McWolf on hitting free agency

[McWolf 3,111]

After another disappointing playoff run, All-Star defenseman Joseph McWolf held a press conference in which he mainly made two important announcements. First of all, the Brit told the members of the media gathered in Helsinki, home of this season's All-Star Game, that Season 69 might be his only wearing the neon green jersey of the Malmö Nighthawks, as he intends to test the free agency market for the first time in his career. After being selected 2nd overall by the New York Americans in the Season 63 VHL Entry Draft, he was viewed as a franchise defenseman that would live and die in the Big Apple. It seemed even more true when he signed a four-season extension with a mutual option for a fifth campaign following his sophomore season where he captured his first of two Sterling Labatte Trophies. His career took a bad turn, however, and he became quite the journeyman, after trades to Riga and then Malmö brought him from America to Europe.

 

"I don't know, really. I loved my time in New York. Then I kinda brought it on myself and I ended up in Riga, which I loved to death. Team was amazing, but I had a feeling I was the odd man out, with Apollo [Hackett] and Lincoln [Tate] pushing for top spots. And look at them this season, they were both in the All Star Game with me this morning, it felt good sharing that with these two. But now it's basically the same thing in Malmö. We got myself, we got Jerry [Garcia], we got Condor [Adrienne]. On paper, that's one of the best blueline in the league. But the chemistry was just not there and now it feels weird that I'm up there while Condor is the team's 3rd dman. The man is a star, and he deserves the ice time to show it. I mght come back though, I just want to see what's out there. Who else thinks I'm what they need to win a Cup. And God knows I want a Cup bad. Clock is ticking."

 

Finally, while he hasn't been too precise on the type of money he's looking for, he did hint at the length of the contract he will be signing this offseason, as he told reporters Season 70 will be his last. This was to be expected, as this next season will be his eighth, the length of the usual full-length VHL career. Over the first seven seasons of his career, McWolf has been named the Defenseman of the Year on two occasions and the Offensive Defenseman of the Year once. He also is on pace to finish his career in the top 20 in all-time hits, shots blocked and penalty minutes by blueliners. Even though he'll be remembered as a solid two-way defenseman, he will also be remembered as a renowned underperformer come playoffs time, as he has reached the Conference Finals only twice and faied to make it to the Continental Cup Finals on both occasions. This might hold some weight in the decision-making process once he hits free agency in a couple of weeks.