Again, just want to reiterate that I am not denying Nabokov's free will or saying he's not allowed to not report. I'm just saying that, when all is said and done, he could very well be saying "hindsight is 20/20 and I should have reported."
I don't claim to know him personally and I'm not claiming to know exactly what he's going through. I have no idea. I've never played in the pro's before. Everyone should know I'm smart enough to recognize that and not try to act like I'm fully understanding of what he's goign through. Nobody does but him. I'm merely offering up my opinion on the situation.
And it is because nobody else but him knows what he's going though that he hopefully looks at things from another angle and simply does what puts him in the best position to be successful beyond this year. Opportunity comes in many shapes and forms.
Yes, the waiver system screwed him over. Yes, the Isles screwed him over. Yes, the timing of everything screwed him over. Yes, the Red Wings got screwed over. Yes, because of these things, he has the right to refuse whatever comes his way. Yes, it's unfair. But it happened and it's over with and you can't change the past. Nabokov knew this could happen, he knew the waiver rules when he signed a contract with Detroit.
But aggravating the system and process further isn't going to help alleviate anything. Not reporting only damages things. There's a very slim chance he gets another opportunity by being this way. Reporting only improves things. There's a much better chance he gets another opportunity by going to the Islanders.
It has nothing to do with morals or right or wrong at this point. It's simply a matter of opportunity. That's what I've said since the beginning. That's all I care about as a scout and goalie analyst. Yes, I threw in a lot of my personal opinions and "I would do this if it were me" stuff...but so did we all.
At the end of the day, what we all want to know is WHAT CAN HE DO TO GET ON A GOOD TEAM and once again become a fantasy value??????? If I owned Nabokov, what would I want him to do??????
Report. For the sake of all things just report already!! LOL.