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Calgary4LIfe · 04-02-2018, 09:54 AM

Intimidation IS a thing in the NHL. Fighting IS a thing in the NHL. It can't be too comfortable out there trying to be all skilled and driving the play when there may be a body or two on the other side that you may feel is a total loose canon and who can beat you to a bloody pulp before the refs can jump in.

Should the Flames go out and sign a bunch of pure enforcers just to patrol the ice a few odd shifts a game? Of course not, and I don't believe anybody is saying that. Are the Flames too soft and don't have any answers for the really 'tough' teams out there that have size and nastiness? Yep, that's at least what I think, and I am probably not alone.

The McGrattans and so on aren't in the league any longer, but there are still a lot of tough guys out there that can play a decent game. Our biggest rivals - even though they mostly suck - are the Edmonton Oilers. They have idiots like Lucic, Kassian and Nurse out there who are known for jumping guys and doing stupid things out there. When you have a guy that can actually put a little scare into them, they don't do that.

People roll their eyes and think: "So what? Just take the PP and win the game!". Sure, I wish it was that simple. I would 100% agree with this take if it was a pure goon like Steve MacIntyre out there. Flames would just skate circles around him, try to hit him at every opportunity, and they would know that the refs would jump in the instant MacIntyre even thinks about retaliating and kick him out of the game. That doesn't happen with those aforementioned guys in Edmonton, it doesn't happen with guys like Reaves. It doesn't happen with most of the existing 'tough guys' out there. Those guys are happy to go and cause commotion and make themselves relevant, but they are hockey players first and the refs aren't keeping an eagle eye on them.

What happens? They go out and play with impunity on the ice. It is fine to lay out a huge hit on a guy like Brodie and injure him. It is ok to pick up Gaudreau and just chuck him. It is ok to punch an opposing goalie that is making fantastic saves in a game, or slash a defencemen that is also the captain.

People then say that a guy like Stone should have stepped up. Or Brouwer. Or Giordano. What for? Look at Glass. Glass is tough as nails (remember him beating on Kassian and basically rag-dolling him?). Imagine a non-fighter fighting Lucic. Great, so now Stone is out for a couple of weeks or a couple of months, while Lucic sits in the box for 5 minutes, smirking and knowing he just did his job and threw the Flames of balance and is in their heads now.

That's what happens. That's why I think Stewart should have played - I think he would have at least been in Lucic's head a bit, or at least it would have been him fighting Lucic.

Lucic never acted tough like that last season when Engelland was patrolling the ice (and doing a good job as a defencemen while he was at it). Sure, they fought twice that season, but Lucic never once made his presence felt other than those two fights. Flames had nothing to worry about out there that year. Now they do.

For as long as fighting remains in the league, and for as long as there are 'huge hits' (whether clean or not, they can injure players), and for as long as there are 'after the whistle stuff', intimidation is an actual thing in a sport with physical play.

Treliving knows this and for a long time both he (and Feaster, actually) have been saying that the Flames need to get bigger and tougher to play against. What he also says is that it needs to come with some skill and speed as well. That's why this organization has been spending assets on drafting some big players that seemed to have a decent amount of skill as longer term projects that just haven't panned out. This team has come a heck of a long way from 3 or 4 seasons ago - I imagine their average size is larger now, and they seem to have more guys that play a rough game - but outside of Stewart and Glass, they have nobody in the organization that can really take on Nurse and Kassian, much less Lucic. It is just unfortunate that those guys don't abide by any sort of 'code' out there, and there lies the problem. All three of those guys turn into utter chickens out there when there is somebody patrolling.

The only thing that has changed from 2005 is that the outright goons are gone. There are still a lot of fighters in this league.

04-02-2018, 09:54 AM	#32
Calgary4LIfe Franchise Player Join Date: Jun 2010 Exp:	Intimidation IS a thing in the NHL. Fighting IS a thing in the NHL. It can't be too comfortable out there trying to be all skilled and driving the play when there may be a body or two on the other side that you may feel is a total loose canon and who can beat you to a bloody pulp before the refs can jump in. Should the Flames go out and sign a bunch of pure enforcers just to patrol the ice a few odd shifts a game? Of course not, and I don't believe anybody is saying that. Are the Flames too soft and don't have any answers for the really 'tough' teams out there that have size and nastiness? Yep, that's at least what I think, and I am probably not alone. The McGrattans and so on aren't in the league any longer, but there are still a lot of tough guys out there that can play a decent game. Our biggest rivals - even though they mostly suck - are the Edmonton Oilers. They have idiots like Lucic, Kassian and Nurse out there who are known for jumping guys and doing stupid things out there. When you have a guy that can actually put a little scare into them, they don't do that. People roll their eyes and think: "So what? Just take the PP and win the game!". Sure, I wish it was that simple. I would 100% agree with this take if it was a pure goon like Steve MacIntyre out there. Flames would just skate circles around him, try to hit him at every opportunity, and they would know that the refs would jump in the instant MacIntyre even thinks about retaliating and kick him out of the game. That doesn't happen with those aforementioned guys in Edmonton, it doesn't happen with guys like Reaves. It doesn't happen with most of the existing 'tough guys' out there. Those guys are happy to go and cause commotion and make themselves relevant, but they are hockey players first and the refs aren't keeping an eagle eye on them. What happens? They go out and play with impunity on the ice. It is fine to lay out a huge hit on a guy like Brodie and injure him. It is ok to pick up Gaudreau and just chuck him. It is ok to punch an opposing goalie that is making fantastic saves in a game, or slash a defencemen that is also the captain. People then say that a guy like Stone should have stepped up. Or Brouwer. Or Giordano. What for? Look at Glass. Glass is tough as nails (remember him beating on Kassian and basically rag-dolling him?). Imagine a non-fighter fighting Lucic. Great, so now Stone is out for a couple of weeks or a couple of months, while Lucic sits in the box for 5 minutes, smirking and knowing he just did his job and threw the Flames of balance and is in their heads now. That's what happens. That's why I think Stewart should have played - I think he would have at least been in Lucic's head a bit, or at least it would have been him fighting Lucic. Lucic never acted tough like that last season when Engelland was patrolling the ice (and doing a good job as a defencemen while he was at it). Sure, they fought twice that season, but Lucic never once made his presence felt other than those two fights. Flames had nothing to worry about out there that year. Now they do. For as long as fighting remains in the league, and for as long as there are 'huge hits' (whether clean or not, they can injure players), and for as long as there are 'after the whistle stuff', intimidation is an actual thing in a sport with physical play. Treliving knows this and for a long time both he (and Feaster, actually) have been saying that the Flames need to get bigger and tougher to play against. What he also says is that it needs to come with some skill and speed as well. That's why this organization has been spending assets on drafting some big players that seemed to have a decent amount of skill as longer term projects that just haven't panned out. This team has come a heck of a long way from 3 or 4 seasons ago - I imagine their average size is larger now, and they seem to have more guys that play a rough game - but outside of Stewart and Glass, they have nobody in the organization that can really take on Nurse and Kassian, much less Lucic. It is just unfortunate that those guys don't abide by any sort of 'code' out there, and there lies the problem. All three of those guys turn into utter chickens out there when there is somebody patrolling. The only thing that has changed from 2005 is that the outright goons are gone. There are still a lot of fighters in this league.