Waste I understand your points, but I don't agree on the hit. Rome could have avoided the hit but instead he saw a chance to send a message, so he took it. I realize hockey is a contact sport, but when one player starts being a head hunter then things have to change. A player has to have respect for his fellow players and I don't think Rome did in this instance. As for the NHL treating stars differently I disagree. Is a high stick delivered by a Sidney Crosby less harmful than one delivered by Darcy Tucker? I think you have to enforce the rules evenly or they don't mean anything. Do you get ticked when a cop goes flying by you and he's on his cell phone? I know I get ticked when I see that. Rules have to be applied evenly or they become meaningless. Rules that were enforced for 82 games now become extinct because we are in a 7 game series??? I know of no sport that does that. In baseball a strike in the regular season is still as strike in the World Series. That mentality of changing the rules for different situations doesn't make sense and it is part of the reason the NHL is the fourth major sport.
Okay so now all of Boston is in an uproar over Luongo's comments that he would have stopped the winning goal in Game 5. I would agree that he probably would have stopped that shot and maybe allowed a few goals that Thomas stopped. I don't see where eveyone is getting all excited with Luongo's comment. He never said he was a better goalie, he just said that because of his style he would have stopped that shot.
I agree that Rome could of avoided the hit, but the smart play is to almost always finish your hit and take the player out of the play when defending your zone. If you watch the video, he didn't charge, he didn't raise the elbow to ear level, his skates didn't come off the ice, the hit was from the front. I don't believe there was an intent to injure, but there was a message - don't cross my blue line As far as treating players differently, I also agree that a strike is a strike, and an offside is an offside and tripping is tripping. Where I disagree is when it comes time for additional disciplinary action. I agree with the concept of having a committee to deal with individual infractions on an individual basis, versus having a published rule book dictating standard sentences, enabling a judgement based on several factors including measuring intent, motive, player history, remaining schedule, impact of judgement... what I don't agree with is who's on the committee The reason for the committee/body is to insure that the punishment somewhat reflects the crime, but mainly to protect the league's interests. As such, the committee/body is made up of league executives - not coaches, players or player union reps. Benching Crosby for half a season would kill a lot of revenue. Suspending him for a full series could most likely have a major effect on the outcome of that series, which is also bad for business. Hit them where it hurts while protecting the league's interest - fine the player and the team. A $8M+/year might not mind paying a fine, but issuing an extravagant fine to the team as well will almost always make sure the issue is addressed, and sends a message throughout the league to all star players, as it affects the coaches and GMs. If it's a 4th line boxer, that's where the league can send a message. Every team has them, some team's have too many while others could use a few more, but they are expendable. It's up to these players to manage how they do their jobs without crossing the line, or they will sit out for a season and not get paid. I'm also not arguing that an intentional intent to injure is worth less in the playoffs than the regular season. It is a serious issue and needs to be removed from the game completely. My point was that a season game is not, and should not be considered, as an equal to series a game. The hit was late, no question... was there intent? watch where you're skating... don't cross a blue line with your head down when you've just had the puck... was it the hit or the landing? It's all debatable and the NHL is getting caught up in the politically correct coddle era, with two very distinctive camps - on one side the camp that thinks the rules need to be changed to baby the players and on the other side where the players know the rules before they sign with the NHL... either play by them or join another league (can you tell which camp I'm in ) Have you noticed how this comes up more and more? In my opinion, the league is at fault and needs to take action. The fines and suspensions address the outcome, but do not solve the problem. The league can keep penalizing players and teams at a growing rate for border line hits. The league can keep increasing the suspensions and fines for on the fence calls wrt intent to injure. My opinion is that the increases are to over compensate for their inadequacies. I think the league is at fault for the outcome of what happened to Horton and many other players. Even though it was a player that caused the injury, I think the league is responsible. As more and more of what use to be padding turns into body armor, more and more players are getting injured and more severely. If the league addressed this one issue and banned body armor, they could spend a lot less time trying to defend sentencing on questionable calls based on outcome and focus more of their time dealing with unquestionable calls based on motive.
Waste, I have to agree with almost everything you said. You have some very valid points. I do disagree with anyone consulting another GM on a discipline issue. That was not only wrong, but dumb. I've always been a proponent of finishing a check but I think that a major part of the problem was the size differential between Rome and Horton which resulted Horton taking the shoulder hit into the head. The shoulder, of course, was encased in the same body armor you referred to. Good Points, Waste.
No place for body armor in hockey. Much worse than the huge goalie pads that were banned a decade or so ago.
Congrats to the Bruins. It was a great series and one that held a lot of interest for hockey fans everywhere. Both teams deserve a huge congrats for such a great series. There is one thing that I don't know if I'll ever understand. Why does Gary Bettman insist on being the one to hand out the Cup when he is so roundly booed every place he goes? That guy has got to be one of the most reviled figures in sports, yet he insists on being in front of the cameras and the fans evey chance he gets.
Great series!! The outmanned Bruins found a way, in the end. I like the last 2 games where, in game 6 TimTom shoots a puck in Vancouver's goal before the game starts and then in game 7, Horton squirts a bottle of melted ice from the Bruin's home ice onto Vancouver's ice, thus making it "their home ice". Stories like that crack me up and really add legend and lore to the game.
Hockey players are notorious for their superstitions. My son would always have to have us drive through the same intersection to get his lucky taps before a game. Even if he had a terrible game he still had to go through that intersection for his "lucky taps."
