That's where the idea really falls apart. If the refs are deciding, they're (I guess quietly?) biased and can't call the game fairly. If the player is designated a "star" and each franchise can pick one, what happens if that player is traded and now a team has two stars but can only put the 'do not touch" wrap on one of them? So dumb.
The refs are already deciding, and aren't calling the game fairly.
If the refs would just call the rules as they are written consistently it would benefit the better players.
With that being said, the game is probably as clean as its ever been.
The goons are gone, and while old school fans said those guys were needed to police the game, it was those guys more than anyone typically committing egregious cheap shots.
It’s complete & utter lunacy. McDavid almost got injured because he was avoiding the legal hit. It wasn’t a knee. The still shots verify this.
Elder angles and maintain his line of engagement.
So, this is the first time I have seen the hit, and judging from how Oilers fans and Edmonton media have been screaming about it, imagine my surprise to see that it is—as usual—a fairly innocuous, unfortunately accident that happens as a result of the unmanageable speed of the game. Well, not that much surprise —Oilers fans have a long and storied history of entitlement about the most benign things.
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Originally Posted by woob
"...harem warfare? like all your wives dressup and go paintballing?"
The Oilers landing him, the bizarre meeting between McDavid & Katz, the media insistence on mentioning him at all times, the media insistence on protecting him, if I was a conspiracy theorist nut job I'd almost suggest that a lot of money had changed hands between Katz & the NHL/ Rogers.
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I think that it is more that the entertainment market place has changed, and sportsnet/rogers gets a lot more traffic in 20 second clips than full games. as such creating conditions (powerplays, handcuffing defense) for these plays is more important than the attrition and drama of a full game.
It is in everyone's best interests to minimize dangerous plays - not just for stars, but for everyone (the 'stars' idea is ridiculous - as some have asked: who decides, and how are they treated differently?).
But I would like to know: when has the injury to a star ever affected the league's revenue, or the other players' meal tickets?
Did MacKinnon's injury last year hurt league revenues? Did anyone else's? Did McDavid's, when he was hurt a few years ago?
I don't want to see anyone hurt, and I am all for any reasonable idea that legitimately reduces injuries without reducing the game, but the whole 'meal ticket' argument is completely baseless. Completely.
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I caught this too, and got equally as worked up as you - so don't worry about that!
Marek said that the players need to say to themselves "ok, I know the rules say that he's eligible for a hit (...) BUT - to me that's the only solution, the players need to say that 'these are our meal tickets, don't touch `em'"
"I don't disagree with you, I don't" said Friedman
The most bizarre part about this exchange is that Marek and Friedmann seem to think resistance to this idea of "protecting the stars!" will come in the form of complaints about "softening" the game. No, you idiots. The most vocal resistance is pointing out that the same rules should apply to everyone, and that McDumbass is not a special snowflake. If anything, it is right that he has to work harder than everyone else in this League if he truly does aspire to be the best.
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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?"
It is in everyone's best interests to minimize dangerous plays - not just for stars, but for everyone (the 'stars' idea is ridiculous - as some have asked: who decides, and how are they treated differently?).
But I would like to know: when has the injury to a star ever affected the league's revenue, or the other players' meal tickets?
Did MacKinnon's injury last year hurt league revenues? Did anyone else's? Did McDavid's, when he was hurt a few years ago?
I don't want to see anyone hurt, and I am all for any reasonable idea that legitimately reduces injuries without reducing the game, but the whole 'meal ticket' argument is completely baseless. Completely.
For sure. No one has ever had the conversation "Hey, do you want to get tickets to the game?" "Nah, Mackinnon is injured right now. Let's go play pool instead."
I think that it is more that the entertainment market place has changed, and sportsnet/rogers gets a lot more traffic in 20 second clips than full games. as such creating conditions (powerplays, handcuffing defense) for these plays is more important than the attrition and drama of a full game.
But the last 8 seasons are the lowest in terms of pps per game in the last 50 years.
For sure. No one has ever had the conversation "Hey, do you want to get tickets to the game?" "Nah, Mackinnon is injured right now. Let's go play pool instead."
Judging by my personal experience with season tickets its a lot easier to sell games like Pittsburgh/Washington than it is to sell Arizona.
People want to go watch teams with stars in person. They'll watch the "boring" games on TV.
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But the last 8 seasons are the lowest in terms of pps per game in the last 50 years.
The NHL is pushing less pps not more.
Are goals down because that is what the league wants, or because it just keeps getting harder to score?
We don't know what the league wants, unless they tell us. However, we can assess what they want, based on the rule changes they make. And most recent rule changes seem geared to increase scoring, not decrease it.
Judging by my personal experience with season tickets its a lot easier to sell games like Pittsburgh/Washington than it is to sell Arizona.
People want to go watch teams with stars in person. They'll watch the "boring" games on TV.
That's not the discussion. It's that stars being injured, on illegal plays, impacts the profitability of the league.
Obviously by default the teams like Pitt/Wsh are easier sells because they're more popular due to good players and recent success.
If someone has tickets to a Capitals game, is anyone deciding not to go solely due to Ovechkin being out with an injury? Not that it would really matter to this discussion as those seats are already sold, and in most markets the popular games are nearly sold out long before anyone would know injury status of the players.
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It’s complete & utter lunacy. McDavid almost got injured because he was avoiding the legal hit. It wasn’t a knee. The still shots verify this.
Yeah, I thought the play was completely incidental. Edler tried to hit him clean, and McDavid tried to avoid it causing them to catch each other's knees.
The way McDavid plays, I am surprised that he hasn't been injured more in his career. I suspect it is only a matter of time until he gets a serious injury.
His ability to go full speed into traffic is probably the main thing that makes him successful, but it is also high risk. Good for him for being able to mostly avoid situations like the one that happened with Edler, but one day he isn't going to be so lucky.
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