Yikes, I was just about to applaud Claude Julien for calling out his team... then I read opendoor's post.
I'm pretty sure 98% of CP knew that Marchand was a weasel right through the 2010 playoffs, but we sort of just turned a blind eye to it because of his effectiveness versus the Sedins and the rest of the Canucks.
There's no doubt that every team in the league has at least one notorious diver (Gio, Jones, Tanguay, Glencross come to mind as rare, but occasional Flames embellishers).
I'd like to see some type of 3 strike rule against diving/embellishing implemented in the NHL. If any player receives 3 infractions it would trigger an automatic suspension. Infractions would be identified by the NHL via video review - i.e. if the dive was successful in drawing a penalty, but it could be determined later to be a case of embellishment, the offending player would receive a strike.
Yikes, I was just about to applaud Claude Julien for calling out his team... then I read opendoor's post.
I'm pretty sure 98% of CP knew that Marchand was a weasel right through the 2010 playoffs, but we sort of just turned a blind eye to it because of his effectiveness versus the Sedins and the rest of the Canucks.
There's no doubt that every team in the league has at least one notorious diver (Gio, Jones, Tanguay, Glencross come to mind as rare, but occasional Flames embellishers).
Tanguay and Glencross are in a league of their own for Calgary.
Pretty sure you could make a video of every team with highlights like this.
That being said diving is a part of the game now sadly. Teams are rewarded for it so it will continue until there is a consequence for it, either via ref or on the ice.
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Diving is an embarrassment for hockey. With players flopping around the ice, and successfully being able to get calls their way, it will be tough to get it out of the sport. Penalties need to be doled out strictly. That is the only way the league will see a drop in diving.
They should change the rule that if you call the minor and the dive the minor gets wiped out instead of this off setting bill crap.
THIS. If divers knew they'd be getting 2 minutes while the original infraction wouldn't be called, they'd have zero incentive to dive. In fact, they'd be hurting their own team big time.
The gif isnt a dive IMO...and the video shown only has a couple legit dives. Im not saying its wrong but to pin point it on Boston is stupid. Im willing to bet they dive less than most teams.
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I think there is a difference between embellishing and simply drawing attention to something. If a player get's highsticked or interfered with, sometimes the ref won't call it unless the player falls or whips his head back. If it's a legit penalty and the refs only calling it if you sell it, then you have to sell it.
But the flat out diving drives me crazy. A player purposely skating up to another player and falling on their own is just shameful.
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I think the one that gets me the most is holding the stick. The refs see the stick is stuck and assume it's hooking, when its actually the player holding the stick with his arm or hand.
You don't even have to embarass anyone with a diving call, just call holding the stick.
The gif isnt a dive IMO...and the video shown only has a couple legit dives. Im not saying its wrong but to pin point it on Boston is stupid. Im willing to bet they dive less than most teams.
they are only pin pointing it on Boston because of Julien's complaining comments last night
Until (or unless) the NHL instigates a review of penalties it's going to be tough to properly punish this in the game without post-game suspensions... which I don't see happening.
I wish it would, but besides the absolutely blatant dives, the diving (or unsportsmanlike) calls will be rare. It's very easy for us to watch the slow-mo version, see the expression on the players face, and analyze the contact vs. reaction to determine a dive. But on the quick plays I can see these being very hard to detect.
Good dives will always go undetected on the ice. But man would I LOVE to see suspensions handed out for dives. Would be embarrassing, and put an end to diving VERY quickly.
And as far as embellishment being an effective part of the game, I argue that it's cheating. Playing beer league with buddies, if a friend was to claim that he took a high-stick when he in fact didn't... I think we'd all consider that friend a cheater. There's no place for that in any game, no matter what the stakes. Winning based on lies and deceit, no matter how good you are at it, is not a part of the game I ever want to see. The only embellishment I've ever approved of happen in the games where the refs clearly have no intention of calling anything, and it's more of a 'ARE YOU SEEING THIS NOW?!'.
