The Toronto Maple Leafs lost another player yesterday, only this time he left on his own, not with an injury.
Forward Shayne Corson, steamed that he was a healthy scratch in the past two games, walked out on the Leafs in the middle of their National Hockey League playoff series with the Philadelphia Flyers.
Corson could not be reached for comment, but his agent, Rick Curran, said the 36-year-old veteran quit because he felt his frustration at not playing was "becoming a distraction" to the other Leaf players.
Corson's defection also exposed once more the delicate social structure of the Leafs' dressing room. He and forward Darcy Tucker, his brother-in-law, are extremely close and are good friends with centre Travis Green.
There is a perception that the trio's relationship is such that it puts them at odds with another veteran faction, which is said to regard Corson as something of a disruptive influence.
Curran recognized this, saying, "There will be some players who accept his decision, there will be many who understand his decision and, unfortunately, there will be some who are happy about his decision."
He refused to discuss which players would be happy to see the last of Corson. But Curran did shoot down one widely held perception that one of those players was Gary Roberts, one of the team's leaders.
While Corson and Roberts had their differences, Curran, who is also Roberts's agent, said they were always able to discuss them.
"For anyone to assume there were problems between Shayne and Gary is [nonsense]" Curran said. "They've known each other since they roomed together at the NHL draft [in 1984]"
Defenceman Bryan McCabe said he understood Corson's position and thinks most of his Leaf teammates do as well. He does not think Corson's departure will become a distraction.
"We'll miss him because he's been a big part of the team," McCabe said. "We can't dwell on the matter. Hopefully, it won't be a distraction and we'll move on.
"It's tough commenting on this without being in his shoes. The guy's been around for a lot of years and it's been a tough year for him. He felt it was time to move on and we have to respect his decision."
Corson met with head coach and general manager Pat Quinn after the Leafs' 4-3 double-overtime win over the Flyers on Monday night and told him he was leaving the team. Corson's contract is up at the end of June and although it has an option year at the team's discretion, it is believed Quinn had no intention of picking it up.
The Leafs held a team meeting yesterday, instead of a practice, and Corson did not attend. Quinn did not mention the forward's departure during his media scrum after the meeting, and it did not become known until later in the day.
Corson, who became a Leaf in the summer of 2000, was an important playoff performer in the past, being used to check the opposition's best players. Quinn, however, dressed him only for Game 1 of the Flyer series after using him sparingly in the final few weeks of the season.
A flare-up of colitis, which kept him out of four games near the end of the season, added to Corson's woes. But it was the ignominy of being a healthy scratch both late in the season and in the playoffs that ate at the 17-year NHL veteran.
Curran would not reveal what was discussed between Quinn and Corson, saying only that the player had made up his mind to leave the team before the meeting. He added that while Corson realizes his days as a Maple Leaf are finished, he has no intention of retiring from the NHL.
"I really do feel bad about this because I realize [Corson]is not going to win in this," Curran said, acknowledging the inevitable backlash, not only from fans, but potential NHL employers. "It was a very difficult decision for Shayne. But he felt if he kept going the way he was, it would have an adverse effect on the locker room.
"I look at it that the timing was right because his situation was becoming a distraction to the guys in the [dressing]room. He knew it was affecting his attitude. I think that with time, any [other NHL GM]who becomes aware of the situation, whether he agrees if Shayne did the right thing or not, will understand it."
Quinn refused comment last night after it became public that Corson, in the words of a Leaf spokesman, "resigned" from the team. Oddly, when there is even more of a media presence than usual around the Leafs because of the playoffs, Quinn preferred to let the situation fester on the sports radio and television shows and in newspapers overnight rather than offer any comment to fans who are paying more than $300 a ticket to the playoff games.
Quinn told the team's public-relations staff that he will address the matter this morning at the game-day skate.
Some sources close to the team blame Quinn for making the situation between Corson and some of the players worse. They say there is little communication between the coach and his players, which Quinn has denied strenuously.
"Shayne is relieved with his decision but he is not happy about it," Curran said. "He's not out dancing in the streets."