Scott Hartnell always seems to spend about as much time on the ice on his hands and knees as he does gliding across it on his skates. He's also a notoriously great guy with a big personality, whom fans and teammates are drawn to - he's got a foundation, playfully named #HartnellDown, which provides funding assistance to a variety of charities.
Now back with the Columbus Blue Jackets after seven years in Philadelphia, Hartnell, ahead of a clash between the two teams tonight, says that his former coach in Philly, Craig Berube - also known as "Chief" - may not have been among those enamored with his outsized personality, conditioning and physical, sometimes bordering on physical comedy-like, play.
"You think of what happened and why me ... I'm sure (Chief) had a big part of that or a big opinion in whether to part ways or not," Hartnell said, according to a report from Randy Miller of NJ.com. "But I'm not going to sit here and worry about it and lose sleep over it, that's for sure."
Hartnell, who has five goals and 14 points in 15 games thus far this season for Columbus, was traded on June 23 in exchange for R.J. Umberger and a 2015 fourth-round draft pick.
He was crestfallen and, still to this day, believes that Berube, who places a major emphasis on discipline and conditioning, had a say in the transaction.
Berube, who took over for the fired Peter Laviolette in October of last year, claims that he has zero input in trades, noting that "It's not my job."
He did, however, refer to rookie Michael Raffl, Hartnell's replacement, as the best first-line left wing the team had last season. He also said that he didn't think "anything is missed" after being told that Flyers players felt a void without Hartnell.
"I mean, he's a good guy," Berube said. "He did a lot for the team and the organization. We all like him from outside of the hockey rink to on the ice. He's a good player and good in the room. But people move on and that's the way it is. I have nothing against Hartsy and he's a friend of mine."
Berube's comments may be entirely truthful - the trade helps alleviate cap tightness in the future for Philly - but reading between the lines, it seems pretty clear that Berube and Hartnell weren't a perfect fit.
