[OOT] Tom Wilson tries to hurt players, once again

[Igottago]

Originally Posted by MRCboicgy

Versteeg is on fire on 960 this morning about this.


Let the superstars play or bring back the enforcers to prevent this crap.

Let's face it..as much as people want a kinder gentler game, there's an element of mutually assured destruction in hockey. Wilson may have had to answer for his antics directly in the game had enforcers been around, but now its quite probably spilling over into tonight. I just don't see how the Rangers take the ice without feeling like they need to make either Wilson or other Caps players pay a price for what happened.

As much as I have been in favour of getting fighting out of the game the last few years, this is a pretty good example of why people still argue its needed. And obviously the league isn't doing to the best job policing infractions.

[Weitz]

Originally Posted by Igottago

Let's face it..as much as people want a kinder gentler game, there's an element of mutually assured destruction in hockey. Wilson may have had to answer for his antics directly in the game had enforcers been around, but now its quite probably spilling over into tonight. I just don't see how the Rangers take the ice without feeling like they need to make either Wilson or other Caps players pay a price for what happened.

As much as I have been in favour of getting fighting out of the game the last few years, this is a pretty good example of why people still argue its needed. And obviously the league isn't doing to the best job policing infractions.

Its more than that though. Because the NHL doesn't enforce the rule book throughout any game it always escalates. If every infraction was called, players would adjust, and tempers wouldn't flare so often.

[Jiri Hrdina]

Originally Posted by Igottago

Let's face it..as much as people want a kinder gentler game, there's an element of mutually assured destruction in hockey. Wilson may have had to answer for his antics directly in the game had enforcers been around, but now its quite probably spilling over into tonight. I just don't see how the Rangers take the ice without feeling like they need to make either Wilson or other Caps players pay a price for what happened.

As much as I have been in favour of getting fighting out of the game the last few years, this is a pretty good example of why people still argue its needed. And obviously the league isn't doing to the best job policing infractions.

The elimination of fighting has always hinged on the NHL enforcing the rules with consistent and proportional consequences.
Their inability to do that is a big problem.
But I'm an advocate for eliminating fighting, as many know, but I've always assumed that it only happens when the league is capable of proper enforcement. At this point - they are not.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by Scroopy Noopers

Love hard hitting hockey. If anything, fighting ruins that too.

Imagine seeing a big clean hit in the neutral zone and having play continue. A man can dream.

This is the dream.


There is nothing worse than a beautiful clean hit and then that player having to fight because the laid that clean hit.

[zamler]

When Avery is the voice of reason. I disagree that it would make Wilson think twice, thinking once is not in Wilson's repertoire.

[Scroopy Noopers]

Originally Posted by Weitz

Its more than that though. Because the NHL doesn't enforce the rule book throughout any game it always escalates. If every infraction was called, players would adjust, and tempers wouldn't flare so often.

This. 1000 times this.

[FlamesAddiction]

The NHL refs can't even see a lot of what goes on. I don't think calling every penalty is possible unless they go with the eye in the sky, but that has a set of other challenges.

[GirlySports]

The NHL as a league, is broken.

The NHL just tries to manage everything too much. They manage the situations in games, and they manage at what point in the season we are right now. Why is a playoff game more important than a regular season game. You should be suspended 20 games, whatever those games are.

They manage the loser point system, they put in a shootout but don't want it to happen too often, they want the game to be rough but not too rough, they want a draft lottery but you can't win it too often, they put in a salary cap but it has a bunch of loopholes, they want expansion teams to be bad but not too bad, they want to use technology but not too much technology etc...

By not suspending Wilson they are basically saying it was self-defense.

In soccer, you can be suspended for the World Cup Final for two garbage yellow cards. A foul is a foul, a card is a card.

[GirlySports]

Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction

The NHL refs can't even see a lot of what goes on. I don't think calling every penalty is possible unless they go with the eye in the sky, but that has a set of other challenges.

Players would just get used to it. In the NFL, a wide receiver gets crushed by a safety going across the middle. A fight doesn't break out. The refs take care of it. 15 yards and maybe an ejection.

[MacDaddy77]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

The NHL as a league, is broken.

The NHL just tries to manage everything too much. They manage the situations in games, and they manage at what point in the season we are right now. Why is a playoff game more important than a regular season game. You should be suspended 20 games, whatever those games are.

In soccer, you can be suspended for the World Cup Final for two garbage yellow cards. A foul is a foul, a card is a card.

I agree the penalties should be stricter but anything hockey can’t be compared to soccer. Soccer is just organized running

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by MacDaddy77

I agree the penalties should be stricter but anything hockey can’t be compared to soccer. Soccer is just organized running

I wave rugby around pretty heavily here, but it is the same in rugby. You do something stupid you deal with the repercussions.

A foul is a foul.

[flambers]

I'm curious if the league will make a response.

Stating the Rangers are fined etc

[Skaloper]

I can't believe the comments made by Lars Eller. Basically commenting that it's no big deal and it happens all the time. The league is going to regret not doing something about this because something will happen tonight.

[CliffFletcher]

I know player discipline should be independent and based on internal criteria. And to some extent Parros reflects the tough-guy outlook of NHL players. But doesn’t the league understand the PR implications of being lax about these sorts of egregious actions? Surely there are communications, marketing, and PR professionals employed by the league who understand what a ####-kicking the NHL is taking in the media over this. The disciplinary committee needs to be brought into the fold with the people actually trying to grow the league and manage its image.

[neo45]

Originally Posted by Skaloper

I can't believe the comments made by Lars Eller. Basically commenting that it's no big deal and it happens all the time. The league is going to regret not doing something about this because something will happen tonight.

Nothing will happen tonight

If the Rangers want to brawl with the capitals they will lose badly. They don’t have the team to make guys answer for anything they do to their stars

There’s no way Wilson would even try that against us

[Calgary14]

Georges Laraque tweeted the Rangers asking for a one game contract to take care of Wilson

[SportsJunky]

The Rangers should bring back DeAngelo for a game and tell him to go deal with Wilson. Win win.

[ricardodw]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

Players would just get used to it. In the NFL, a wide receiver gets crushed by a safety going across the middle. A fight doesn't break out. The refs take care of it. 15 yards and maybe an ejection.

In the NFL there are always a couple of very large violent men on the field that could injure people in the regular "controlled" violence.

Look at the NFL weekly injury lists... there are going to be a lot of them that would be close to attempt to injure.

[ricardodw]

Originally Posted by neo45

Nothing will happen tonight

If the Rangers want to brawl with the capitals they will lose badly. They don’t have the team to make guys answer for anything they do to their stars

There’s no way Wilson would even try that against us

Please somehow justify that concept/idea?

Gaudreau has been whining about being pushed around and slashed for about 2-3 years at least.... when did the Flames step up and address this problem?

Are the Flames a big team? A dirty team? Have a gang-like mentality?

Do you think Lucic would go out of his way to punish him and even could?

[powderjunkie]

Apparently Ovy left last game with an injury. Oshie missed last game too. I wonder if Backlund and Carlson get a 'maintenance day', and C Anderson gets the start?

Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction

The NHL refs can't even see a lot of what goes on. I don't think calling every penalty is possible unless they go with the eye in the sky, but that has a set of other challenges.

I know it's not popular, but I'd love to see one ref up, one ref down. Even more unpopular: anything/everything is reviewable at TV timeouts (or earlier stoppage in some cases).

Originally Posted by undercoverbrother

I wave rugby around pretty heavily here, but it is the same in rugby. You do something stupid you deal with the repercussions.

A foul is a foul.

1 ref somehow manages 30 gigantic and fast men on a big field. I know people complained about the last World Cup, but it was still way way better than anything we see in the NHL.