With 23-year-old forward Brandon Dubinsky holding out of New York Rangers camp over contract disputes, head coach John Tortorella isn't exactly thrilled.
"Stupid. It's stupid," Tortorella told the New York Daily News. "I'm not going to get into negotiations, but it's stupid. He's a young man that needs to be in camp, that needs to go through the process of understanding what a pro is. I'm not sure where the thinking's coming from, but I still think players need to think for themselves. I think we blame it on agents all the time – I think his agent's stupid. I'm hoping he realizes that there's teammates here, too. So I'll leave it at that."
Hardly kind words for Dubinsky, a 2004 second-round draft pick who is fresh off back-to-back 40-point seasons, but Tortorella wasn't finished.
"You can't miss one day. Camps are so important. When guys miss camps, it's a struggle," the coach told New York Newsday. "A guy we thought was gonna be here, every minute that goes by, it hurts the player and it hurts the team."
