What the ... rule change?!?!?

I have been rereading "The Montreal Canadiens: 100 Years of Glory" by D'Arcy Jenish, that my best friend Stig gave me one Christmas. It was put together from newspaper stories and some other 1st hand sources. Fantastic read. But I digress.

In the chapter about the 1955-1964 Seasons I read a bit about the effect of the 2 Minute Penalty being changed. Until 1956 a player had to remain in the penalty box for the FULL 2 minutes. That is what happens now for a 5 minute penalty. It was changed after the 1955-56 Season basically because the Canadiens were unstoppable.

The Canadiens were a force to recon with back then. They dominated the NHL. The players were so talented that their third and fourth lines could be a 1st line on other teams. Keep in mind there were only 6 teams in the NHL then. The Canadiens frequently scored multiple goals on one power play. One of the most famous incidents happened on November 5, 1955, Jean Béliveau scored three goals in 44 seconds, all on the same power play, resulting in a 4–2 victory over the Boston Bruins.

In the book it is put forth as a means of teh other teams to keep the Canadiens down. When other teams, like Detroit, dominated there was no talk of changing the rule but now that the canadiens are dominating it had to be changed. The Board of Governors, the owners of the other teams, outvoted the owner of the Canadiens and thus the rule was changed.

I am not one for conspiracy theories but it really looks like the change was done just to stop the Canadiens from dominating. Until then no one cared. Then it became important. Oh well. I am used to the rule as we know it now. My problem is with icing during a penalty. If a team is being penalized why the fuck are they allowed to ice the puck without play being sent back to their end?!?!?!?!?

Go Habs Go!

P.S. I LOVE this book. It was the best Christmas present anyone could have given me. If you are interested in the Canadiens it is a MUST read. Right up there with The Game by Ken Dryden. If you are interested nin the NHL and hockey it is a great read because it shows how the NHL started and has evolved.

Mike Babcock

Mike Babcock finally decided. He chose to leave the safety of the Detroit Red Wings and become the Head Coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs. The contract is reported to be for 8 years and worth $50-Million. Good luck to you Mr. Babcock. You have definitely taken on a challenge it will be interesting to see what happens.

People have already been coming out on two extremes. The doom and gloom group claim he made a horrible mistake. Toronto is the kiss of death. He won't be able to do anything. His career is over.

The head up their arse group see this as THE turning point. They could be right, It could be a turning point but it could be years before it is proven true or not. Some of these idiots are already making claims that the Leafs are now cup contenders next year.

Extremist Fans. They do make me chuckle.

I did find what one pundit said today very funny. (Unfortunately, I can't find a link to what he said.) He claimed that as of the moment Babcock was signed the leafs must NOW be taken seriously. Really? As of right now? What a twat. The team is the same bottom of the barrel team NOW as it was yesterday. It needs rebuilding.

Also, Babcock is coming to Toronto from the Red Wings. The Red Wings arguably have THE BEST scouting system in the NHL. (And I say this as a Canadiens fan.) It is amazing the talent they can find based on the picks they have every year. They also have a great system for preparing their prospects for the NHL. With Detroit he inherited a lot of apparatus to help keep the team winning.

People expecting an immediate turn around are setting themselves up for a huge disappointment. Rebuilding takes time.

Hopefully Babcock has the backing of MLS and the leafs management and will be allowed to build the team the way he wants. It should be interesting to see how things unfold.

What the ... showing now?!?!?

I turned on the TV for a change and hit the sports channels. I was ready to finally watch a hockey game. Since the lock out, not a strike like too many fucktards call it, I have not watched a game this "season". It was strangely easy. I am still pissed off with the owners locking the players out and then settling for something that could have been agreed upon in August or September, well before the "need" to lock out became a reality.

Montreal is playing. Is it on any channel? of course not. A documentary on the Oilers is on. Two fucking shows about Golf are on. Ok, to be fair, one of them is on the gulf channel. Curling is on. Damn I like curling but would rather watch hockey. No hockey. No Habs. But the fucking Kardashians are whoring themselves out on a channel. The fucking (no pun intended) Kardashians are on but the Habs aren't? Fuck off.

I was finlly ready to watch a hockey game and there was NONE on. Fuck you NHL. Right up the ass.

Stanley Cup FInals: Vancouver vs Boston Game 5

Damn tight game. Lots of back and forth. The things that really really stick out ...

Burrows. What a diver. At one point one of his own team mates touched his shoulder from behind to stop him from skating back into him and Burrows flopped to the ice as if he had been elbowed in the head. I hate crap like that.

Max Lapierre. I didn't like him when he played for Montreal and I still don't like him. When he played for Montreal I found him to be a coward. He would start shit with other players to provoke them into taking a swipe at him. Then he would turtle. If you are going to get someone to fight you don't wussy out just so they get a penalty. Have the testicular fortitude to back it up. He isn't much better with Vancouver.

Vancouver won. YES!!!!!

Why does the NHL look stupid at times?

It is no wonder the NHL looks like it has idiots doing the discipline when decisions like the latest punishment to Rome were handed out. Granted, I believe Rome DOES deserve a suspension for what happened. But, if what Rome did was heinous enough to result in a 4 game suspension why didn't Chara's hit on Pacioretty in the regular season? This kind of inconsistency in delivering punishment is what makes the NHL officials look bad and gives fodder to the conspiracy theorists.

Aaron Rome (Vancouver) hit Nathan Horton (Boston) middle of the ice, a la Scott Stevens, after the puck was no longer in play. Definitely an interference penalty and deserving of extra suspension time. Horton is concussed and out for at least the rest of the season. While the hit evolved from a hockey play that happened quickly it was a late hit and did result in a horrible injury.

Talking about the incident and punishment Mike Murphy pointed out that it was a late hit, the puck wasn't in play (textbook interference penalty), he thought the head was hit, and the severity of the injury were all taken into account.

Zdano Chara (Boston) hit Max Pacioretty (Montreal) along the boards and pushed him head first into a stanchion, after the puck was no longer in play. Pacioretty is concussed, has cracked vertebrae in his neck (ie broken neck) and who can say if/when he will play hockey again. Definitely an interference penalty and deserving of extra suspension time, although NONE was give.

In the Chara-Pacioretty incident they never talked to Pacioretty or even considered the severity of his injury. The decision was handed down before they even knew how bad he was hurt.

This is where the conspiracy theorists now have ammunition when claiming the Bruins get special treatment. Why wasn't Chara's hit not punishment worthy yet Rome's was?

It still amazes me to hear my Nephew-In-Law whine about a league conspiracy to prevent the Bruins from winning the cup. I have always been a Habs fan but never as rabid as this. A bad hit is a bad hit. A bad call is a bad call. If you ignore one while whinging about the other you are a hypocrite.

The NHL itself just confuses the hell out of people over whet is or isn't wrong when they continue to hand out inconsistent penalties. Hopefully this will change when Campbell is gone as Head of Discipline, but I doubt it will.

Mind you, as rabid as NHL fans can be it is a good thing they aren't as bad as the South Koreans.

Great Quote

Great Blog post by Charles Pierce of The Boston Globe. The post is titled "Stop Your Sobbing".

There is one good thing to come out of the NHL's abdication of its duty to protect people like Max Pacioretty yesterday. That is -- the fans of the Boston Bruins now have lost forever any right to complain that "the league" is out to get their team, and that the Montreal Canadiens have some kind of pull inside the NHL home office. That Zdeno Chara got a complete pass on what he did obviates that talking point forever.

Well said Mr. Pierce. Considering the lack of a call on Lucic for a blatant cross check to a players head that wasn't punished, the emails of Colin Campbell's (the NHL head in charge of meting out supplemental punishment) that surfaced vis-a-vis his son and on ice officials, the fact his son plays for the Bruins, and now the Chara non-punishment Boston has little to whine about. In fact, there is a LOT of material to allow the conspiracy theorists to claim that Boston has special pull.

While I don't believe that I do think the mooks running the NHL have really screwed the pooch this time. It is time for some house cleaning in the upper echelons of NHL management.

Chara's Revelation

Wow, you don't often see a revelation like this but Zdeno Chara admitted to the world that he is a moron. Chara told reporters

I had no idea (Pacioretty) was on the ice . I had no idea it was him.

As Dave Stubbs pointed out this means that, among other things, Pacioretty's name running from shoulder to shoulder on the back of the uniform isn't big enough to be recognized and one of the top defencemen in the world skates around unaware of the opponent he faces.

This ranks right up there with his other tasteless and stupid comment after the hit where he blamed Pacioretty for jumping into the stanchion. What a mook.

Hmmm .... the NHL gave Sean Avery a 6 game suspension for his off icee "sloppy seconds" comment. I wonder if Buttman (Yes, I deliberately misspelled his name.) will use these comments as a chance to do something without blaming it on the bhit? A face saving measure. Chara is giving in a 10 game suspension for his stupid comments.

Naw, Buttman is just as much of a mook as Chara.

Punishment Worthy

Paul Kubina of the Tampa Bay Lightning was given a 3 game suspension and fined $60,000 and change today for an elbow to Dave Bolland's head last night. No penalty was actually assessed in the game. Bolland was not hospitalised.

Sean Avery was given a 6 game suspension in 2008 for comments he made about his ex-girlfriend who was then dating a player on a team he would face that night. The comments were made before the game. The Dallas Stars served him some punishment of their own. After the last day of his suspension the Stars announced that Avery was not welcome back on the team. For comments about his ex-girlfriend and her current boyfriend (Dion Phaneuf) made OFF the ice, before the game.

Nick Boyton of the BlackHawks made a throat slashing gesture at another player after a fight. He received a 1 game suspension.

Eric Goddard got an automatic 10 game suspension when he left the bench to help defend his goalie after Michael Haley skated the length of the ice to start a fight. Martin got a 4 game suspension for ANOTHER incident in that game. A game full of stupidity.

Zdeno Chara runs (one could easily say guided) Max Pacioretty into a stanchion leaving him with a concussion and a fractured vertebra. This is done when Pacioretty doesn't have the puck. He gets no "supplementary" punishment from the NHL.

I could go on and on looking at suspensions handed out. Some that make sense, some that could be argued. Yet it is the non-suspension of Zdeno Chara that leaves me shaking my head at the NHL. A throat slashing gesture after a fight warranted a 1 game suspension. Comments made to the media, before a game, warranted a 6 game suspension. Chara's actions warrant none? What a fucking joke.

Zdeno Chara ... what a Mook.

I don't think Chara wanted to do the damage he did to Pacioretty. I do believe he wanted to hurt him a little, with a check. But it went further, even if accidentally or due to negligence. Regardless of if it was an accident or not, Chara should have been held responsible for his actions and the NHL dropped the ball. Again.

The NHL's lack of a response pissed me off to no end and then I read some of Chara's comments. The piece of shit actually tried blaming Pacioretty for his own injuries.

We were racing for the puck and battling for position," Chara said. "As the puck went by, obviously I was riding him out and it was very unfortunate that at the same time when I pushed him a little bit, he kind of leaned and jumped a little bit and just hit the glass extension.

Pacioretty jumped into it? He did the damage to himself? What a fucking piece of shit Chara is. He reminds me of the rapists who say their victims "asked for it".

Call me strange but it sure looks like Pacioretty's "jump" was assisted and guided by Chara's hand/fist.

Of course Chara's remarks also leave out the reality of the situation. They WEREN'T racing for the puck when it happened. It happened well AFTER Pacioretty played the puck. Which is WHY Chara was immediately hit with an interference penalty, plus a game misconduct because of what happened. It was a gratuitous hit AFTER the play. Chara's comments instead of showing contrition for almost crippling someone, and the jury is still out on that, show him to be an asshole.

Whether the injury was intentional or not Chara deserved more of a punishment than he got. To hear Chara spout the BS he did after the fact is disgusting. What a fucking mook.

Chara not suspended longer than 1 game.

Wow. Chara only gets a one game suspension for the way he almost crippled Pacioretty. (Pacioretty has a concussion and fractured vertebrae.) At a time the League is saying it wants to clamp down on hits to the head, and Mario Lemieux is whining about it, that is all Chara gets?

NHL Senior VP of Hockey Operations Mike Murphy said;

After a thorough review of the video I can find no basis to impose supplemental discipline. This hit resulted from a play that evolved and then happened very quickly -- with both players skating in the same direction and with Chara attempting to angle his opponent into the boards. I could not find any evidence to suggest that, beyond this being a correct call for interference, that Chara targeted the head of his opponent, left his feet or delivered the check in any other manner that could be deemed to be dangerous.

Hmmm ... it looks like Chara's hand/fist is guiding Pacioretty's head into the stanchion to me. Now I am not an NHL Official with lots of experience but that doesn't look like a check that came late to me. What was it Murphy said?

I could not find any evidence to suggest that, beyond this being a correct call for interference, that Chara targeted the head of his opponent, left his feet or delivered the check in any other manner that could be deemed to be dangerous.

No evidence? Hand guiding head into stanchion. Correct me if I am wrong but a check is shoulder/hip contact. Your elbow, hands, or knees, getting involved make it a bad/illegal check.

Whether it is a good hit gone bad or not it sure looks like more than a 1 game suspension. I figured he would get 3-5 extra games ... but none? The decision also ignored the fact that Chara was gunning for Pacioretty after an incident 2 games ago.

Then there was this comment;

In reviewing this play, I also took into consideration that Chara has not been involved in a supplemental discipline incident during his 13-year NHL career.

So, because he has had a relatively clean nose so far that precludes him from doing something wrong or negligent? What a bunch of icetards.

I hope Pacioretty recovers and is able to continue playing hockey. I hate to see anyone's career ruined that way.

Added later: There is a GREAT post about this on another blog, The H Does NOT Stand For Habs. In the comment section someone posted the following quote from Colin Campbell after Ovetchkin's suspension last year.

If you cause a player to be injured, then you have to be responsible for the play that you're involved in, if there's any carelessness or recklessness in it.

And this incident was different just because Chara never had any supplemental punishment before?

Ice Hockey Rules

CBC sports recently posed an interesting question on their website. What NHL rules would you change or tweak?

There is one rule I have thought was stupid for as long as I have been interested in hockey. When your team is penalized you are allowed to ice the puck.

For those who know little to nothing about hockey, icing is when you shoot the puck from your end of the ice down to the other end. If the other team touches it first it is icing and there is a face off back in your end.

Currently, when a team has a penalty, whether a 2 minute or 5 minute, they can ice with impunity. Play goes on. So, all a penalized team has to do is get possession of the puck and dump it into the other end. It gives them a chance to rest for a few seconds, make changes, and/or get their defense lined back up.

Isn't the whole purpose of a penalty to PUNISH the team for a member breaking a rule? Of course it is. So why punish them on one hand but give them a bonus on the other? If you ice the puck while killing a penalty it SHOULD be called and the face off should be back in your end.