These kind of players are always going to want to be on the winning team or on the best team. Its much easier to join the party than to start the party from scratch. That wont ever change. What should change is that players shouldnt be able tell teams to go screw until they get moved to the team they want to play on, and what should also change is the perception that its all OK because of the positive results for one of the teams. If the yuppy sons of rich hockey guys(and otherwise) like Scissons, Musil, Samuelsson, this kid, and surely with more to come dont want to play along to get along, they can go play their Junior A, or 40 near-noncontact college games a year on the weekend instead, and see how that works for them.
Its not fair to the other players who just go to whichever team that drafts them, where they might make something out of themselves or they dont...and its is especially unfair when its one of these suddenly-interested projects taking the spot of someone who showed the interest to go to training camp and make the team in the first place. 'These kinds of players', however, just jump onto a stacked team and have a laugh, despite less commitment to not only the team they were supposed to play on but the league itself. Its also not fair to most of the 'commoner' teams. I mean, how does it look when at the trade deadline, when one GM works to devise a valuable package to get a quality player, and then another GM makes a phone call and a list player of similar talent shows up without having to give up assets? Its already tough on some teams when drafted players choose not to report, but it seems that with things like this happening more and more, some teams have the inside track just by being a team who has had some recent success(or even a team in a bigger city, or a favorable location).
Though the WHL is prestigeous, and yes they make a helluva lot of money, it is still a developmental league. While the NHL penguins should understandably give sidney crosby whatever terms he wants to play for them, I dont think the kootenay ice shouldve had to do the same for baby musil. Players still have to prove themselves worthy of a pro job, and while its true that this league's teams wont ever all be the same, every team in the league provides these same opportunities. This league has produced more NHLers than any other league in the entire world. Most of the time, if you have what it takes to go to the next level, this is the league to get noticed in. Players should be the ones in debt to teams that give them that chance, not the other way around.
And teams shouldnt have to give players much more. Wants vs needs. Its not like they need 90 dollars a day for lunch. The teams are giving(not persuading) not only one, but multiple kids opportunities to showcase themselves for the NHL and pro hockey. That is the point of the league...and I think people dont look at the 'opportunity' to play in a league like the dub as highly as they once did.
I think that the league should institute some small rules on this matter. They seem to be serious about (forcing)parity, especially in ways many people including myself dont agree with, but yet they let this stuff go. Maybe players who were not previously involved with the team or league shouldnt be allowed to join in the middle of the season, or should be subject to some type of waivers of some sort first, or if not waivers then something like that. If they had interest in playing on the team, they couldve actually attended training camps.
Maybe they should address this Musil/Samuelsson euro loophole too. They arent considered european players, despite the fact they both played in european leagues. Theres certainly a few things worth addressing. Im sure others can come up with more ideas/better ones.