From Habs Loyalist (Hat tip to reader Bryan):
Gainey said there’s no doubt intense interest in a team, by both fans and media, can be overwhelming for some players. He said it depends on both personality and what the player is used to. Some players thrive under that kind of pressure, and some fail to perform. He said, “If you look at a player like Chris Higgins, that’s his environment. That’s all he’s ever known. So he deals with it every day as part of his job.” Gainey implied that it’s better for a team to develop its own players who then become integrated in the city and system in which they’ll be playing. It’s a bigger gamble to pick up UFAs and hope they thrive in a new environment.
Read the entire entry here.
Very interesting information from JT. Gainey is always insightful and the variety of issues that were covered in this piece makes for a great read.
