This is one of the biggest problem with the league. It is THEIR job to protect players. It is THEIR job to enforce rules.
But they don't do it consistency.
And here's the really neat thing. If the league had the stones to suspend a player over this type of thing, WHICH THEY SHOULD, then who would be first in line to appeal it on behalf of Eric Staal....the NHLPA.
The entire system if flawed to the very core.
The ONLY players that get protected are the ones that break the rules - because the PA at least has their back.
A joke.
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Maybe this is the type of thing that happens to soft teams with terrible power plays. You can put this on the list of flaws in the way the team is put together.
It seems like we are expecting teams to just leave Gaudreau alone because............ ya know, Johnny Hockey.
We're expecting them not to slash Gaudreau because SLASHING IS ILLEGAL. We're expecting the refs to do their damn jobs.
This is one of the biggest problem with the league. It is THEIR job to protect players. It is THEIR job to enforce rules.
But they don't do it consistency.
And here's the really neat thing. If the league had the stones to suspend a player over this type of thing, WHICH THEY SHOULD, then who would be first in line to appeal it on behalf of Eric Staal....the NHLPA.
The entire system if flawed to the very core.
The ONLY players that get protected are the ones that break the rules - because the PA at least has their back.
A joke.
Well Said.
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Captain James P. DeCOSTE, CD, 18 Sep 1993
This is one of the biggest problem with the league. It is THEIR job to protect players. It is THEIR job to enforce rules.
But they don't do it consistency.
And here's the really neat thing. If the league had the stones to suspend a player over this type of thing, WHICH THEY SHOULD, then who would be first in line to appeal it on behalf of Eric Staal....the NHLPA.
The entire system if flawed to the very core.
The ONLY players that get protected are the ones that break the rules - because the PA at least has their back.
A joke.
Maybe injured players should be exempted from paying their union dues.
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And here's the really neat thing. If the league had the stones to suspend a player over this type of thing, WHICH THEY SHOULD, then who would be first in line to appeal it on behalf of Eric Staal....the NHLPA.
Don't be silly, it's the PA's job to represent the players and Eric Staal is a player. Don't fault them for doing their job fault the guys who aren't doing their's that led to this.
Start with @NHLPlayerSafety .
Last edited by Parallex; 11-16-2016 at 11:43 AM.
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I remember in the 05-06 playoffs (I think), Holmstrom was a complete pain in the ### to Kiprusoff. Not one of the Flames did anything to him while he sat there and abused our goalie. Kipper then gets pulled in Game 5 and Noodles came in.
Franzen decided to get a little to close - so McLennen gave him a nice 2 hander to the stomach. He got a 5 game suspension for it, but oddly enough the Wings didn't venture too close to the net or Kipper after that...
Sometimes it just takes one guy to do something stupid and the other team will think twice about taking liberties with your star players.
Just like with the Bertuzzi/Moore incident, the league is not going to take something like this seriously until it embarrasses them, so you need to shove it in their faces.
If the league isn't going to protect the players then teams need to police the ice and make the league look bad when a serious incident inevitably occurs.
Bertuzzi/Moore has been more than a decade of bad PR for the league.
A few video clips like this and the league will have no choice but to make sure the refs are on notice every game to keep things contained.
Last edited by Flash Walken; 11-16-2016 at 11:47 AM.
After last night I was pretty livid at the fact that NO ONE went after the guys who slashed Gaudreau. He's our best player ffs! Someone should have their face smashed in for slashing him. Isn't this why we have fighting in hockey still? To prevent players taking liberties with other players because they are all wielding sticks?
I saw Bennett give Suter some real hard cross checks after the whistle when he was skating in Gaudreau's spot on the top line. Not sure if that was because Suter was the one who broke Johnny's finger but I did see it happen.
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I agree we need to send a message, tell Wideman to run another ref!
Or strap some skates on CaptainCrunch and give him a push in the offending players direction.
Spoiler!
__________________ "In brightest day, in blackest night / No evil shall escape my sight / Let those who worship evil's might / Beware my power, Green Lantern's light!"
NHL refs follow a dumb jock hierarchy with this stuff. Cheap shot a well-established veteran and it's called. Younger players? You gotta pay your dues, kid.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by fotze
If this day gets you riled up, you obviously aren't numb to the disappointment yet to be a real fan.
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This I will be fully disappointed if Staal and Suter aren't forced into scraps (or get pummeled if they turtle) the next time we play.
You're letting them off easy... unless there is a suspension I will be fully disappointed if both Staal and Suter are able to leave the ice under their own power. If the NHL does nothing I would not be upset if Keegan Kanzig is called up and something 'accidentally' happens to Suter/Staal's knee.
It seems weird that gloves wouldn't protect your fingers against a slash. I wonder how it got him. Wrists with the shorter gloves guys wear, I could see.
They protect the back of the hand just fine usually since your palm will distribute the force, but a slash to a brittle finger will compress the finger into the sharp edge of the stick if hit awkwardly. The three big slashes I saw last night were all on the fingers, not on the back of his hand. Even some players add an extra layer to the back of their hand for extra protection.
__________________ "I think the eye test is still good, but analytics can sure give you confirmation: what you see...is that what you really believe?" Scotty Bowman, 0 NHL games played
This is what happens when the league neuters the game and effectively removes self-policing and with it any accountability for actions on the ice. Guys have free range to hack and slash star players night in and night out.
Two things need to happen.
1) The NHL needs to crack down on the blatant targeting of star players and protect them by enforcing the RULES. Yes, I'd even want McDavid protected fairly if it was happening to him too.
It isn't special treatment, it's simply officiating the game the way it is dictated in the rule book. As you can see, when refs ignore it repeatedly, it results in players missing time with injuries. I'm sure this isn't exclusive to Gaudreau either, and he has the extra misfortune of being too small to do much back. Now the Flames, and by extension the league, have a huge financial draw missing time and undoubtedly costing both money to some extent. The NHL is icing a product, why would you not ensure the safety of your top commodities?
2) The Flames can't wait around for #1 to start happening. It's embarrassing the amount of **** other teams get away with against our top players. Engelland, Ferland, Bouma, Hathaway, and quite frankly everyone, need to hold other teams accountable when this **** is happening. Return the favour twice as hard and start targeting their top players too. I don't care if it costs us penalties. Look at it as an investment for the future. The general apathy this team displays *most* of the time in situations like this is such a head scratcher.
Now this might be an unpopular opinion, but the other variable in all of this is that Johnny, partially due to his own fault (because as a lot of these slashes show, those are serious hacks), has become known as a bit of a whiner. I'd personally like to see him cut down on the b----ing to the refs. I noticed it beginning last year, and there's been times this year where i've yelled at the TV for him to just shut up and bite his tongue. Of course, you can't fault him after slashes and games like last night, but there's other times he should remain more composed. I have no doubt he will mature and grow out of it, but it's hurting his case a bit in the present.
The Organization needs to be his voice right now and make some noise about these incidents. It's absolutely unacceptable that this has lead to surgery and time missed when it was completely avoidable.
This I will be fully disappointed if Staal and Suter aren't forced into scraps (or get pummeled if they turtle) the next time we play.
Season's over anyways, time to start setting the stage for what is and isn't acceptable moving forward.
They need to break their noses or wrists/fingers with slashes. Pathetic. I hope Brian Burke goes down and challenges Bettman to a fight behind the bard.
