Quote:
Originally Posted by Enoch Root
And IMO, the reason is blatantly obvious.
Go back to 05/06, post lockout, and how hard the NHL worked to get obstruction out of the game. If you even stepped in front of a guy (with no contact) it was a penalty.
For a few years, they tried to be consistent about it. But for the last 3 or 4 years, it has been seeping back into the game.
And then this year, it just exploded again. Watch a game from this year and watch a game form 06 or 07. Guys are back to grabbing onto wingers as they attempt to enter the zone to fore-check. Blatant picks aren't just in the way, they are making contact.
In front of the net, defensemen weren't allowed to touch the forward for a few years. Now they are back to tackling them.
Honestly, when they started calling all the penalties in 06 and wouldn't allow defensemen to touch anyone, I didn't like it (being a defenseman).
But now that we have gone full circle, I MUCH prefer them not allowing any obstruction at all. Let the talented players play.
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Honestly, in this regard I'm somewhere in the middle.
I want the talented players to play, but I also like a little bit of the obstruction to slow the players down entering the offensive zone and I also like the more physical game.
What I dont want is a penalty being called on every tiny little infraction and the entire game being played by special teams, I like the game best at even strength not the BS gamesmanship of teams building their entire system around the powerplay.
I think the year that really polarized it for me was 2011 when the Canucks went all the way riding the system of drawing penalties and having a dominant powerplay and then the Bruins ragdolled them.
So thats where I'm at, I agree with you, I want them to play, let them play, dont call every little ticky-tack little thing, call the big stuff, the stuff you cant ignore and the obvious stuff but other than that let the players play.