Worst Trend to Happen to Hockey?

[Shayno 1]

Was watching some old hockey videos the other day........Cooperalls! WHAT WAS I THINKING??? LOL

[chk hrd 164]

It's not a gear trend but players getting attacked after making a perfectly clean hit. Drives me Fn nuts to see it, guy makes a clean hit and next thing you know he has to defend himself from the other team.

[bandits_5 18]

It's not a gear trend but players getting attacked after making a perfectly clean hit. Drives me Fn nuts to see it, guy makes a clean hit and next thing you know he has to defend himself from the other team.

this is the bigest reason I would choose to watch an ncaa game instead of an nhl game on most occasions

[gerbe3:16 19]

chk hrd you have a great point. Drives me nuts as well. And most of the clownshoe announcers go, "well, give the guy credit for stick up for a teammate".

[TeamBlue96 3]

i'm 26, and i find it really annoying that the younger 'youtube' generation that plays hockey.....only cares about 'dangling' making one on one moves and making plays look pretty.....seems that the element of team play and support plays are diminishing...

to be more specific...the 12-16...even 18 age range. seems it's harder for that age group to mature out of the ovechkin/crosby highlight reel goals and realize that goals they score are few and far between.

[xrickyb86x 1]

Yeah, same here. It really bugs me when broadcasters talk about giving the player respect for "defending" their teammate. Did anyone see Doughty tag Taylor Hall with that awesome hit a few weeks ago? Then Penner came skating in after Doughty and a scrap ensued that lead to Wayne Simmonds twisting his ankle and missing a few games. It bugged me that on the Canadian feed Kevin Weekes refers to Penner jumping in as respectable. Sorry Weekes, I love you man but I don't agree. Hall had his head down crossing the blue line and Doughty tagged him cleanly. Let the play continue.

[Jarick 5]

Dump and chase and/or the trap. Really made the game far less creative. Used to be you'd carry the puck into the offensive zone and try to set up plays, now you have guys lining up at the blue line and dump the puck in, skate after it, there's no clean breakout or offensive plays outside of the PP. I realize that's how you have to play to win, but it's just a lot less interesting.

[dberube 0]

I get mad when players don't go after someone for laying a bit hit, clean or unclean.

I played college hockey, and when you play it or even watch it, you see everyone out there is headhunting. If they allowed fighting, or even took away the cages, you would see a lot less of this.

But, I also agree with this YouTube generation. They are all trying to do the things they see online and those few are not the same type of team player.

I referee now, and every other game or so, when they score a goal they do that stupid touch-the ice pump thing that drives me nuts.

[Chadd 916]

I get mad when players don't go after someone for laying a bit hit, clean or unclean.

I played college hockey, and when you play it or even watch it, you see everyone out there is headhunting. If they allowed fighting, or even took away the cages, you would see a lot less of this.

They do it at the NHL level and they allow fighting and nobody wears a cage.

[Shayno 1]

It's not a gear trend but players getting attacked after making a perfectly clean hit. Drives me Fn nuts to see it, guy makes a clean hit and next thing you know he has to defend himself from the other team.

Very Good!!! Becoming an "issue" in NHL....actually was the topic on "Off the Record" with Michael Landsberg the other night....Guy lays an absolutely perfect hit, and gets beat up by the goon on the other team for it???? Huh?

[wrangler 157]

Very Good!!! Becoming an "issue" in NHL....actually was the topic on "Off the Record" with Michael Landsberg the other night....Guy lays an absolutely perfect hit, and gets beat up by the goon on the other team for it???? Huh?

Come back with a solid clean hit -- that's the game. Starting a fight instead is like admitting you can't compete with solid checking.

[Machinehead2k5 32]

Yeah, same here. It really bugs me when broadcasters talk about giving the player respect for "defending" their teammate. Did anyone see Doughty tag Taylor Hall with that awesome hit a few weeks ago? Then Penner came skating in after Doughty and a scrap ensued that lead to Wayne Simmonds twisting his ankle and missing a few games. It bugged me that on the Canadian feed Kevin Weekes refers to Penner jumping in as respectable. Sorry Weekes, I love you man but I don't agree. Hall had his head down crossing the blue line and Doughty tagged him cleanly. Let the play continue.

Penner gave Hall the drop/side pass and I guess he felt responsible for getting Hall annihilated, despite the fact that Hall was no worse for wear.

[DarkStar50 679]

Cycling the puck constantly off the wall bores the hell out of me. Hardly anything ever happens, finally puck back to the point, long shot blocked by the new age sprawling shot blocking forwards, turnover. Give me the 3 Stastny brothers in a Nords 80s game, Gretzky's Oilers, or Canada Cup 87 if I could go back in time.

[zebra_steve 11]

The "Big Hit" in general and any hit using the hands or arms to add force to the hit. Whatever happened to lowering your center of gravity and using your shoulder? Stick on stick, body on body angle them off into the boards and skate away with the puck?

As for getting attacked after a good solid legal hit... once the BS is done, go back and drill the same guy again with another legal hit just to let them know that you can't be intimidated...... I always felt is was BS that someone like McSorley hunted anyone down that dared to body check Gretzky....

[wrangler 157]

Cycling the puck constantly off the wall bores the hell out of me. Hardly anything ever happens, finally puck back to the point, long shot blocked by the new age sprawling shot blocking forwards, turnover. Give me the 3 Stastny brothers in a Nords 80s game, Gretzky's Oilers, or Canada Cup 87 if I could go back in time.

Getting used to it with the Blackhawks, can't stand it, either. Puck goes around the boards until someone loses it, or it goes out to Keith, who does a long slap shot windup, giving even the slowest defender time to get down for a block. Then, instead of moving over for the shot, Keith follows through and shoots it right at the guy.

The "Big Hit" in general and any hit using the hands or arms to add force to the hit. Whatever happened to lowering your center of gravity and using your shoulder? Stick on stick, body on body angle them off into the boards and skate away with the puck?

Yeah, why is "finishing your check" throwing a forearm/elbow at a head during a hit?

[Chadd 916]

Note that it isn't called checking anymore, it's called hitting.

[automorph 0]

the refs having to explain the call on the pa system

and younger "dangling" generation but hey some of those little twerps have some crazy hands

[GoBucky 0]

Picking a fight because an opposing player made a hard but clean hit on your teammate is definetly a trend that Id like to see stop. I also agree that the announcers need to stop praising players for doing it, saying they were, "sticking up their their teammate".

[nicholus.h 0]

The NHL's obsession with increasing scoring. The league is scoring at a good pace and it's silly to think that more people would be fans of the game if only they saw another goal per game. Like somehow making it illegal for goalies to play the puck in the corner is going to grow the game.

[the_sock 1]

That hit on Hall was just picture perfect. Agreed with the "goonish" treatment after a great hit.

I've seen more dangling around work hockey, beer hockey and especially pond hockey. Some kid who was no older than 13 had the most amazing hands I've seen in person, just magic (there is a hockey school beside that ODR). He dangled me twice, after that, I poked or bodied the puck off him and he was left with nothing. He had no speed, no care for passing or even the care to see if he could help his team mates out (he cherry picked the whole game, the other team stopped passing to him). These moves work, but sooner or later, they'll get connected when trying to dangle and get knocked hard on their arse. Lucky for him I didn't check him when he was dangling, he had his head down the whole time.

The fact that hockey is less becoming a team sport and more focused on single players or pretty plays. I'm old school.

[hampshirepuck 2]

Very Good!!! Becoming an "issue" in NHL....actually was the topic on "Off the Record" with Michael Landsberg the other night....Guy lays an absolutely perfect hit, and gets beat up by the goon on the other team for it???? Huh?

Sounds like a dan carcillo kind of move to me

That hit on Hall was just picture perfect. Agreed with the "goonish" treatment after a great hit.

I've seen more dangling around work hockey, beer hockey and especially pond hockey. Some kid who was no older than 13 had the most amazing hands I've seen in person, just magic (there is a hockey school beside that ODR). He dangled me twice, after that, I poked or bodied the puck off him and he was left with nothing. He had no speed, no care for passing or even the care to see if he could help his team mates out (he cherry picked the whole game, the other team stopped passing to him). These moves work, but sooner or later, they'll get connected when trying to dangle and get knocked hard on their arse. Lucky for him I didn't check him when he was dangling, he had his head down the whole time.

The fact that hockey is less becoming a team sport and more focused on single players or pretty plays. I'm old school.

was he cherry pickin' for a shooter tutor? ha

[wrangler 157]

Note that it isn't called checking anymore, it's called hitting.

There are still a few folks that refer to it as bodychecking, but it's becoming rare. It actually got my attention when I heard that last week, it's so unusual.

[jg144 0]

It's not a gear trend but players getting attacked after making a perfectly clean hit. Drives me Fn nuts to see it, guy makes a clean hit and next thing you know he has to defend himself from the other team.

the other night i saw colby armstrong hit st louis and then downie jumped armstrong...it was kinda ridiculous...i like downie and im all for sticking up for your line mates, but that was a little too much for me

[Brian Harte 1]

white gloves.

cherry picking.

kids who just try to dangle and get mad when you play the body and put an immediate stop to their little tricks.

[mug25 2]

Worst trend in hockey — Sean Avery, Matt Cooke, Jordin Tootoo and any other cheapshot artist. Cant stand that aspect of Hockey.

Also, what I dont like is the one or two enforcers on the team that clearly have nothing to offer to the team outside of fighting. Yeah, Derek Boogaard and several of his kind shouldn't be on the ice at all.