I don’t know why this going over nikkas heads
PK was dropping gems. He clearly stated : What are you playing for? It’s not about the money since you make hundreds of millions of dollars.
Growing up playing hockey in Canada I know exactly the culture PK talking bout cause it’s so engrained in guys from when you’re 8, 9, 10 years old not to be selfish, stick up for your teammate and leave it all on the ice, every single game. Getting to the show, wearing a Leafs, Habs, Rangers, Bruins, etc., NHL players don’t take that shyt lightly. The shyt that flys in NBA locker rooms could never happen in the NHL because there’s no “me” culture.
This is also a detriment to the league because guys become so robotic and don’t really show their personalities but it’s truly because they are “team” first. As fans, we get the best product on the ice EVERY night. I go to 9-10 Leafs games every year still and got rid of my Raptors season tickets a couple years back because the regular season is a joke.
Current NBA players are coming in the league looking to strengthen their personal “brands” and how to position themselves to maximize their second contracts. I’ve watched and listened to enough current and former NBA players on podcasts talk about how guys will sabotage their teammates during contract years to stat pad for better stats during games and guys straight up going rogue with their own agenda getting up shots trying to average more points to maximize their pay.
It’s one thing to want to play better to
position yourself for a better contract, it’s some other shyt to do it at the detriment of your team and this is the norm in the NBA. If an NHL player was blatantly sabotaging his team to better position himself, he’d be playing in the KHL next year. It just doesn’t happen and when you let all the “player empowerment” shyt run wild the way it did in the NBA the last decade, this is the culture you build. A place where the league is at rock bottom and the product is shyt.
