Author Topic: New NHL, excuse my rant but I have had enough! (Read 5696 times)

Swede · « **on:** Feb 18, 2006, 02:25 PM »

My lust for the game has waned out. How we Europeanized our game is a disgrace. It is no longer North American hockey. At least not in my biased book. To listen to some people, one is lead to believe that before the rules were changed/hockey changed that there was never any great goals, skilled players, moves, moments in the sport. We know that is a load of BS. News flash- the greatest goals and showings of stick handling skills did not just happen. Those feats happened under and with the old real hockey system. The way things are going, and if you just want goals, than to he ll with it, just line up the players and have shoot outs. Why can we not be satisfied amongst hockey fans unless we have the sport at the top in America? Which is basically a non starter as hockey will not reach football levels. Like the hockey explosion of the 70s, teams are ripe for folding today. Lets look at the trend, the more hockey tries to be one of the top sports in America, the softer the game becomes. Logic leads that we are on the path to banning fights, and virtually eliminating grit in front of the net and grinding in the corners. We have lost North American hockey as far as the NHL. If I want to see that hockey system in practice, I will walk down the street to see a game. Sweden

fishnut · « **Reply #1 on:** Feb 18, 2006, 02:41 PM »

If your refferring to the game this mourning, I don't blame ya. Canada just lost to a team with 2 NHL'rs. That was horrible!

Swede · « **Reply #2 on:** Feb 18, 2006, 02:57 PM »

I guess it has just reached a boiling point. Hockey was my whole life for long time. I have tried to be modern and adapt to the new and all, but there has to be a line somewhere. NO pun intended.

bassman79 · « **Reply #3 on:** Feb 18, 2006, 03:36 PM »

i went to a fight once and a hockey game broke out!!!!bassman79

Grimace · « **Reply #4 on:** Feb 18, 2006, 06:58 PM »

I hate the clutching and grabbing from inferior players because they cant skate with the big boys, expansion has weakened the game. with less teams the talent pool goes up. but crash and bang hockey players with good hands are being penalized for good hits and that is a shame as the grit of the nhl is gone.

grumpymoe · « **Reply #5 on:** Feb 18, 2006, 07:10 PM »

skill and entertainment went out the window about 20-30 yrs ago....there was always the intimidation factor when the Broad Street Bullies came to town.....Clark and his win and count the dead later attitude......Sittler, McDonald and Thompson for the Leafs......Cournoyer, LaFleur, and Savard for the Habs....Perreault of the Sabres......the list goes on an on.....the coach who started the TRAP brings us to where rules have changed.......lets face it....its now about Entertainment......not hing more...nothing less......sure would be nice to go back to the days of seeing Salming working his wonders......alongside Turnbull...........and my alltime favourite seive goaltender for the Leafs.......Grimace... ..lets turn the clock back afew years and go fishing....the heck with hockey.....Grump

Grimace · « **Reply #6 on:** Feb 18, 2006, 07:52 PM »

sounds like a plan grump

I only got to see some of those players in there older years and even then you got the feeling of what they had done by there presence on the ice..

grumpymoe · « **Reply #7 on:** Feb 18, 2006, 08:05 PM »

Done Deal.......get your neck Craned!!! lmao.....and get your butt out here for March 11-18th....TGF gets out here then......gonna get some entrails for snacking on.....Grump

bushbunny · « **Reply #8 on:** Feb 18, 2006, 09:13 PM »

Perhaps you have forgotten the Oilers with Gretzky, Messier, Coffey, Fuhr, Anderson, Lowe, and the rest of the "boys at the back of the bus." The greatest NHL team ever assembled, including the Habs of the '50's. They skated like turpentined cats, handled the puck like it was taped to their sticks, and scored goals almost at will, all coming from a most talented bunch of kids in their early to mid '20's, that jelled as a team!!! Dave Semenko, probably the best enforcer ever in the league, kept the rest of them honest while protecting Gretzky.

Messier was a madman, putting lumps on heads quicker than the recipient of those lumps could rub them, and then score a goal!!! I used to go to each and every game to watch the spectacle. Right now, Joe Sakic is probably the most complete player in the league, not to mention the most low key of the elite.

fishnut · « **Reply #9 on:** Feb 19, 2006, 12:55 AM »

I think the most complete player is either Joe Thornton, Alexander Ovechkin or Peter Foresberg. Just my opinion.

reelbigfish · « **Reply #10 on:** Feb 19, 2006, 07:57 AM »

When I was a kid I used to love to watch Gordy Howe. Now all the talent is in
Hockeytown (home of the Redwings). You Canadians dominated the sport so long
that no one else had a chance to win a Stanley Cup. I agree about the gorillas they
put on iceskates nowadays. As long as they don't get rid of the octopus I'm happy.

Ted

Chucker · « **Reply #11 on:** Feb 19, 2006, 08:04 AM »

No gripes with the league here. Just dump the instigator rule, and it'd be perfect!

Grimace · « **Reply #12 on:** Feb 19, 2006, 08:23 AM »

I dont mind the gorillas that can skate and have good hands. Its the ones that cant skate or play defence that skate around with one hand on there stick that bother me, the league is trying to cut down on them and it should but they are calling clean hits sometimes and that is tragic.

Shanahan, Bertuzzi, Tkachuck, Thornton, gorillas like that we can keep. these ones actually hit and hit hard. but most gorillas in the league cant skate so in turn they cant hit.

Swede · « **Reply #13 on:** Feb 19, 2006, 09:13 AM »

Calling clean hits is tragic. I think it would be good for the game if a Canadian team won the cup. Too many teams want to just buy a cup instead of earning one. I read today that Pitsburg has just a couple of months to straighten out their problems or the team will move, Kansas City and Seattle are shopping. I also think it is too easy to get into the playoffs. That is a business decision not a hockey one.

fishnut · « **Reply #14 on:** Feb 19, 2006, 12:59 PM »

Too easy to get into the playoffs?

Half the teams don't even make the playoffs! I think they should go from the top 8 to the top 12 in each conference make the playoffs and have the top 4 teams in each conference get a bye into the next round. Just my 2 cents.

With 32 teams, The NFL should at least go from 12 to 16.

And among the teams that want to get the penguins is Winnipig. Now that they have a new arena in place they could easily afford it.

scott14580 · « **Reply #15 on:** Feb 19, 2006, 04:13 PM »

Hockey purist's hate the new rules but the sport was taking a slow death. I am a purist but I do realize they needed to do something to get the marginal fan hooked. It seems to be somewhat working. Having the games on oln isn't helping to show the new hockey right now. It needs to be back on espn.

reelbigfish · « **Reply #16 on:** Feb 19, 2006, 04:33 PM »

Swede,
That was a great Olympic hockey game today. Until the Olympics come around
I lose sight of just how many truly great players are Swedish. You need to head
to the tavern and find a nice blue eyed blond Swedish swimsuit model to celebrate
with.

Ted

Swede · « **Reply #17 on:** Feb 19, 2006, 05:26 PM »

Not a bad idea, me and the wife have our little hockey wars. She won today darn-it. Small town where I live is where Forsberg (Foppa) comes from. Hes the god here. I never really cared for em myself. Just cant say that outloud here. Its been awhile since the Americans treated the Olympics other than a light vacation from the NHL. Meeting up for the first time as a team a couple of hours before the first game, come on, thats not serious. I would rather watch minor leaguers busting their b lls than the NHLs showing up and going for a Sunday skate. The only time they turned it on is when the panic button got pushed. A little too little and a little too late.

Grimace · « **Reply #18 on:** Feb 19, 2006, 05:38 PM »

I found the team usa juniors did the same after christmas there, and with a good hard nosed coach. they floated away and didnt play with any urgency, till of course it was to late in the games

Team Canada is floating and not finding any chemistry. no excuse for that. god gave them all the talent why dont they try. trying to be to fancy!!!!

Dump the puck chase to puck, forcheck, grind the defence. shots on goal rebounds, when the fancy stuff doesnt work you got to grind....

I guess they are trying, I dont know what to say.

fishnut · « **Reply #19 on:** Feb 19, 2006, 05:59 PM »

If they had Spezza, Crosby and Staal instead of Draper, Doan and Smyth, I think they might be a slightly better team.

Swede · « **Reply #20 on:** Feb 19, 2006, 06:00 PM »

I agree on that. If Canada was forechecking no other team would have a chance against them. Looks like their afraid of getting caught too deep. He knows a lot more than me, but, if I was coaching I would at least use one line to forecheck the living daylights out of em. There needs to be a checking line to deliver a little wear and tear. Then all those fancy pants can come in and take all the credit.

HomerJay · « **Reply #21 on:** Feb 20, 2006, 09:40 PM »

Am i the only one who loves the new rules. The trap was the worst thing ever for hockey. They were the most boring games to watch. The only downfall is it is going to ruin stats b/c there will be more goals and the goalies will have higher gga. I think it is the same game just with more room for the skill players to work and entertain. Isnt that the whole reason for sports, to entertain the public.

Bluefinforme · « **Reply #22 on:** Feb 21, 2006, 07:00 AM »

the Junior level is the League to watch.....3-5 fights a game....and a lot of scoring

abbeys shanty · « **Reply #23 on:** Feb 21, 2006, 08:11 AM »

I think it has changed for the worse. I no longer go to any games, way to much money, and I am not interested in watching what I like to call the National Penalty League. Makes the game boring!! Where are all the good checks, fights, ect. No more. BORING!!!

Swede · « **Reply #24 on:** Feb 21, 2006, 08:32 AM »

And don't forgot the awkward pauses to accommodate TV commercials, disrupting the flow of the game. Every year now is some drastic change, a lot of people might be satisfied if they could just settle on something. I am not saying it should be like the WWF or anything like that, but a good fair scrap is a part of the game. Back when the men could police themselves a little without the continuous whistles and penalties.

I was thinking back today on ole Lanny McDonald up in Calgary. Man , what a cool character. Didn't he start and end his career with the flames? Atlanta then on to Calgary? Remember when he scored in the Stanley Cup game! I had that game on tape but lost it during a move.

adipose · « **Reply #25 on:** Feb 21, 2006, 09:52 AM »

I do not watch hockey anymore and have my own reasons.i do however have a stupid question.how is it legal that two hockey players can square of and smack each other in the head in a hockey game (NHL or not) yet if i wanted to square off with a fellow in public we would both be charged with something.Or a bench clearing brawl.......if we had a bar brawl we would all be in jail.....why not in hockey??what makes hockey so legal to do such acts and not be charged.....except Todd Bertuzzi of coarse.

Swede · « **Reply #26 on:** Feb 21, 2006, 10:30 AM »

Well, Bertuzzi is a little mental in the first place.

Why can race car drivers drive over a hundred mph and not get a speeding ticket. Boxers are fighting as the sole purpose of the sport, Football players crack heads, curling players...

But you get my point? It is in the realm of "sport". The actions are a part of the venue. Where do some actions cross the line. Thats open for argument. Somewhere a boxer dies a bout every couple of years. Should the guy who slugged him get the chair? No, and their is no charges whatsoever, why, cause it was in the realm of a sport accepted by society.

lake snake · « **Reply #27 on:** Feb 21, 2006, 12:33 PM »

Gary Bettman is a dope. My 2 problems with NHL are simple. Letting the Canadien teams like Winnepeg and Quebec close shop and move to the U.S. was stupid. I know the Canadien dollar is stronger now than it was than, but the league should have stepped up to the plate and helped keep the teams in Canada. Other than Montreal and Toronto, I don't think the league gives a rats ass if any team stays in Canada.And putting teams in citys that DO NOT deserve teams( Tampa Bay, Florida, Atlanta, Columbus , Phoenix, Anahiem) is a joke. Those are some real hockey hotbeds that now have teams. Didn't Atlanta lose a team before because no one went to the games. Might as well give them another team. Should of put a team back in Quebec or Winnepeg before Atlanta. Stop expanding, the league is so diluted now the product stinks.Hope some day the people of Winnepeg and Quebec get a team back. Get rid of all the teams above and help the teams in Canada stay where they belong. Hockey is Canadas game,it's their national sport and they LOVE it.Teams and fans from the great white north are vital to the health of the NHL. Now for my other beef. Get rid of the Europeans. Sure they are talented, but play a very dirty style of hockey. Fighting is banned in international hockey, so they use their sticks as weapons. Players like Ulf Sammuelson and Darious Kasparitious are nothing but thugs. They slash, spear, hit from behind and go for your knees all game long. When time comes for payback, they turtle like card carrying members of the National Orginazation of Woman. And they wear visors. If the NHL insist on having European players in the league, outlaw the visor. The stick work will go down, they will think twice about playing that style of game. I just miss the time when men were men, and problems were solved with a fistfight, rather than a two handed slash across a players wrist. And put some hitting back in the game, it's to much of a finesse game now. JMO

vancouvercanuck · « **Reply #28 on:** Feb 21, 2006, 12:37 PM »

Quote from: Swede on Feb 21, 2006, 10:30 AM

Well, Bertuzzi is a little mental in the first place.

hehehe, I'll agree. Still the best damn hockey player that ever lived tho.................

kirkwooders · « **Reply #29 on:** Feb 21, 2006, 01:40 PM »

I, too, love the new rules! Of course I'm a Sabers fan and the new rules have been a life saver for the team.

The speed at which the game is played now will have a devastating affect on the old timers that still remain. Skaters like Max Afinagainov, Derick Roy, and Chris Durry make fools out of most of the players that were so-so before the strike and the players that were upper crust can barely keep up. The cup isn't going to Canada this year gents, it'll be in Buffalo if your looking for it.

As for the Olympics, they went to hell when the pros were allowed to play.

Just my $.02.
Dave

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Author Topic: New NHL, excuse my rant but I have had enough! (Read 5696 times)

grumpymoe

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