Tkachuk is the smartest guy in hockey. Why did he pick Kassian to target? He could have gone after the tenderness or one of the great duo? He picked Kassian because he knew he would blow up at some point and he'd earn some powerplay time for his club and Kassian would look like an idiot in the end.
Bingo. That's what happens.
There is no other way to explain why he goes after Kassian. It is not like he is some great player that he needs to get off his game.
Exactly right.
I really liked Pat Steinberg’s take Today. He pointed out that Tkachuk’s play on Saturday was right on the edge, and that’s a big part of what makes him so good. Tkachuk has the incredible ability to assess the temperature of a game in real time, to see the edge (which can be frustratingly fluid from one game to the next), and to manage his own performance so expertly as to flirt with it while seldom ever crossing it.
Matthew Tkachuk is a super hockey genius.
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Dealing with Everything from Dead Sea Scrolls to Red C Trolls
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Originally Posted by woob
"...harem warfare? like all your wives dressup and go paintballing?"
If the incident had happened to a guy like Mcdavid or Gaudreau then absolutely the book would have been thrown at Kassian.
The thing is, everyone thought that Tkachuk deserved it. Tkachuk has been suspended, and constantly does dumb stuff like the hit on Dach in Chicago after the Flames scored.
The league probably doesn't want to send too much encouragement to a guy who is also a threat to player safety.
Is that so.
According to Mark Spector and David Staples, and some ex players with Edmonton ties?
Well that just seals it then. Everyone must think that.
2 games just in time for the rematch... I think the league purposely did this to make Tkachuk answer for the hit.
He must square up with Kassian next game cause he's building quite a reputation around the league as a rat/spot picker/cheapshot artist.
he had the fans support around the league when he was feuding with Doughty, but on this one its preety one sided to team Kassian on twitter.
I hope Lucic and Rinaldo stays out of this and let Tkachuk handle it.
I'm glad that's what he's becoming. All the years of dealing with guys like Ott and Burrows it's nice to see the team I cheer for have one. I hope he never stops doing what he does. This league is so ####ing bland it's disgusting.
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I hate just about everyone and just about everything.
Pretty interesting though. This was the game after the Backlund hit happened. This is the "answering the bell" that some of you speak so highly of. The next game. And that's acceptable here, but apparently wasn't okay for Tkachuk to wait.
Interesting.
"everyone"
Tkachuk just ties him up and refuses to let Dumba go to even attempt a punch. He starts with a bunch of jabs while clutching his jersey. By the end Dumba just gives a shoulder-shrug like..."OK refs break this up. This is pointless." Funny fight.
If the incident had happened to a guy like Mcdavid or Gaudreau then absolutely the book would have been thrown at Kassian.
The thing is, everyone thought that Tkachuk deserved it. Tkachuk has been suspended, and constantly does dumb stuff like the hit on Dach in Chicago after the Flames scored.
The league probably doesn't want to send too much encouragement to a guy who is also a threat to player safety.
I just happened to turn the game on right before that happened. SUch a weird play. He clearly sees Dach and pops his shoulder into him. It's so long after the goal is scored too and the ref is just staring at them. I couldn't believe there was no penalty called.
Tkachuk just ties him up and refuses to let Dumba go to even attempt a punch. He starts with a bunch of jabs while clutching his jersey. By the end Dumba just gives a shoulder-shrug like..."OK refs break this up. This is pointless." Funny fight.
This helps to illustrate just how completely pointless and idiotic fighting is in hockey. What on earth did Tkachuk’s “fight” with Dumba resolve? More to the point, why would he ever indulge Kassian in such a fruitless exercise?
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Dealing with Everything from Dead Sea Scrolls to Red C Trolls
Quote:
Originally Posted by woob
"...harem warfare? like all your wives dressup and go paintballing?"
Kassian needs a teammate to show him how to do up his helmet strap so his helmet doesn't pop off his pointy little head all the time. Wouldn't it be a good thing to make this man, considering his record, do some time in anger management or find similar help. He is mentally unstable and a threat to the safety of other players. Who knows what he'll do next.
I just happened to turn the game on right before that happened. SUch a weird play. He clearly sees Dach and pops his shoulder into him. It's so long after the goal is scored too and the ref is just staring at them. I couldn't believe there was no penalty called.
Tkachuk just ties him up and refuses to let Dumba go to even attempt a punch. He starts with a bunch of jabs while clutching his jersey. By the end Dumba just gives a shoulder-shrug like..."OK refs break this up. This is pointless." Funny fight.
Also probably because he had torn his pec muscle by that point in the fight.
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My issue here isn’t really what Kassian did. I’d want a Flame to do the same. The most ridiculous part of all of this is the smear campaign by the media against Tkachuk. I honestly don’t believe his hits were dirty. The head was not targeted and the head was not the principle point of contact.
Nobody talked about the first hit on Kassian until they had to try and justify his actions. Oiler fans and media were embarrassed and wanted to spin Kassian into a victim.
Kassian was definitely targeted, but so what? As long as Tkachuk stays within the rules (which he did) he does not have to live up to some ridiculous code that hasn’t existed in the NHL outside of a few fringe 4th liners since the 80’s. It’s absolutely barbaric to expect a player to have to fight after throwing a perfectly clean and legal body check.
You know what’s more cowardly than not fighting? Grabbing an unwilling opponent from behind and proceeding to punch the crap out of him. THAT is gutless.
Oiler fans are morons. Absolutely without a doubt the stupidest group of human beings I have ever had the misfortune of dealing with.
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The Oiler fans are demanding blood and retribution, they think that Kassian is some kind of legendary gun slinger.
My only fear is Kassian will do what Kassian always does, takes a nasty cheapshot or attacks MT from behind.
If that happens, the league is going to have to take responsibility for that.
The Flames are going to have to take protecting MT into their own hands, Like I said in the pregame skate you explain to Kassian that a hand on MT or any of our Star Players leads to real bad things for the Oilers. The Oilers frankly don't have anything that matches Lucic, and we know that Rinaldo is pretty capable of real nastiness.
I would hope the Flames to be professional and focus on winning a game against a worthless opponent while protecting their skilled players.
I expect Kassian to be obsessed with MT, and to take several penalties.
I also expect that the league has to know that if Kassian jumps a player or throws a dirty hit or jumps MT that they're going to look incredibly bad.
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My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;
It’s absolutely barbaric to expect a player to have to fight after throwing a perfectly clean and legal body check.
Exactly. Why is this so hard for so many to understand? The league went out of its way to make clear that none of the hits were illegal. Why is this conversation even happening?
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Originally Posted by Temporary_User
I will eat a pubic hair if Giordano ever plays in the NHL again
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Funny that the media are making Kassian out to be the victim of some legal checks by Tkachuk. Does the Edmonton media watch their own team. Kassian never hits anyone without leaving his feet. Guy could get charging penalties for practically every hit he makes.
__________________ Are the Oilers trying to set a record for most scumbags on the payroll??
Exactly. Why is this so hard for so many to understand? The league went out of its way to make clear that none of the hits were illegal. Why is this conversation even happening?
Because the Oilers fans and their media are still whining about it two days later. It’s insane. I bet their media has focused more on Tkachuk than the Oilers.
Should he have fought? Sure. Probably. But is he required to fight and answer the bell? Absolutely not. He doesn’t have to fight and you can’t just pummel a guy who clearly isn’t trying to fight. It’s Bertuzzi-esque.
The other annoying part is dirty or not most of them can’t even admit what Kassian did was ridiculous. They genuinely see no problem with it. You can’t just start pounding on a guy who doesn’t want to fight. It’s disgusting.
