little bit pissy after the final buzzer. Washington Capitals’ centre Mathieu Perreault is currently feeling a bit of option C there, given his scant usage since Adam Oates took over as head coach.
The Caps have struggled so far, and Oates hasn’t gone soft on those who he feels are responsible, including giving top-6 forward Marcus Johanssan a mere 50 seconds of ice in the third last night.
Russian Machine Never Breaks had the story on Perreault’s frustration last night. Here’s what Perreault had to say:
“Whomever the coach is, every year it is the same story, and the GM doesn’t seem willing to change anything,” Perreault told Godin as translated by friend-of-the-blog Lindsey Novak. “Trade me if I am not part of your plans.”
“It’s hard on my morale,” Perreault continued. “I try to stay positive, but I do not want to endure it for two more years.”
Perreault, who played for IFK Helsinki of the Finnish SM-liiga during the lockout, received more than 20 minutes of ice time per game overseas. ”I come back and it’s not like I’m even part of the team,” said Perreault. “I’m just asking for a little more ice time.”
http://blogs.thescore.com/nhl/2013/01/24/mathieu-perreault-trade-me-if-im-not-a-part-of-your-plans/