Page 87 of Forbidden Puck
He looked at me, sighed, and finally relented. “Fine. I'll talk to him.”
“Thanks, Lance.”
We hugged.
“I love you,” he said.
“How can you say that!” I gasped. “It's only been 22 years!”
“Damn it, Honey Badger!”
“Just kidding. I love you too, Lance.”
We headed back to the GM's office.
Chapter 31
The Big Deal
Radar
While Lance and Ella were outside, I sat with Shea across from Mr. Tremblay. The mood was dark and somber, like we were attending a funeral—we all hated that we had to be here.
And maybe we were attending a funeral, in ways: mine, as a Boston Brawler.
“So you've got a deal in place with Vancouver?” I asked to get the ball rolling.
Mr. Tremblay nodded dourly.
“That's nice. Is it good for you?”
Mr. Tremblay shook his head. “Not quite. Vancouver straight up said they don't have a spot for you. The most they're willing to offer up in return is a couple of B-rate AHL prospects and draft futures. They're confused why you're even being offered up, and suggested we look for a deal elsewhere. ”
“Then why make the deal? Why not another team?”
“Lance is the face of this franchise for the next ten years. We have to keep him happy …”
I gave a shrug. “You'll do what you have to do.”
“This sucks like hell,” Shea said in a burst of rage. “Everyone knows this makes no sense. The team's going to be emotionally gutted when we lose Radar. He is ahugepart of this team. Hell, Lance didn't even turn into the player he is today until Radar joined the team and started doing the heavy lifting on his line! And here we are, trying to trade him for a bag of pucks? Fuck this.”
“We've been trying to talk Lance out of it all morning,” Mr. Tremblay told me with a frown, “but he's drawn a line in the sand: it's either you or him, someone has to go. And he wants you as far away from his sister as possible.”
I blew out a heavy breath. “Oof. Well, if it's between me and him, the choice is obvious.”
“Is it?” Shea asked rhetorically. “Because sometimes I wonder. I get it, Lance puts a lot of butts in those seats, and he sells a lot of jerseys for this hockey franchise. But it sure seems like we give these young kidseverythingthey want, not because of what they've accomplished, but based on their 'potential.' Doesn't seem smart to me. Seems more like we're creating an entitled monster that we'll have to deal with later on down the road. You know, back when I broke into this league, no one gave youshituntil you accomplished something.You had to earn your keep and prove you could play the game before—”
I cut Shea off with a clap on the back. “Ahh. I'm so glad you gave me one last 'back in my day' rant. I'm gonna miss you, old man.”
“I'm gonna miss you too, bud.” He stood and we hugged. “Itoldyou not to tell him, Radar. I told you to take it to the grave, didn't I?”
“You sure did.”
“Knucklehead. See what happens when you don't listen to the captain?” He gestured at my eye. “Now you've got a real nice shiner.”
“I took my licks last night. Thought I owed it to him.”
“You know, for the sake of the team, Iwishyou would've taken my advice. But … I'm kind of impressed that you didn't.”
