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And I suggest that removing the instigator would create additional problems that would nullify any potential benefit. There's a reason civilized nations outlaw vigilante justice; It doesn't work. Your point on the penalties illustrates to some degree my point. Though instead of dirty plays, think hooks, trips, and holds and such. A player gets beat, they will often hook or hold to prevent a scoring opportunity. The penalty is thought to be less severe than allowing the scoring chance. They may even not get called. The benefit outweighs the risk. You're saying basically that the benefit of starting a fight after a dirty hit does not outweigh the risk of an instigator penalty. You're saying you would rather allow a potentially preventable injury to a teammate than spend 12 extra minutes in the penalty box. Conclusion: The benefit of starting a fight can not be very high. As for ignoring someone...it's not that hard. First, there's no guarantee any enforcer will be on the ice, nor in the immediate viscinity. Even if they do catch you, it's not that hard to turtle up and protect yourself from injury. In that case, it is the aggressor rule, not the instigator, that protects the one getting beat. And there is no chance in hell the aggressor rule will ever be removed. The league will never, ever allow unmitigated beatings of defenseless players, 'deserved' or not. The legal repercussions would be far too severe. You're making a lot of assumptions. Admittedly, I don't remember alot of specifics from the 80s, but there were certainly cheap shots back then. The game wasn't as fast, nor the players as big. I think that is more to o blame for the lack of respect. Players just aren't as aware as they should be of what kind of damage they can do. Even now, cheap shots like this Cooke hit aren't exactly common. Tough, consistent discipline from league authority would be enough to raise awareness, without any potential drawbacks. As for future retaliation against Cooke, this is where I see these arguments lose all logic. You're actually suggesting that the fairly minor punishment for instigating prevented the Bruins from responding, but you wouldn't be surprised to see them do so in the future, in a game likely under heavy scrutiny, after likely being warned, wherein the penalties will likely be far more severe. .... I swear, it's like all you instigator opponents were raised by hippies. Like you have this idea that violence is wrong, so you need to justify your desire to see more of it by trying to argue that it's a necessary evil. As though players are in mortal peril every time they step on the ice, and they must be allowed to fight for their lives. Football is every bit as physical and violent as hockey, with just as much opportunity for cheap shots and dirty play, yet it has thrived for more than 100 years without fighting. I would say, if anything, players in the NFL have a greater degree of respect for both the rules and their fellow players than players in the NHL display, despite the lesser ability to 'police' themselves. Fighting is obviously not necessary. But it's OK to like it, and want to see more of it. It's not barbaric. Two willing participants competing. Nothing wrong with it. Stop acting like we need it and just embrace it as an entertaining aspect of the game.

Understood. I think more/less he's probably talked about over the past year or whatever since he got released by Detroit that he wants to play in the NHL again if he could. So... As hard as it could be to watch him these last few years he's still got some game to play in the NHL and he's just an absurd freak of nature when it comes to workout regimine, so I don't blame him for trying to play at the highest level as long as he can as long as his conditioning/stamina can hold up.

We're all selfish by default, that's natural. I don't see him being any more selfish that looks like he's abandoning family or friends or whatever. If you do something you love doing, keep doing it for as long as you can I always say. Of course he has family and other things to consider, but it probably helps that his sons are probably fairly grown up now that they are probably understanding they should try to find something to make a living at and enjoy doing as well for as long as possible.

Not sure who has seen this, but I thought it was funny: Bruins Commercial

Anyone else think Eaves deserves a shot on an actual scoring line? I'd love to see him with Hank or Dats, just to try it.

Couple of great plays by Hank.

The puck is bouncing like it's made out of rubber.

Woohoo!!!!!!!!!!! Okay, I kind of feel bad for Ryan Miller now... I want to win, but I like him too much to want him to get lit up like this haha

Its just mindfly, worlds biggest pessimist.

Maybe you should be grateful that you get anything at all, instead of acting like it's your right to have a wallpaper every month. Wallpaper is not important. You're not going to die in the next 4 minutes if you don't have one. I swear, this is the kind of attitude I expect from a 4-year old, not a grown adult man.

Maybe make your own, or stop complaining.

lol lilja4mvp is even more pessimistic than me

A lot rules/shortcuts/suspensions or whatever probably has to do with player reputations unforutantely. Sean Avery with his past antics... Tomas Holmstrom gets called for a lot of phantom/b.s. interference calls... Something bad happens to Sidney Crosby, a massive suspension will probably happen to the person who hit him... Etc. I love watching hockey and always will love to watch it, but the subjectivity of all these kinds of things is just such a joke, it's embarassing. It needs to be as close to black/white as possible, no grey area.

Jail is a bit extreme regarding this stuff. It's not assult in a criminal sense.

It will be available later today.

I approve that jersey!

There's no doubt Lids is out of his prime, but even out of his prime he's still one of the best, if not the best, defensemen in the game. Like I said in another topic, if I had to pick one player to build a team around for 1 year or for a playoff run today, Lidstrom would be my first pick. People realize how good Nick is, certainly, but I think very few really appreciate how truly sublime his defense is. The little things he does so effortlessly often go unnoticed.

Both of these. Primeau is/was a s***head. Also, my aforementioned love for Paul Coffey as a youngster made me hate Primeau that much more. In my eyes, it was always Primeau's fault that Coffey went with him. We did get Shanny out of the deal, though, so we can thank Primeau for that.

My 5 favorite Wings: 1- Steve Yzerman 2- Nick Lidstrom 3- Sergei Federov 4- Brendan Shanahan 5- Hasek !!!

1. Fedorov 2. Yzerman 3. Shanahan 4. Hasek 5. Ciccarelli 6. Konstantinov 7. McCarty 8. Probert 9. Coffey 10. Larionov

1. Yzerman 2. Shanahan 3. Zetterberg 4. Lidstrom 5. Datsyuk 6. McCarty 7. Fedorov 8. Kronwall 9. Konstantinov 10. Helm For a good number of years, #91 was at the top slot but gradually worked his way down. Can't deny those years watching him as a kid and loving it.

1. Yzerman 2. Lidstrom 3. Datsyuk 4. Hasek 5. Osgood 6. McCarty 7. Shanahan 8. Holmstrom 9. Franzen 10.Zetterberg

1. Brett Lebda 2. Kris Newberry 3. Ville Leino 4. Jason Williams 5. Robert Lang 6. Tomas Kopecky 7. Boyd Devereuex 8. Sean Avery 9. Mathieu Dandenault 10. Derek Meech

This obviously excludes legends that I never had any chance to see play due to age constraints: 1) Yzerman, the reason I started to follow hockey in the first place, a truly great hockey player and more importantly a great human being. 2) McCarty, guy played with so much passion and grit, how can you not like him, he bled and drew blood for his team like no other. 3) Lidstrom, excellence personified, I can count on one hand the number of times I saw him make a bad or questionsble play. 4) Shanahan, I was so pumped when we traded Primeau's sorry hide for him, and he did not disappoint one bit. 5) Datsyuk, an absolute magician, if they ever thought of renaimg trophies they should rename the Selke after him. 6) Konstantinov, what a force he was, tragically cut short in his prime, is symbolic of the values of the Ilitch family and the Red Wings organization. 7) Zetterberg, arguably the hardest working player of his generation, nobody thought he could be this good (except maybe Hakan Andersson) 8) Filppula, probably will get flamed for this, but he is my favorite current Red Wing for reasons I will gladly explain but should not have to justify, can't leave him off my list 9) Kozlov, tough little guy, clutch in the playoffs, and my favorite image from the Avs rivalry after the Turtle is Kozzie sidestepping Foote and slamming his ugly mug into the glass 10) Osgood, one of the most underrated goalies IMO, all he has done is win 3 Stanley Cups, 2 as a starter, 389 wins, 74 playoff wins, and all he gets is criticism and second-guessing. Honorable mentions to: Larionov, Lapointe, Doug Brown

He bashes everyone. So you're probably not wrong.