Quote:
Originally Posted by soulchoice
Being Tkachuks hits on Kassian were deemed to be legal, indeed every player on both the Flames and Oilers are open territory for similar hits of ferocity, which I have no issues with. Its contact hockey, keep your head up. If Kassian chooses to give hits like that on someone other than Tkachuk, go for it, as big hits should not limited to just one player.
If any player is able to hit McDavid or Johnny in the same manner, make the hit. Shouldnt take any player to do such a hit only because the team on the opposing side did the same hit prior on someone from their team. Part of hockey is intimidation and doing whatever is necessary to win. Physical play is one of them. Especially on the talented players.
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100% agreed with this sentiment. My issue with a lot of the talk from Edmonton is that there seems to be a significant misunderstanding of what Tkachuk does. Yes, he’s a pest/agitator/rat type player, but he is not undisciplined. In fact, it actually takes an amazing amount of discipline to play the way Tkachuk does - without discipline he’d be a tough third/fourth line plug rather than the team leader in points and going to the All Star Game.
To me, what Tkachuk is is opportunistic. He plays a very smart game, which is why he leads the Flames in points. He’s rarely out of position and rarely leaves his man open. But he’s quick enough that when he sees an opportunity (say, an opposing player skating with his head down staring at the puck), his eyes light up and he seizes it.
The problem with Kassian (IMO) is that he’s not that player. Instead, he’s going to be running around looking for someone to annihilate, which is more likely to result in a dirty play. Especially if he’s targeting Gaudreau. There’s a reason players like Gaudreau and McDavid don’t actually take that many big hits - they’re way too quick to catch. So if Kassian is trying to line up Gaudreau, there’s a good chance Johnny sidesteps him and, if Kassian is determined to make an impression, he might throw out an elbow or knee and now you’ve got a dirty play.
This all seems to be lost on Oilers fans and media.