It’s been announced that R.J. Umberger will be put on waivers for the purpose of a buyout by the Philadelphia Flyers. The winger had hoped a return to the City of Brotherly Love would rejuvenate his career, but that wasn’t in the cards.
While the career renaissance for Umberger didn’t take place, it should beg the question to fans and GM’s alike: Why do physical wingers keep getting big money?
Umberger wasn’t always the punchline that he is now. Scoring over 50 points multiple times in his career, he was even a pretty good player. Finding success on a lowly Blue Jackets team should be celebrated as a great achievement, keeping the team in mediocrity during some of their toughest times. Where did it all go wrong?
You could probably point at the injuries a winger of his stature runs into as one problem while another could be the fact that during the lockout shortened year he was an assistant coach with the Ohio State Buckeyes rather than playing overseas like many of his counterparts. He put himself behind by making this decision and wasn’t able to recover from this seemingly innocuous move.
Never reaching the heights he had seen previously, Umberger is just another forward, in a long line of forwards who saw their play deteriorate. Every team thinks that they have the next Jarome Iginla when they have the next David Clarkson. Long-term deals going into a player’s 30s just aren’t a good investment and haven’t been for a while. The only deals that have worked out have been for generational players. Otherwise don’t waste your time and money. Umberger is just another cautionary tale that front offices just don’t want to listen to. You have been forewarned.
