KMFJD
Lifer
- Aug 11, 2005
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Fingolfin269
Lifer
- Feb 28, 2003
- 17,948
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This guy's staying for a couple more years before he goes home....
Yep. He's pretty good...
The NHL network is showing a cup final between the Flyers and the Canadiens from the 70s. I first saw old hockey a couple of years ago (even some black and white games), and even though it's a different game than today's NHL I still enjoy watching it. And I'm always impressed by one thing: how much the players respected each other. Even though it was still a tough sport played by tough men there are barely any high sticks or cheap shots. The sticks especially stayed down near the ice at all times.
This whole "tough guy" fan mentality of "you better keep your head up or you'll get blown up" is not hockey tradition, it's relatively new. Fans (and announcers) love to parrot that phrase every time someone gets destroyed by a hit. Hockey has NOT always been about trying to kill every player who happens to be looking down for the puck.
I trace it back the mid 80's and the rise of the 24 hour sports network that found it profitable to lead with the big hit and by doing so transformed our athletes into gladiators. Back then if you played dangerously every team had a guy that would beat the shit out of you. It kept players in line. The gradual elimination of the enforcer has made hockey so much more dangerous, and so many great players have had their careers cut short by cheap shots.
In the end it still comes back to respect for the other guy even though you might hate his guts. Guys like Raffi Torres and Dustin Brown have no respect for the health of other players and there are few enforcers left to take them to task.
/end hockey rant
This whole "tough guy" fan mentality of "you better keep your head up or you'll get blown up" is not hockey tradition, it's relatively new. Fans (and announcers) love to parrot that phrase every time someone gets destroyed by a hit. Hockey has NOT always been about trying to kill every player who happens to be looking down for the puck.
I trace it back the mid 80's and the rise of the 24 hour sports network that found it profitable to lead with the big hit and by doing so transformed our athletes into gladiators. Back then if you played dangerously every team had a guy that would beat the shit out of you. It kept players in line. The gradual elimination of the enforcer has made hockey so much more dangerous, and so many great players have had their careers cut short by cheap shots.
In the end it still comes back to respect for the other guy even though you might hate his guts. Guys like Raffi Torres and Dustin Brown have no respect for the health of other players and there are few enforcers left to take them to task.
/end hockey rant
Blackjack200
Lifer
- May 28, 2007
- 15,995
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Mid 80's maybe, I would have said early 90's
Mighty Ducks 2, with the "Bash Brothers" or whatever they were called, dragged a bunch of American kids into Hockey by glorifying dropping the gloves and pulling someone's jersey over their head.
But then again Broad Street Bullies were mid 70's. But Philly was a massive outlier in the fight dept. IIRC the HBO special said in '77 they had more fights than the rest of the league combined.
Mighty Ducks 2, with the "Bash Brothers" or whatever they were called, dragged a bunch of American kids into Hockey by glorifying dropping the gloves and pulling someone's jersey over their head.
But then again Broad Street Bullies were mid 70's. But Philly was a massive outlier in the fight dept. IIRC the HBO special said in '77 they had more fights than the rest of the league combined.
Watch the games, then make a comment.
I don't give a shit about a stupid wikipedia article. I've seen probably over 20 complete old NHL games.
edit - there's a game starting right now. 1977 Montreal/Boston. Watch it. There's your chance to get educated.
Last edited:
Blackjack200
Lifer
- May 28, 2007
- 15,995
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You know that "Slapshot" came out in 1977, right? Your suggestion that hockey was some kind of gentleman's game before the '80s is laughable.
You know what changed the game? Bobby Orr. The generation of players that were influenced by his ability to weave around the ice forced defensemen to change tactics. Have you ever played in a non-checking hockey league? It's very difficult to stop a skilled forward, even if you're a good skater, without using your body.
iRONic
Diamond Member
- Jan 28, 2006
- 8,328
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I think it's $15M a year. He made out well - $60M over 4 years instead of 77 over the next decade, plus most of that Russian salary is tax free. He got a raise once you look at tax treatment, let alone the time value of money.
Haha, hockey was a gentleman's game in the 70's? I'm with you, that just isn't reality. The Flyers won two cups in the 70's, and while Shero said the objective was never to fight (and that his guys liked to do it, so he let them), the plan was to grind down key players on the other team. The Flyers weren't the only gritty team in the league, either, they were just the best at it (and haven't won since, but that's another story).
Nemesis13
Golden Member
- Jun 7, 2006
- 1,226
- 1
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DEERRRRRRR Sorry for the Double post
The league I play in and as a goalie I know our dmen get pissed they cant hit. Some ref will allow a bump , but most guys i play with have some college level experience so first instinct is to put a body on some one
I can appreciate the argument that players respected each other more in the 70's, but remember - they were all smaller than they are today, they weren't as fast, the puck didn't go as hard, and safety equipment was almost non-existent. Oh, and they didn't get paid a ton, either. In many cases, there was a lot more physical risk with a lot less to gain, so yeah, guys didn't try to kill each other. People losing an eye now and again deterred that.
Players today now wear armor, and use it for more than just protecting themselves. I talked to one NHL player, who at the time was in the AHL and going to his 2nd NHL training camp, and his take was that the physicality starts at the lower levels because that's your shot at the next. Other than the elite talent, everyone else is pretty close, and many see it as always being an injury away from a call-up and a raise from 60-80k to 400k. FWIW, he's now a 3rd liner, which is to say your average forward - exactly the guy who the next prospect is one injury away from replacing.
Players today now wear armor, and use it for more than just protecting themselves. I talked to one NHL player, who at the time was in the AHL and going to his 2nd NHL training camp, and his take was that the physicality starts at the lower levels because that's your shot at the next. Other than the elite talent, everyone else is pretty close, and many see it as always being an injury away from a call-up and a raise from 60-80k to 400k. FWIW, he's now a 3rd liner, which is to say your average forward - exactly the guy who the next prospect is one injury away from replacing.
I was excited. This isn't the usual Flyers nepotism, Hextall actually left the organization for a while and learned how to build a winner under Lombardi. Plus I'm hoping he'll eventually replace Homer as the GM and also Jeff Reese as the goalie coach. Or at the very least, draft someone as insane as he was - they don't make 'em like that anymore.
In beer league you usually just can't follow through, right? You can put a body on someone as long as you don't knock 'em over. I learned that "no checking" doesn't mean "no contact" the hard way the first year I played when some dude cleared me out of his own crease.
Nemesis13
Golden Member
- Jun 7, 2006
- 1,226
- 1
- 81
Yea for the most part some of the refs here will call any contact. For the most part guys dont stand in my crease, i have a rep for pushing them down or "letting know im there". I wear 27 for a reason and he just landed back in philly. I also hope he replaces Homer alot of fans have been unhappy with him the last few years. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8_wrJpRDaU Good Hextall Vid
Blackjack200
Lifer
- May 28, 2007
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- 126
My experience is that they will tolerate incidental contact as long as you are playing the puck. We had a very good player that played varsity HS hockey in Rohchester on our team defending the other team's ringer once. The other guy came down the ice dangling the puck and our guy just kept his body between him and the goal, until the space closed enough that just pushed him off the puck, nothing violent or anything, but it was a 2:00 penalty.
Worst I ever got it was once I was standing on the blue line waiting for one of our guys to get the puck into the zone. One of their defensemen saw me and shoved me over the line, and it resulted in an offsides. I was really pissed at first, but I laughed about it later. It was clever.
Blackjack200
Lifer
- May 28, 2007
- 15,995
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I was going to ask you where you play and then I noticed you're in TN. (I think SJ is not in Philly either...)
Nemesis13
Golden Member
- Jun 7, 2006
- 1,226
- 1
- 81
Seems about the same as down here,but it seems every team has that one guy who takes it like his playing in the nhl.
iRONic
Diamond Member
- Jan 28, 2006
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Scotteq
Diamond Member
- Apr 10, 2008
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