The fact that restricted free agent Travis Konecny has chosen to sit out Philadelphia's training camp while he awaits a new contract is not sitting well with head coach Alain Vigneault. Vigneault, who was hired last April, has made a few statements regarding Konecny now that make it clear he feels the 22-year-old is not helping himself by skipping training camp with the his teammates.
The latest statement by Vigneault came when discussing the current situation with Nolan Patrick. Patrick is nursing an upper-body injury, something that didn't seem to be causing an issue until the beginning of training camp when he was told he couldn't take part in drills because of the injury. When asked about it by reporters, Vigneault said Patrick has been taking part in team meetings and skating on his own, so he's not as far behind as someone who's "not physically there." It's hard to see this as anything other than a bit of a shot at Konecny, given previous statements by Vigneault on the situation. Vigneault has already called Konecny's absence very disappointing, adding he's falling behind every day that he misses.
It's unfortunate, but I'm going to work with the players that are here and going to work extremely hard with those players," Vigneault recently told NBC Sports.
While any head coach would be disappointed with a player not attending training camp, one does have to wonder whether repeated public statements on that absence could end up having an impact on negotiations that already appear to be hitting a wall. Flyers GM Chuck Fletcher has already divulged that he still "has a ways to go" to get a new deal with Konecny, adding Konecny is making things difficult with his insistence on a long-term contract.
"I honestly don't know what to say," Fletcher said. "I've been doing this 25 years, I think we go about it the right way, but we just can't seem to get to the same language on this one.
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