Dubas drops Trailer Park Boys reference while talking about Nick Ritchie
Kyle Dubas held a media availability today after last nights trade that sent Nick Ritchie and a conditional pick to the Coyotes for Ilya Lyubushkin and Ryan Dzingel.
Speaking about Ritchie, Dubas lamented Ritchie's inability to nail down a role with the team in Toronto. He chalked it up to a loss of confidence for the big winger brought on by the many scoring opportunities Ritchie missed early in the season before losing his spot to Michael Bunting.
There was no opening for him on the second line either, as Alexander Kerfoot was playing well in that role. Quoting Barrie Dunn's character, Ray from Trailer Park Boys, Dubas said «That's the was she goes. Sometimes she goes, sometimes she doesn't»
Evidently whether you're an NHL player or a fictional trucker faking a disability, the way she goes is the way of the road.
For Ritchie, this will be a fresh start for him in a market that isn't as critical of their players. He may not be playing for his hometown team any longer, but perhaps an element of anonymity will help him to feel more at ease in Arizona.
While the Leafs were able to move Ritchie, save some cap space and address a need at the same time, there were no real winners in the Ritchie/Leafs experiment. For the Buds, they failed to get the most out of a player who was on a 25-goal pace last season and for Ritchie, he moves from a contending organization to one who will almost certainly be a bottom-feeder for a few more seasons.
The hope here is that Ritchie can use his time in Arizona to build up his value, which could make him an enticing trade chip at next year's trade deadline and help him to secure a new deal in a new city the following summer.
