Blake won't waive no-trade and that's OK
by THE PUCK STOPS HERE, Special to FOXSports.com
One of those players with a no-trade clause is Rob Blake of the Los Angeles Kings. Los Angeles is in last place in the NHL and Blake is in the last year of his contract. He's a 38-year-old future Hall of Famer who could possibly help a team in a playoff run and a trade could help the Kings obtain some assets to improve the team.
The problem is Blake has a no-trade clause and it's been announced that he doesn't want to waive that clause. This is understandable since he'll have to uproot his family next year as he is an unrestricted free agent this summer and doing it again for a few months of a stretch run and potential playoff run is a big pain.
Naturally, some Kings fans are unhappy.
We can compare this to the end of Blake's previous stint with the Kings. In 2001, Blake was also approaching unrestricted free agency and he made it known to the Kings that he wanted to test his value on the open market. The Kings told him that this meant he would be traded by the trade deadline. Blake willingly accepted that.
He ended up getting traded to Colorado with Steven Reinprecht for Adam Deadmarsh, Aaron Miller, Jared Aulin and two first-round draft picks — Dave Steckel and Brian Boyle. Los Angeles is still seeing dividends from that trade as it appears Boyle will be a solid NHL player. Meanwhile, Blake went on to win the Stanley Cup with the Colorado Avalanche and played there four more seasons before returning to the Kings as a free agent.
Fans were upset by Blake's decision to be traded in 2001 and they're upset by his decision to not be traded in 2008. No matter what Blake does, it's wrong in the fans' eyes.
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