Brule crushes Letang

[Doc Holliday 1,888]

I dunno about you but when I see a Red Wings game, I think to myself.. "I went to a fight and a hockey game broke out".

Physical play, which is prominent in hockey, is a far cry from going out of your way to hurt somebody. That creed is an extended golden rule, those who wouldn't make such a hit, and those who aren't dumb enough to put themselves in such a vulnerable position to be hit like that. It is partially thanks to this creed as to why Nick Lidstrom has had such a long and prosperous career. Indeed that does inform us that there's some degree of respect left. On the other hand, if one looks at what happened to Steve Moore (prominent discussion here), and Pacioretty, they did things on the ice to incite this sort of behavior. Certainly this has happened before, however, this is becoming far more widespread since dirty players tend to have little physical repercussions to face for their actions, instead a little slap on the wrist suspension and a fine. While the NHL focuses on "dangerous hits", it misses out completely on the source of them and why they occurred. The answer isn't.. oh, it's hockey.

Honestly, you show an instance of lack of respect from this era and you can find another just as bad from the past.

MaGuire on Yzerman and the run at the Detroit goaltender (I wasn't alive during this era, sue me)

The issue now is the focus on muscle growth, the increasing size of players, the speed of the game, and the current padding (even if softer it still is much harder than it was back when Howe or Yzerman played in their heyday. Hell, look at how much the research on head injuries has changed since the 90s.

[Guest Shoreline]

Honestly, you show an instance of lack of respect from this era and you can find another just as bad from the past.

This has been addressed already.

What I think should be addressed is the lack of respect for other players. Clearly this has declined league wide, even though it has always existed, to a smaller degree.

MaGuire on Yzerman and the run at the Detroit goaltender (I wasn't alive during this era, sue me)

The issue now is the focus on muscle growth, the increasing size of players, the speed of the game, and the current padding (even if softer it still is much harder than it was back when Howe or Yzerman played in their heyday. Hell, look at how much the research on head injuries has changed since the 90s.

I actually deleted a response that included Maguire in my previous post because it would emphasize how badly Probert would be punished today had he sucker punched Maguire. Now, why that got so much attention was because Yzerman was not a dirty player, nor was he head-hunted. This is why he was given respect more often than not, and when he didn't get that kind of respect, well.. look at the reaction it caused.

Now, I've been more than vocal to call out a player who got crushed from a hit because he was looking the wrong way, but legal vs illegal has nothing much to do with respect. One could say that players had little respect for the rules of hockey when hooking, holding, and so on was quite prominent due to the NHL not enforcing their rules. There was the cause, there was the effect. Players having less respect for each other on the ice league wide is resulting on significantly more injuries, especially to the head.

Now, strangely, I've played hockey, I've played football, yet I'm smart enough to know when to let up on someone else, when to finish a hit. I also know that if I see someone who either has threw a dirty hit or is likely to, I'm going to be more apt to f*** them up with a hit. That is respect, and this is what is lacking in the NHL today, something echoed quite frequently by players in the NHL as well. The league actually saying "these are bad, we suspend" is not honestly confronting the actual problem which is not much (albeit I can respect that it might have some impact) to do with speed, but respect.

Edited March 21, 2011 by Shoreline

[Doc Holliday 1,888]

I actually deleted a response that included Maguire in my previous post because it would emphasize how badly Probert would be punished today had he sucker punched Maguire. Now, why that got so much attention was because Yzerman was not a dirty player, nor was he head-hunted. This is why he was given respect more often than not, and when he didn't get that kind of respect, well.. look at the reaction it caused.

Doesn't matter. Maguire went after Yzerman knowing Probert would be on him. A Wings goaltender was deliberately run despite the instigator not being in place.

Now, I've been more than vocal to call out a player who got crushed from a hit because he was looking the wrong way, but legal vs illegal has nothing much to do with respect. One could say that players had little respect for the rules of hockey when hooking, holding, and so on was quite prominent due to the NHL not enforcing their rules. There was the cause, there was the effect. Players having less respect for each other on the ice league wide is resulting on significantly more injuries, especially to the head.

You ignored the factors I added. You just made a conclusion out of the blue.

Now, strangely, I've played hockey, I've played football, yet I'm smart enough to know when to let up on someone else, when to finish a hit. I also know that if I see someone who either has threw a dirty hit or is likely to, I'm going to be more apt to f*** them up with a hit. That is respect, and this is what is lacking in the NHL today, something echoed quite frequently by players in the NHL as well. The league actually saying "these are bad, we suspend" is not honestly confronting the actual problem which is not much (albeit I can respect that it might have some impact) to do with speed, but respect.

Your personal experience has no bearing on sports at the professional level. Neither does mine. What matters is what has changed compared to years past and how those things relate. It isn't just "oh they don't respect each other anymore." Howe and Messier to my best knowledge did some pretty terrible things. Did they do it out of respect for their opponent?

[Guest Shoreline]

Doesn't matter. Maguire went after Yzerman knowing Probert would be on him. A Wings goaltender was deliberately run despite the instigator not being in place.

You ignored the factors I added. You just made a conclusion out of the blue.

Your personal experience has no bearing on sports at the professional level. Neither does mine. What matters is what has changed compared to years past and how those things relate. It isn't just "oh they don't respect each other anymore." Howe and Messier to my best knowledge did some pretty terrible things. Did they do it out of respect for their opponent?

One or two events is not really a rebuttal because I'm not insinuating the league was a gentleman's game where disrespect did not occur, yet despite efforts of adding that this did happen before, I find myself responding to that very extreme. Going in circles..