Adams’ plans for hockey could last a lifetime
COMMENTARY
Kevyn Adams could walk away from the National Hockey League today with no regrets, knowing he long ago exceeded his wildest fantasies. He was a first-round draft pick. He played nine full seasons in the NHL, more than 600 games in all. He won a Stanley Cup.
Adams and his wife, Stacey, have three children and more happiness than they dared to imagine. They’re financially secure. Their charming home in Bemus Point backs up to the tranquility of Chautauqua Lake. Every day feels like a Saturday, and the country club is only 10 minutes away.
Heck, where do we sign up? The problem with this enviable little arrangement is that Adams isn’t wired for life on the proverbial porch swing. Every year since he was 5 years old and growing up in Clarence, he’s looked forward to hockey season. But here we are, a few weeks from the start of training camp, and he’s still a free agent without a team.
“It has been a little unsettling,” Adams said.
Adams is an intelligent guy. He would be the first to say his hockey smarts helped him last this long in the NHL with average talent. He has been working out all summer under the assumption that he’s going to sign a contract, but actually he’s not sure and might not have a choice.
Only the lucky ones retire under their own terms. Everybody else fades into the backdrop as their careers fizzle out because of age, injury, ability or, in many cases, all three.
Adams will turn 34 in two months. He’s played for six NHL teams, three in the past 18 months. He’s coming off major knee surgery and a year in which he had zero goals, two assists and a minus-7 rating in 27 games for Chicago.
“For every guy in sports who gets to decide his future like Brett Favre, there’s 99.9 percent who have their futures decided for them,” Adams said. “Unless you’re Wayne Gretzky or Mario Lemieux or an ultra superstar, nobody will know who you are in a few years. Nobody remembers. And the game moves on.”
And so does life.
If his career continues, it will be with a team that ignores statistics and values the impact he has on others. You want points? Find somebody else. He’s not a 60-goal scorer or a 140-point guy for his career. You want a selfless teammate, a tireless worker, a consummate professional, a leader by example? He’s waiting by the phone.
Unfortunately, players like him aren’t in high demand in the NHL. The Blackhawks thought the world of his intangibles last year, but they’re over the salary cap after signing defenseman Brian Campbell. Don’t be surprised if they make some moves to get their salary structure in order and bring back Adams, who made $600,000 last year, for another season.
The Blackhawks acquired him because they thought he could mentor rookies Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews while boosting the penalty kill. After all, he’s been a respected leader for years and helped Carolina win the Cup in 2006. The Hawks wound up treasuring him more for his work while he was injured than they did for his play on the ice.
Forget the kids, who watched Adams come back two months early from the knee injury that was expected to end his season. It was impressive enough. He also became a dependable set of eyes for coach Denis Savard, who picked Adams’ brain for information from the press box. Adams was like an extra assistant coach in breaking down tendencies and offering advice. Along the way, he had an awakening of sorts. He could turn life after hockey could into a lifetime of hockey.
“They were good to me,” Adams said. “They could have said, ‘Sit there with an ice bag on your knee and watch the game on TV.’ They actually wanted my input. They brought me [in] on meetings, had me watch film in the coaches’ room and really involved me. It was a great experience for me. I felt like I was coaching, and it was fun.”
It took a while before he embraced what others have been telling him for years, that he would make a terrific coach. He’s always been a cerebral player and master communicator. All that time on the bench while killing penalties and playing the fourth line was thankless, but it provided him the necessary perspective and patience.
Often, it’s the average players, not the superstars, who are better equipped to coach. Adams played the game hard, played the game right. Coaching would be a natural progression for him, the way it was for Lindy Ruff.
“The truth is, if he decides he’s not going to play anymore, there’s a place in the game for Kevyn Adams — without any question,” said Rick Dudley, the Blackhawks assistant general manager. “He’s one of those cool guys who you just look forward to seeing every day. He has an infectious nature to him.”
Adams is grateful for every shift he ever played and every dollar he ever made in the NHL, but he also wants to eliminate any remaining what-ifs and could-have-beens. The trick for him will be replacing the competitiveness that drove him to the highest level in the first place.
At least retirement no longer seems so daunting, the future a little more appealing. If he’s nearing the end of one career, he’s nearing the beginning of another.
Perhaps it’s not so unsettling after all. In fact, it’s settled.
