It’s much more damaging when a player speaks out, because his entire career is primarily centered around being part of a larger whole, in which, individuality must be carefully measured against the betterment of the unit. The code of conduct for a team athlete is much more clear than that of a businessman. His primary obligation is to be honest and respectful towards his teammates and fans. Intricacies of the game can worked out through hard work on the ice, but true team cohesion comes from respect and communication. This is why strong character is held in such high regard by the hockey community. By not verbally retaliating against being repeatedly shat on by his former teammates, Semin proved to me that he has high moral value as a human being. I just wish more of our guys would demonstrate the same mental fortitude and restraint. All this barking is just negative noise, and accomplishes absolutely nothing.

Go Caps.

And I don’t see you can disagree with what I said on one hand and then say a player’s on-ice contributions (the stats you find not valuable) are less important than whether or not he gossips.

It was concluded last year that scoring chances trend so close to possession that it’s not really valuable to track them separately. In single games, however, it’s pretty obvious that some see more dangerous shots than others, and thus harder saves for the goalie.

But even if that were absolutely true, it’d be evidence why Holtby is even better: The Capitals have the worse PK (29th in the league) and had a very rough transition to the new defensive style at the beginning of the season (i.e. tons of defensive breakdowns). Also, shorthanded chances (http://www.behindthenet.ca/2012/4_on_5_goalies.php?sort=16)

I don’t agree with Bradley or Brouwer about the content, style, or propriety of their comments. But they are at least more informed about what they’re talking about as they shared the locker room with the guy.