Paetsch?

[dietzie27 0]

I love him when he fights and sparks the team, but he can barely skate and i would much rather have a younger guy with heart. I think its a shame that there are young kids who never get a shot in the show because of guys like him. Im not just singling out Laraque, there a few wastes out there who dont belong in the game.

[Fire0nIce228 1]

Oh for sure we'd all rather have a guy like Colby or hell another ruutu or thorburn who are a little more skilled..

I just dont think hes as big a waste of a roster spot as some are making him out to be..

[english15x 3]

Any of you that think Laraque can't play the game at all and has no place in hockey need to open your eyes and watch the man play.

No, he doesnt get tons of ice time. Yes, he can cycle and grind in the corners with the best of the NHL. Yes, he does have decent hands and some play making ability.

Laraque doesn't even fight that much. He doesnt see much ice but when he does he usually makes the most of his shifts. He doesnt take a ton of stupid penalties, and I know most Pens fans and the team itself is happy to have him.

yes it's true Laraque can do things other than hit people. I was at the game last night and figures I look the other way for a second and miss this. I watched it on the news following and it seemed like Laraque was just trying to get a piece of him as he was avoiding the check. It was very scary to see Paetsch on the ice motionless, but I feel there are far more worse people who don't deserve to be in this sport.

Simon anyone?

http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=Ht6RyAI9370 (two hand in the face)

http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=1uhlO8ktUUU&...feature=related (step/kick Ruutu)

What a classless scrub Simon is and your making Laraque sound like he should be thrown out of the NHL.

All of you "Laraque haters" obviously haven't watched much of him play. He generates a good amount of offense for a grinder 4th lining it. When he gets the puck behind their net usually he's hard to break of it.

[M.W. 0]

No, he doesnt get tons of ice time. Yes, he can cycle and grind in the corners with the best of the NHL. Yes, he does have decent hands and some play making ability.

I haven't seen much of him since he left Edmonton, but I remember at one point he used to get decent icetime and would be absolutely impossible to take off the puck down low in the offensive zone. He'd usually have a couple Canuck defensemen draped all over him, and he could still basically go wherever he wanted with it. At that point, at least, he was a pretty effective player even without the fighting.

I can't really say much about him post-Edmonton, though.

[Fire0nIce228 1]

More of the same. He's still a huge man that requires 2 or more men to remove him from the puck, and sometimes, sometimes he finds that open guy and makes a great play.

[Jake 0]

The fact that he threw the elbow out shows premeditation. It was absolutely his intent to hit Paetsch in the head. Laraque has thrown cheap shots in every one of the, admittedly few, Pens games I've seen this year. He can't skate a regular shift and is only out there to try and hurt people, he has no place in this game.

How so? His arm was PINNED to his side until he was just about to miss. I didn't say he should have done it, or that it wasn't an irresponsible play, but there is no logic to your statement that just because he did something it was premeditated. As for him trying to hurt people, that's utter nonsense. Laraque has played pretty much a 4th liner's role this year, and has managed to keep the puck in deep for extended periods of time. There are far less effective players in the league than Laraque.

Every time I've seen him play, he has buried a guy from behind into the boards or gone headhunting. There's a reason he couldn't get ice time in Edmonton or Phoenix.

I assume you're talking about when Downie buried his own head into the boards and faked a seizure?

I sometimes wish Laraque was dirty. The guy is a gentle giant and rarely plays the game with any kind of edge.

[camhockey16 5]

The fact that he threw the elbow out shows premeditation. It was absolutely his intent to hit Paetsch in the head. Laraque has thrown cheap shots in every one of the, admittedly few, Pens games I've seen this year. He can't skate a regular shift and is only out there to try and hurt people, he has no place in this game.

How so? His arm was PINNED to his side until he was just about to miss. I didn't say he should have done it, or that it wasn't an irresponsible play, but there is no logic to your statement that just because he did something it was premeditated. As for him trying to hurt people, that's utter nonsense. Laraque has played pretty much a 4th liner's role this year, and has managed to keep the puck in deep for extended periods of time. There are far less effective players in the league than Laraque.

Every time I've seen him play, he has buried a guy from behind into the boards or gone headhunting. There's a reason he couldn't get ice time in Edmonton or Phoenix.

I assume you're talking about when Downie buried his own head into the boards and faked a seizure?

I sometimes wish Laraque was dirty. The guy is a gentle giant and rarely plays the game with any kind of edge.

i think sometimes he just doesn't realize his own strength - although in this case it had nothing to do with strength.

there is a good quote from laraque that they show on tv from time to time - he says something to the effect of "i fight because it's my job, not because i like it"

i am betting laraque probably apologized to the guy after the game - i am betting he was just going for a big hit and screwed up..

[willy0314 0]

i am betting laraque probably apologized to the guy after the game - i am betting he was just going for a big hit and screwed up..

last time I checked you don't go for a big hit and lead with a chin high elbow.

[english15x 3]

i am betting laraque probably apologized to the guy after the game - i am betting he was just going for a big hit and screwed up..

last time I checked you don't go for a big hit and lead with a chin high elbow.

yeah but i think that Paetsch avoided the check and Laraque was just trying to get a piece of him and didn't think.

[Chadd 916]

i am betting laraque probably apologized to the guy after the game - i am betting he was just going for a big hit and screwed up..

last time I checked you don't go for a big hit and lead with a chin high elbow.

yeah but i think that Paetsch avoided the check and Laraque was just trying to get a piece of him and didn't think.

So he's not a goon, he's just stupid?

[english15x 3]

i am betting laraque probably apologized to the guy after the game - i am betting he was just going for a big hit and screwed up..

last time I checked you don't go for a big hit and lead with a chin high elbow.

yeah but i think that Paetsch avoided the check and Laraque was just trying to get a piece of him and didn't think.

So he's not a goon, he's just stupid?

I'm just trying to say he was trying to get a piece of him and didn't think. Like a natural reaction to try and hit him with anything he could. Regardless he did elbow him nonetheless.

[chippa13 1844]

So it is ok to knock someone on queer street with an elbow as long as it is last minute?

[english15x 3]

So it is ok to knock someone on queer street with an elbow as long as it is last minute?

did I say it was ok? Christ. I'm just defending the fact that Laraque is not the biggest waste of space in the NHL and isn't the dirtiest player. i.e. Simon.

[chippa13 1844]

Simon just gets caught the most.

[camhockey16 5]

aww cmon lay off the guy - he does yoga and had a radio show where he gave love advice..

i'm not saying the guys doesn't make mistakes - but i wouldn't lump him in with alot of the headhunters and dirty players in the league.

This is old but really explains alot about laraque:

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/dcsportsbog...nt_like_to.html

[willy0314 0]

your really reaching to defend him

[Chadd 916]

your really reaching to defend him

That's because Laraque is on "his" team.

[camhockey16 5]

im not trying to defend what he did - im fine with him getting 3 games or whatever it would've ended up being

im just saying i dont think he is the type of player that goes out there with the intent to injure on every shift.

and i don't think im being a homer either - but i'll let the chips fall where they may and i'm sure everyone will just accuse me of being one..

[Neal 41]

Every time I've seen him play, he has buried a guy from behind into the boards or gone headhunting. There's a reason he couldn't get ice time in Edmonton or Phoenix.

Actually, my understanding is that he left the Oilers because the Oilers got sick of him being out of shape and not playing aggressively enough. Mactavish frequently made comments that Laraque would be a much more effective player if he threw more hits and made more people pay. Basically be proactive not reactive in his violence.

Laraque could be a decent 4th line player if he recognized that his puck handling and offensive talent wasn't going to keep him in the NHL and worked on being more engaged and played aggressively. It appears that is not in his nature though.

Very few players in his role - who basically are told to go out and hurt the other team through big hits or the intimidation of a beating in a fight - don't take it too far from time to time and throw a dirty hit.

Perhaps eliminating fighting, which would eliminate Laraque and others like him, would cut down on the cheap hits.

[Jake 0]

So it is ok to knock someone on queer street with an elbow as long as it is last minute?

To be fair, I think a 75 year old woman with the flu could knock Paetsch silly.

He's prone, to say the least.

[patty2109 0]

Paetsch was skating and Laraque was lining him up for the hit, Paetsch pulled up right before Laraque got there and Laraque flew by him. He threw his elbow out and barely caught him on the chin. It kind of snapped his head around.

It wasn't premeditated but Laraque will get suspended I imagine, since the NHL is so consistent with discipline...

Dude, that is by far the most stupid thing I've read here. Paetsch made the pass and was skating up ice following the play. Laraque had his elbow up and intentionally caught him with it. WAY late, and high. It was an intentional, guttless cheapshot. Why you are even trying to justify this is amazing.

Watch the video slick. Laraque's arm is pinned at his side until the last second when Paetsch pulls up to avoid the hit. I didn't justify it, I explained it, as anyone with a modicum of intelligence would realize.

The fact that he threw the elbow out shows premeditation. It was absolutely his intent to hit Paetsch in the head. Laraque has thrown cheap shots in every one of the, admittedly few, Pens games I've seen this year. He can't skate a regular shift and is only out there to try and hurt people, he has no place in this game.

i agree 100%. guys like laraque ruin hockey. it was totally on purpose. totally late and uncalled for