April 12th, 2012 at 12:48 PM ^
This is an example of why I think the NHL is a shitty league. Why do guys feel the urge promote their "tough guy" persona? College hockey is high quality and entertaining w/o these shenanigans. The NHL= Garbage.
College hockey isn't near the high qualtiy as the NHL
Because college hockey is not the main option for young players like it is in basketball or football. Also, hockey is a more international game.
There are all these factors, and then you run into the fact that, while a college football team can run schemes that look like the Patroits, or a basketball team can run plays that look like the Lakers, it's almost impossible to replicate NHL-style play without NHL caliber players (not to say that any college team could install an NFL WCO playbook, only that you can dumb down the offense and get the same feel, whereas Red will not be running much of anything that Babcock can run).
Like the guy below says, the passing and timing in the NHL are both light years beyond college, and that's more noticeable than, say, football, because it's such a back and forth sport. I would venture to say that soccer and lacrosse have the same gap hockey does, because their nature is more akin to hockey than either basketball or football is.
I've watched the NHL longer than college hockey, but when I started getting back into watching college in the last ~5 years, the biggest different I noticed was the passing. When you watch the NHL (the Red Wings, in particular), there is much more tape-to-tape passing and everything is much more crisp. In college, the kids, while skilled, fumble around with the puck a LOT more, which makes it seem like markedly lower quality to me.
everyone can skate and skate well, are there are some very large men playing NHL hockey
Yes, I would just like for them to play hockey instead of behaving like a bunch of zoo animals. NHL quality is better, attitude is not.
The NHL should take a stronger stance on hits to the head. The NFL is finally getting the message of the long term effects of concussions.
The Wings get no respect. Had Weber slammed Crosby's head into the glass, he probably would have been done for the series.
Bettman would have ran out on the ice and held Crosby like the bitch he is. Then Weber would have been executed right there on the ice.
Ahhh, the "no respect" card. Saying the Wings get no respect is like saying the Patriots aren't a "most favored franchise" in the NFL. The Wings are one of the top 5 "brands" in the NHL (one reason they are "stuck" in the West is to maintain a semblance of credibility). Maybe he would've been penalized more harshly for hitting Crosby (who has a history of concussions), but you sound a lot like the homers who call Wings games.
Eh as Wings fans we do complain more than we are justified to, but there is a certain marketability of players and the franchises they play for that the NHL likes to protect or highlight. The Wings are classics but the market there has been stable for years as the Wings have been good for a while now. Teams like the Capitals, Pittsburgh, Chicago, and the Flyers (not as much as the others) have all had reemergences that have made them a hotter brand at times to market. Plus, you throw Kane, Crosby, and Ovechkin out there and they have been great marketting tools for the NHL that they have thoroughly fostered. I can't remember if it was the first Stanely Cup series against the Penguins or the second but Malkin started a fight against Zetterberg (I think it was Zettertits) in blatant violation of NHL rules which should have resulted in a one game suspension (done a couple of times during the playoffs) but the NHL chose not to suspend Malkin. The NHL was defintely protecting the quality of the Stanley Cup but you cannot deny that Pittsburgh was being protected also. The only thing I can think of that compares is Kronwall's hit on Voracek this year that did not result in a suspension. However, that situation seemed to provide more ambiguiety and the rule against hits to the head requires more analytical application than a blanket rule about not starting fights after the game. The NHL and many thought it lacked maliciousness (as much as a physical sport can lack it) and Voracek had a duty to keep his head up when leaving his zone. As such, there seems to be certain standard the NHL applies to certain elite teams or elite teams housing elite or the marquee (most marketable) players.
Also, on the note of the homer Detroit announcers, all teams hometeam announcers are biased and generally the color commentator is more overtly biased. As such, I think you are criticizing Mickey Redmond. This is blasphemy and absolutely untolerable. As the divorced wife at the beginning of Wedding Crashers says, "You shut your mouth when you are talking about Mickey Redmond."
Well, Kronwall wasn't suspended because the hit on Voracek was completely legal.
clean hit. He did not target the head on the hit, which is why he wasn't suspended. There is no comparison to what Weber did, since he targeted the head specifically.
And in defense of Mickey Redmond he may be bias at times, but he also calls out penatlties that he thinks are crap even if they benefit the Red Wings. Redmond's criticism of the officiating last night was basically general in nature, in terms of being disguisted with the amount called on both teams, not just the amount called on the Red Wings. I actually find Ken Daniels to be a little more bias than Mickey, and to be honest Mickey is less bias than most of the other announcers I have heard. The Shark's announcers from the last two playoff series were far more bias than Ken or Mickey.
April 13th, 2012 at 12:16 AM ^
I hate the officiating during the playoffs in general. It seems like they pull out another rulebook or something.
To say that there's some kind of vendetta against the Wings is garbage.
Just have a Wing do the exact same thing to Shea and see if we only get a fine.
April 12th, 2012 at 12:51 PM ^
zetterberg was not injured...refs did not call a penalty
like it or not, this is where bob probert would have to kick this guy's butt...except we don't have a bob probert
April 12th, 2012 at 12:53 PM ^
Yes, the refs did call a penalty, it just wasn't served because the play happened at the end of the game.
did not realize that, but a 2 minute minor is akin to a tripping penalty or holding the stick
wasn't a major and there was no 10 minute misconduct
honestly, if the ref's thought it was serious they could have thrown the book at him with no consequence to the game
April 12th, 2012 at 12:55 PM ^
refs did call a penalty on the play. He got 2 minutes for roughing at the 20:00 mark
Which is to say that nothing was done. A 2 min penalty after a game is over is no penalty at all. I was hoping for a 5 min major to start the second game. This is a weak call.
I don't believe there is any rule allowing penalties to be carried over from game to game. That would be very strange. I believe the fine was the right move in this case, Weber isn't a repeat offender, much the same as Zetterberg was fined but not suspended for a hit earlier in the season.
Penalties don't carry over to the next game.
but I'm almost starting to think it wouldn't be a terrible idea for a playoff series. Maybe not even make them minors and majors, but a ten minute misconduct that could carry over would be enough to make a guy like Weber think twice about actions after the final horn.
a hit within in the confines of the game, and a WWE style move of slamming a guy's head into the boards. The NHL has stated that they want to do a better job of protecting the head area. If that is you goal, there is not an excuse for no suspension in this case. That play has no place in the game of hockey, period, end of story. A fine, which amounts to a less than a parking ticket for an average person does not send that message.
Somebody else brought it up in a later post in this thread, but Quincey was suspended for an elbow a week or two ago. Not sure how an elbow is worse than what Weber did, and just like Weber, Quincey was not a repeat offender. I do think Quincey's hit deserved a suspension, but there is no way that it deserved more than what Weber got in this case.
Weber had another offense on Jannik Hansen in October. The reason Weber should be sitting on his a$$ for a couple games is that it was intentional and he used the glass....here is his JH board from earlier in the season
Lack of injury -- irrelevant. Intent to injure is the key here.
Role of enforcers -- sadly, this was also my thought as I was cursing the TV after the clock expired. Unfortunately, no one on the ice at the time was capable of sizing up with cheap-shot Shea. I found myself longing for the days of Stu Grimson, Joey Kocur, and Marty McSorley. Shea would absolutely be watching his back if those guys were around.
Don't get me wrong -- I think the game is better without goons. But if the league is going to take this inconsistent, asinine policy on this type of activity, then maybe we need to carry one on the bench to protect our skill players.
I've never seen Ericsson fight, but he's definitely got the size. I think Big Bert could bring the noise, although he's getting a little long in the tooth for fighting.
just a guy who would fight
cleary would have fought
bertuzzi
end of nhl playoff games are famous for messages being sent
nashville got an easy one, red wings punked out
doesn't matter who was on the ice someone should have thrown a punch
Look who was on the ice at the end of the game (I'm not at home, so I can't verify on replay):
Z, Dats, Mule, Lidstrom, Kronwall, and one more forward (Cleary?)
Weber outheights, outweighs, and outreaches all but maybe Franzen. And I don't think I've ever seen Franzen go off on somebody, either.
The last time one of our less-established fighters tried to fight in the playoffs, Tomas Kopecky got his orbital beat in by Francois Beauchemin. We don't want that happening to our skill players.
It's just unfortunate we don't have a skilled enforcer. Big Bert is about our only hope.
Barring that, I say have somebody useless like Emmerton take a run at him. (/s)
don't have to win the fight, but just fight
every guy should know how to tie someone up
linesman would not have let it go that far
there isn't any fighting in the league anymore, so there aren't any enforcer players like Probert anymore. It's one of the reason's I'm not a huge hockey fan anymore.
April 12th, 2012 at 12:52 PM ^
Be pissed off. This is it. They'd announced a suspension along with this if he was getting one. So much for punishing players for headshots. There was no finer example of a blantant headshot then this.
April 12th, 2012 at 12:55 PM ^
April 12th, 2012 at 12:53 PM ^
So you're thinking the same league that called 4 penalties on the Wings for every one for the Preds last night gives two shits about Zetterberg head?
I'm surprised they didn't fine Zetterberg for getting his head in the way of Weber's hands.
April 12th, 2012 at 12:54 PM ^
If you consult the disciplinary flowchart, you would see that this does not get a suspension in the playoffs:
April 12th, 2012 at 12:57 PM ^
That is awesome
Agree with beenplumb -- this is pretty damn funny.
Would be even better with some sort of "was Crosby the vic?" element.
April 12th, 2012 at 12:54 PM ^
Where's a guy like McCarty when you need him?
April 12th, 2012 at 10:54 PM ^
Doing locol car dealership commercials
April 12th, 2012 at 12:55 PM ^
Weber claimed Z hit him in he head first, I never saw that part but i did see the punch and then the grab and slam into the boards. I dont understand the reasoning at the end of a game that you just won, Hopefully this gives the wings a little spark, They arent looking so hot as of late and need a little boost to make any kind of push this year imo.
Zetterberg did give him a little shot to the head with his elbow immediately beforehand.
or excuse Weber's actions.
While Z did hit him, and probably should have been a minor, how about that Weber is 6'4 and 230-something pounds. If he can't handle a 5'11 190 pound guy hitting him without reacting like that, then he really needs to change professions
April 12th, 2012 at 12:58 PM ^
Stupid ass decision if there's no suspension. I cannot think of one reason not to suspend Weber, and to the people claiming "playoffs", the NHL needs to hold a higher standard for the playoffs, it's how the league is showcased to every casual hockey fan on Earth.
April 12th, 2012 at 12:58 PM ^
Does anyone have a video of the hit? I'd like to see it.
Courtesy of Hokemania:
Somewhat selective journalism right there... Zetterberg did hit him pretty high when he came in. Obviously it was more of a "hockey play", but it wasn't a "random assault" as the video might lead you to believe.
watch who breaks them up. That's a linesman, and I would venture to say he was no closer than the top of the circles (and only that close because of the time remaining) and he was practically on top of Weber before "the slam".
I won't argue that Zetterberg deserved a minor penalty there if the referees wanted to assess it, but you can see right here what Weber did, and that's not a minor call.
You gotta be kidding me. $2500?! That's like fining me $3.50! That's pocket change, for grabbing the back of a guy's head and slamming his face into the glass?! Oh, I'm so pissed about this.