NHL hockey is a game that is fast and unpredictable. End to end play is common and makes the advertising tag line of “the fastest game on the planet” close to true. Add in big aggressive players and a four foot stick and the makings of a fast free for all game are ripe. In the past, the phrase “I went to a fight and a hockey game broke out” was common. Getting the puck in the net almost seemed secondary to making sure that any opposing team member that may have wronged you found retaliation coming his way. Today’s NHL hockey is not even close to your fathers NHL hockey and it’s going to stay that way if the rules committee has anything to say about it.
Rules for safety
Back in the day, helmets were not even a thought. Sticks flew and pucks jumped. A player without teeth knocked out was a rarity. Until just a decade or two ago there were still players that refused to wear helmets. The best in HNL thought helmets lessened the freedom of the game and made it less enjoyable. Today, every player wears a helmet out of common sense. Rules have also been added to make the game a bit less blood intensive and more finesse oriented. There is still bloodletting and there will always be blood letting but “high sticking, slashing and “boarding” have all been placed in the penalty category so that injuries are reduced and a more “sophisticated” game can take place.
A competitive game
Nobody ever wants NHL hockey to turn into a gentleman’s sport. This just isn’t the game of hockey that Americans play. Rough and tumble is how the game is played and will always be played in the US. Sportsmanship, however, is another thing all together. A player can beat the heck out of another player and get a penalty. This is accepted as part of the game. But, make a player not be able to play the puck with a fair shot at scoring and an invisible line is crossed that might land a player in the hospital.
Crossing the Sportsmanship line
The sportsmanship invisible line was recently crossed when a player stood in the goal crease, in front of the goalie, and began waving his arms and stick in any direction he could to inhibit the goalies vision. A player can smack another straight in the face and get a penalty but being unsportsmanlike and preventing the goalie from seeing what’s going on doesn’t rate a penalty in the NHL. Interestingly enough, there was no rule to inhibit this player from doing exactly what he did.
A quick response
Scratching their collective heads and realizing that there was no rule to prevent this particular unsportsmanlike conduct, and in best in NHL tradition, a new rule was added to the books making this sort of obstructing play a minor unsportsmanlike penalty. Minor perhaps, and intended to close a small gap in the rules, but NHL hockey is supposed to be “sophisticated”…right?
Rules for safety
Back in the day, helmets were not even a thought. Sticks flew and pucks jumped. A player without teeth knocked out was a rarity. Until just a decade or two ago there were still players that refused to wear helmets. The best in HNL thought helmets lessened the freedom of the game and made it less enjoyable. Today, every player wears a helmet out of common sense. Rules have also been added to make the game a bit less blood intensive and more finesse oriented. There is still bloodletting and there will always be blood letting but “high sticking, slashing and “boarding” have all been placed in the penalty category so that injuries are reduced and a more “sophisticated” game can take place.
A competitive game
Nobody ever wants NHL hockey to turn into a gentleman’s sport. This just isn’t the game of hockey that Americans play. Rough and tumble is how the game is played and will always be played in the US. Sportsmanship, however, is another thing all together. A player can beat the heck out of another player and get a penalty. This is accepted as part of the game. But, make a player not be able to play the puck with a fair shot at scoring and an invisible line is crossed that might land a player in the hospital.
Crossing the Sportsmanship line
The sportsmanship invisible line was recently crossed when a player stood in the goal crease, in front of the goalie, and began waving his arms and stick in any direction he could to inhibit the goalies vision. A player can smack another straight in the face and get a penalty but being unsportsmanlike and preventing the goalie from seeing what’s going on doesn’t rate a penalty in the NHL. Interestingly enough, there was no rule to inhibit this player from doing exactly what he did.
A quick response
Scratching their collective heads and realizing that there was no rule to prevent this particular unsportsmanlike conduct, and in best in NHL tradition, a new rule was added to the books making this sort of obstructing play a minor unsportsmanlike penalty. Minor perhaps, and intended to close a small gap in the rules, but NHL hockey is supposed to be “sophisticated”…right?
