How does the behavior of millennials factor into modern-day trade requests?

It is rare that I reference a basketball article, but I do so this week. It comes from Sportsnet’s Donnovan Bennett, where he chews on the topic of coaching millennial players.

Is there really a "problem" with millennials in pro sports? @donnovanbennett examines: https://t.co/OJawdbeUgR pic.twitter.com/ZcrxIikHVk

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) January 15, 2016

He begins with Phoenix Suns’ owner Robert Sarver’s comment of Suns forward Markieff Morris: “My whole view of the millennial culture is that they have a tough time dealing with setbacks. I’m not sure if it’s the technology or the instant gratification of being online… It creates unrealistic expectations.”

What triggered the statement? Morris threw a towel at their head coach Jeff Hornacek because he was pulled out of a game. That earned him a two-game stay in the all-inclusive press box.

Bennett writes that the real starting point of this trouble came when Morris signed a discounted hometown deal with the Suns in exchange to have his brother Marcus on the same team so they could play together. This was an unwritten understanding that collapsed when Phoenix traded his brother away to the Detroit Pistons.

Through the rest of the article, Bennett correctly writes that this myopic view of the generation is not a new problem and that it has been happening since time began. There are different ways to reach out and connect with younger, less experienced athletes.

It could even be boiled down to an often used saying, “You can catch more flies with sugar than with vinegar.”

Eventually he hints at a correlation between this case and Jonathan Drouin, even an extension to Tyler Seguin.

We could argue about the merits of codling younger players versus screaming at them. Which approach is more effective or reliable? Is either method more effective to certain age groups or not? But that is not where I want to go with this.

There are two points that I believe Bennett has missed out on.

First, and it is the weaker of two, I want to point out that Phoenix did trade away his brother even through it was understood that they would not. Can you honestly complain when you do not follow up on your commitments? It does not matter if the trade made them better or not, this was their promise to Morris.

Second, Morris took less money than he could have commanded elsewhere. He is now kicking himself in the butt because he just realized that the only person who can look out for Markieff Morris is Markieff Morris. No general manager or coach is going to do that for him.

And do not kid yourself it is about the money, which brings this back to Drouin.

The Edmonton Journal’s Jim Matheson came up with two excellent observations:

1. That Tampa Bay GM Steve Yzerman should be cautious if he moves Drouin because of what occurred in the Markus Naslund/Alex Stojanov deal.
2. How another NHL executive could not understand why Brandon Saad did not take less money to stay with the Chicago Blackhawks for having a better chance to win more Stanley Cups.

I believe that Yzerman is fully aware that Drouin could come back to haunt him if he rushes into things, but that other league executive missed the mark.

Yes, it is great to say that you won X number of Stanley Cups, but a player’s career expectancy is relatively short and they better make hay while the sun is shining. This is why Drouin’s agent Allan Walsh announced publically that they requested a trade from the Lightning.

It is their only play since Drouin has one more year remaining under his entry level contract. Even then, he would be a restricted free agent. If he wants to be out of there then his only option is to let everyone know that.

He comes off as being greedy and impatient. But if he does not see a path of progression for his role on the Lightning, then he’s better to make the move now before he signs his next contract.

Other players have done this before. Seguin, as Bennett mentioned. More recently, Dougie Hamilton. But the best player comparison to Drouin is illustrated in Eric Duhatschek’s article on the Globe and Mail, which is Kyle Turris.

As Duhatschek points out, “Turris, like Drouin, was the third player chosen in an NHL entry draft (2007). Turris also didn’t think he was getting a fair chance with the team that drafted him, and wanted to start over someplace else. The Coyotes eventually traded him to Ottawa, where he subsequently established himself as the team’s number one centre. Arizona got nothing comparable in return.”

There is that warning again: “[Tread] warily when approaching trades for high-end talents, because those sorts of transactions can backfire in a meaningful way.”

Turris’ numbers back then in Phoenix were very similar to Drouin’s now, but he signed a second contract with the Coyotes (two years, averaging $1.4 million each year) before he forced his way out of the desert.

“Yzerman’s go-slow development philosophy, which is really Drouin’s issue here, is a product of his background – two decades steeped in the Detroit Red Wings’ tradition of putting most of their youngsters in the minors and waiting for them to be ‘overripe’ before promoting them to the NHL level”, writes Duhatschek.

We forget though that Yzerman, drafted fourth overall in the 1983 NHL Entry Draft, was one of the younger stars given the reigns of his club at the time. This was when he was only 18 years old. He earned 87 points in 80 games that season. How would have Yzerman reacted if he were told that he had to be developed slowly, and if he managed to stay in the NHL he’d be playing limited minutes on the third line?

I am not saying that Drouin is right in his stance. I am only pointing out that when you feel that you cannot be all you can become because someone else is retarding your progress, you want to lash out and break free of them. This is slightly different than the case of Markieff Morris, but in essence it comes down to money.

While Morris took less based on a promise that his brother would with him on the team, Drouin feels that his opportunity to earn a large dollar contract is being delayed.

Do not feel bad for Yzerman, though. His team of scouts and coaches have put him in a spot where they do not have to rush Drouin’s development or trade request.

As he indicated in a story by Scott Lewis of Sportsnet, “I am prepared to trade him. Any deal that I make has to be what I consider a good deal for the Tampa Bay Lightning.” What is not said is that he does not have to make this deal now.

In fact, it is probably more difficult to make the type of move he wants to make now, because as the article states, the Lightning are around $2 million shy of the salary cap.

He can afford to wait until the offseason, as highlighted in another Sportsnet article by Chris Johnston, “Lightning GM Steve Yzerman has made it clear that he’s in no rush.”

So where others speculate that a Drouin trade could happen within 24 hours, a week or by the February 29 trade deadline, it is not in Yzerman’s best interests to make a move.

He has 29 potential trading partners because every other team in the league should be willing to take on a 20-year-old millennial with that kind of potential who is still on an entry-level contract. Whether or not those other teams have what the Lightning want, not need, in return is a different question.

If you have Drouin on your rosters now, be prepared to wait until the summer time before this gets resolved.

If you do not have Drouin on your rosters and want him, keep asking, especially if he is not moved by the NHL trade deadline. His current owner might get fed up with the situation in the NHL and the constant nagging by you.

Because, you know, all millennials want instant gratification.