Ex-Hurricanes prospect Aleksi Saarela rips former team
The Carolina Hurricanes were able to turn Don Cherry’s criticism of the club into a successful marketing campaign, however, I don’t think they’ll be able to do the same with former member Aleksi Saarela’s negative remarks regarding the team.
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The ‘Bunch of Jerks’ dealt Saarela earlier this summer to the Chicago Blackhawks in a four-player trade. Now that he no longer collects his paycheques from the Canes, the 22-year-old decided to open up and absolutely rip on the franchise he used to play for.
The Finnish hockey player claims that he was never given a fair chance with Carolina’s NHL roster, that the club is reluctant to call-up players from their minor league system, and that nobody really knows who’s leading there, according to Svenska.Yle.
These comments come as a bit shocking, considering the team’s success in 2018-19. The squad was able to make it all the way to the Eastern Conference Final after upsetting the Washington Capitals and New York Islanders. But obviously, Saarela didn’t agree with how the franchise operated internally.
The former third-round pick gets a fresh start in Chicago this year after playing just one playoff game in the big leagues with the Hurricanes. In the AHL, though, he tallied 30 goals and 54 points in his previous campaign.
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