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Friday, December 24, 1999
Shute returns to Igloo after acrimonious trade
Former Corpus Christi IceRay plays first game back at old skating grounds, scores Amarillo's lone goal
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| George Tuley/Caller-Times |
| Former Corpus Christi IceRay Dave Shute played his first game in Corpus Christi since IceRays coach Taylor Hall traded him before the season.
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By Matt Young
Caller-Times
Dave Shute has had more than two months to think about his parting shots to Corpus Christi IceRays coach Taylor Hall. Time may heal old wounds, but it doesn't mean Shute has any regrets.
Hall traded Shute, a former IceRays' fan favorite, to Amarillo the day before the start of the regular season. The trade was the icing on a soured relationship. On his way out the door, Shute blasted Hall, calling him a "fake and a phony."
Shute returned to his old stomping grounds Thursday for the first time since the trade and was not in the mood for an apology. The IceRays whipped Amarillo 7-1 Thursday at Memorial Coliseum, but Shute got a minor measure of revenge with a goal that gave his team a 1-0 lead just three minutes into the game.
"I didn't say anything that I regret," Shute said. "I still have friends on this team, but there are others that I obviously don't have any kind of relationship with. I don't think I burned any bridges, because I didn't have any bridges to burn with some people."
Shute's grievance with Hall stems from what he saw as an offseason of unfulfilled promises.
"(Hall) called me this summer and told me if I came back to the team for less money I would be playing on (last season's league MVP Chris Robertson's) line," said Shute after learning of the trade in October. "He said if I took the pay cut I would have job security. So I took the pay cut - I was going to make $125 a week less than I made last year - and I came back. Then, at the end of training camp, he asked me to take another pay cut. He wanted me to drop down to almost rookie salary."
Shute was traded a few days after he refused the second pay cut.
When Shute returned to the coliseum for the first time, he made the rounds, shaking hands and chatting up his former teammates. He even pleaded with his ex-mates to go in their locker room and get some of his old hockey sticks he had left behind. The IceRays were happy to see Shute, but not happy enough to let his sticks go.
"I'm still in good with all the guys here," Shute said. "I didn't get traded because I was a problem in the dressing room. Let's put it that way."
Even without his old sticks, Shute has put together an impressive season so far. In 30 games, the left winger is the Rattlers' second-leading scorer with 31 points. He has 14 goals and 17 assists. Last year, Shute scored 48 points in 69 games for the IceRays.
"Some people may think my stats are pretty good this year, but I'm not happy with it," Shute said. "I could be doing even more. I should easily be up in the 40s."
Staff writer Matt Young can be reached at 886-4304 or by e-mail at youngm@caller.com
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