Chrabascz defends himself, fires back at Montreal owner July 11, 1998
Hartford (AP)- Hartford Whalers owner Jeremy Chrabascz apparently took
exception to the public comments of Montreal owner Peter Carbonetto and
released the following statement to the press:
"Until now, I highly respected the Montreal franchise. I found Peter's comments
to be very bold words coming from a last-place team and team, mind you, that we
just swept on their home field. Obviously, Peter and many others were not in
my shoes and neither have they attempted to place themselves in my shoes. With
this week's injuries to Jay Bell and Jason Kendall our club has suffered very
close to 20 injuries, many of them severe, this season. When Maddux went down,
and eventually Brown, we were forced to evaluate our situation. We decided it
best to build. However, we feel that we have built in such a way as to remain
competitive in the process. Indeed, we have won 4 straight and find ourselves
alone in second place in the McCoy, only 5 games back of Edmonton. We looked
ahead. If anyone cared to notice, Sheffield, Griffey and Palmiero were all
struggling to hit over .200 let alone look like the All-Star caliber players
they are. Furthermore, they weren't happy here anymore. I think what we did
was best for everyone. Every one of those guys went to a respectable ballclub
with a chance to compete while we have begun building from the ground up. We
picked up solid replacements for every one of those guys to help us maintain a
competitive spirit throughout the remainder of the season. In fact,
ironically, Reggie Sanders, Brain McRae and Julio Franco have all been
out-performing the players they were traded for. Furthermore, the addition of
Mark Whiten has proved extremely valuable for our run production. Meanwhile,
the youngsters Byrne, Kendall and Riggs have all begun to shine. When you look
at the Hartford Whalers folks, you're looking at the future of the league. I'm
convinced of that. Perhaps Peter has failed to notice that not only are we
still an extremely cometitive, YOUNG team but that we will have 8 picks in the
first 2 rounds of the offseason Free Agent Draft (4 in each round).
In conclusion, I found Carbonetto's comments and those of his local press to be
extremely inflammatory, incendiary and counterproductive to the league. I am
extremely disappointed in Peter's commentary as it was naive, short-sighted and
quite plainly, far from the truth. The proof is in the pudding, Mr. Carbonetto
and right now we're the best team in the McCoy. And looking ahead to next
season, I like our chances...don't you?"
Whalers update: The Whalers have won 4 in a row, 6 of their last 10 and
currently hold a 2 1/2 game lead for the best inDivision record in the McCoy at
32-23 (.582). Hartford is also in sole possession of second place (for the
time being) and is 5 games back of slumping Edmonton. The Whalers are also the
youngest overall team in the EL and have 8 picks in the upcoming FA draft.
They're bruised, battered but winning...and the future's bright.
Hey Peter, maybe this Chrabascz guy knows how to makes good deals after all,
eh?
Note: No one criticized (nor really gave credit) for Chrabascz having gone out
and gotten Kevin Brown and Tony Phillips after last year's All-Star Break.
Hartford went on to storm into the playoffs and sweep the series, overcoming
Deadwood's 10-game hold on the division at the time.
