VANCOUVER -- Emerson Etem has found a lot of reasons to explain his inconsistency and offensive struggles during four seasons in the NHL, from a lack of ice time to not having the right sticks, but after being traded to the Vancouver Canucks on Friday he took a hard look at himself.
Staring back was a speedy, skilled right wing who didn't always work hard enough.
"Sometimes when things aren't going well, you look for anything else, anything across the map, and since the trade happened I had a look at myself in the mirror," said Etem, who was traded by the New York Rangers for forward prospect Nicklas Jensen and a sixth-round pick in the 2017 NHL Draft.