dobbles

I am a big fan of tootoo and didn't like seeing him sit in the first round while the 4th line was getting outplayed by a mile. however, since miller came back a couple games ago, i think the 4th line has looked solid. i wouldn't mess with it right now. it went from being a liability in the first round to being a contributor in the last couple games.

if theres injuries or someone has to move up a line, i would love to see tootoo back in, especially before bert or sammy, but unless the line goes super cold in the next couple games, i think hes s.o.l.

True, "it was an accident" isn't a good argument against a penalty, but that doesn't make it a good rule. Not every rule violation has to be a penalty. Imagine if they made icing a penalty, or a hand-pass, or offsides, or shooting the puck out of play in the offensive zone...

 

Back when this used to only apply to the goalie, I don't recall any notable issues with players flipping the puck out of play all the time. Nor do there seem to be any problems in leagues that don't have this rule. This rule needs to go.

and thats exactly why i am on the fence personally. when i think about the number of times a game a team ices the puck intentionally just to relieve the pressure, it seems like its only a few times. so im not sure it would incite an epidemic of puck over glass incidents.

i just hate when the argument centers around the 'i didn't do it on purpose' angle. and thats all pierre ever talks about on those national broadcasts. and it negatively influences the ability to have a legit discussion on the issue.

i saw a good post in a gdt thread on this topic the other day, and it was replying to pierre whining about this issue. pierre said its a stupid rule because no one ever intentionally clears it over the glass anymore and the post replied that the reason no one intentionally does it now is because of the rule.

im not crazy about the penalty myself, but the constant whining about how its just an accident when it happens is total b.s. most penalties are accidents. when do you see someone purposely high stick someone in the face for a 4 minute penalty? its always a missed stick lift or something that causes a high stick;an accident. same with slashing. like a player goes in and says to himself 'im going to break this guys stick in half and take a penalty'... once again, the player is attempting a clean play and through bad luck, a penalty occurs.

most penalties are accidental. players dont go around trying to put their team shorthanded. these rules are there to keep players responsible for their actions on the ice. just as its the players responsibility to keep his elbows down when hitting, just as its a players responsibility to keep his stick down, its also a players responsibility not to clear the puck out of play. is that too much to ask?

 

Well you certainly can go on critiziing him all you want if it makes you feel better.

well thats kind of the point of a discussion board isnt it???

this thread has now killed any legitimate attempt for rational fans to be displeased with smiths poor play.

roughly everyone that has been on smiths case lately does NOT want him traded. most people just want him sat so he can learn a lesson and stop hurting the team with boneheaded plays.

however, now everyone on the smith bandwagon will instantly turn to this thread and make the generalization that anyone that critiques smith is a moron.

let me say this though, he made at least half a dozen mistakes in these first 2 games that are worthy of a weeks worth of bag skates. scoring a goal from 10 feet away into a wide open net thanks to the strong play of linemates does NOT redeem someone from all those mistakes. additionally, smith has been bad in his own end all year .

many of you keep saying how absurd it is to rag on smith because hes a rookie. however you are all just as guilty of lumping anyone that is down on smith as the irrational reactionary type of fan when many of us have legitimate gripes about his play.