Official NHL 2013-2014 Random Thoughts Thread

[MikelArteta]

leafs are pathetic

 

[MikelArteta]

why is fighting even in the nhl?

calgary scores a score against edmonton as soon as the faceoff they are fighting

some dude gets knocked out cold cbc cuts to commercial

 

[K-Apps]

why is fighting even in the nhl?

calgary scores a score against edmonton as soon as the faceoff they are fighting

some dude gets knocked out cold cbc cuts to commercial

I've been saying this ever since the unfortunate death of Derek Boogard, with concussions being a hotbed issue however I think fighting will be fazed out in 20 years

 

[Kostibros]

Black Excellence PK is back tonight

Yet you still have haters on him for the breakaway and celebration after his goal

 

[MikelArteta]

pat lafontaine resigns

 

[MikelArteta]

pk had a great game

that breakaway was bum ass markov messing it up

pk big on thta pp goal

then that great outlet pass

:Wow:

 

[MikelArteta]

Yet you still have haters on him for the breakaway and celebration after his goal

i loved that superman ish

 

[JLova]

Sad how some people don't understand fighting in hockey and the role it plays in the game. Yo u have to police Nikkaz or else you'll see dudes run the fukk out of top players. Very easy to take a run at Crosby when you know no one will come after you. Fighting keeps guys a lot more honest than no fighting.

 

[K-Apps]

Sad how some people don't understand fighting in hockey and the role it plays in the game. Yo u have to police Nikkaz or else you'll see dudes run the fukk out of top players. Very easy to take a run at Crosby when you know no one will come after you. Fighting keeps guys a lot more honest than no fighting.

I used to believe in that, but now I think there are better ways in policing dirty hits. Wouldn't surprise me if hits from behind or head shot incur an automatic major misconduct penalty in the next decade if the concussion issue continues to be hotbed issue in both NFL and NHL. And let's be honest, you really think the NHL will let any players take a big, questionable hit on Crosby without major repercussions to that player and team.

 

[Grams]

Sad how some people don't understand fighting in hockey and the role it plays in the game. Yo u have to police Nikkaz or else you'll see dudes run the fukk out of top players. Very easy to take a run at Crosby when you know no one will come after you. Fighting keeps guys a lot more honest than no fighting.

Soccer moms polluting these nikkas minds

 

[Brozay]

was at the outdoor game tonight

 

[MikelArteta]

@Jamal
@JLova

That’s how much ice time PK Subban has been given the entire Olympic tournament in a preliminary game against Austria.

It’s hard to imagine why the defending Norris champion and one of the best defensemen in the NHL was given so little ice time, but many hockey pundits were falling all over themselves to justify Team Canada coach Mike Babcock’s logic. They couldn’t wait to reinforce the arguments that they’d made about why Subban shouldn’t be on the team in the first place.

They repeated the same old arguments. It was right not to play Subban because he was a defensive liability. He should be benched because he’s “risky.” He’d have other opportunities to play. It’s not “his time” right now. Of course the usual characterization of PK as being brash, cocky, arrogant, flamboyant, etc also came into play.

Here’s the problem with those criticisms. None of them are true.

In terms of his hockey playing skill, Subban is one of the most talented offensive defensemen in the NHL. Defensively, his shot blocking and goal preventing ability is amongst the most elite in the league. His shot/corsi/fenwick differential bares this out.

In terms of all Team Canada defensemen, PK Subban is first in lowest goals against in 5-on-5 play. He is absolutely not a defensive liability.

Some might point to Subban’s giveaways, but only two giveaways separate him and Drew Doughty. Erik Karlsson leads the league in that stat and Sweden wouldn’t dream of benching him. In fact, I’ve never heard Karlsson or Doughty described as being a “liability” or “risky”.

Puck carrying defensemen who play 25+ minutes a game are prone to more giveaways. Subban, Doughty, and Karlsson are no different than Ray Bourque or Paul Coffey before them in that sense. If they kept careful track of real-time stats in the days of Bobby Orr, I’d imagine he’d have similar numbers.

The logic that it’s not Subban’s “time” right now is also quite troubling. If the implication is that Subban isn’t yet a good enough player to be one of the six best defensemen in Canada, then that’s simply absurd as he was just given an award as best defenseman in the NHL.

If not a comment on ability, why isn’t it PK’s “time”?

It’s a particularly troubling question to consider when taken into context of the other comments about PK being brash, cocky, arrogant, immature and so on. All of these comments imply some sort of inferiority to other hockey players where none exists.

Why? PK Subban is a black man in hockey which is traditionally a “white man’s game.” He plays the game with an electric, dynamic style that makes him one of the most exciting players to watch in the entire sport. In so doing, he refuses to conform to a submissive or docile role as many in the media and even his fellow players have wanted Subban to take his entire career.

We had Mike Richards say of Subban’s play “hopefully someone on their team addresses it, because, uh, I’m not saying I’m going to do it but something might happen to him if he continues to be that cocky.” In other words, settle down. Submit. Know your place. Or else.

During the 2011-12 season, Kyle Barch of the Florida Panthers was ejected from a game when he asked Subban if he slipped on a banana peel.

Then there is the infamous incident where TSN analyst Darren Pang stated that Subban should play more like Alex Pietrangelo because Pietrangelo does things “the white way.”

Not coincidentally, Pietrangelo played in all of Team Canada’s games despite being statistically inferior to Subban.

Racism is insidious. It doesn’t always come out overtly. The days of a coach or owner saying outright that a player can’t play because they are black don’t happen anymore. Instead terms like risky, reckless, or immature are thrown about.

It wasn’t like that for the late Herb Carnegie. He was one of the biggest stars in all of hockey and seemed destined for a career in the NHL. That all came to an end in 1938 when Conn Smythe told Carnegie that the only way that he could play for the Toronto Maple Leafs is if he could turn himself white.

In an interview with Hockey Night In Canada in 2009 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Willie O’Ree breaking the NHL colour barrier, Carnegie sobbed uncontrollably when recounting the story of being prevented from playing in the NHL.

“I just had a door closed where I couldn’t participate,” he remembered.

One can’t help but wonder if similar sentiments won’t come from PK Subban if and when he’s interviewed about his Olympic experience decades from now.

After all, for PK as well, this was a door closed where he couldn’t participate. Nobody in their right mind would make the argument that PK Subban isn’t a better hockey player than Dan Hamhuis, Marc-Eduard Vlasic, or Jay Bouwmeester.

Further adding insult to injury was a fan showing up to Canada’s game wearing a Subban Team Canada jersey and full blackface. It wasn’t the first time such an incident has occurred in PK’s professional career. For some, treatment and attitudes toward black players hasn’t progressed since the days of Herb Carnegie.

No matter what the result is for Team Canada at the Olympics, the fact that Subban wasn’t given a chance to play and the question of why he wasn’t will always be the legacy of this team.

http://www.theargus.ca/articles/sports/2014/02/a-racist-team-legacy-pk-subban-and-the-olympics

 

[Miggs]

Sad how some people don't understand fighting in hockey and the role it plays in the game. Yo u have to police Nikkaz or else you'll see dudes run the fukk out of top players. Very easy to take a run at Crosby when you know no one will come after you. Fighting keeps guys a lot more honest than no fighting.

Nah if you called the game properly you dont need goons enforcing it,when you think about it its kind of stupid having bums on skates who have no business playing at the top level "policing" it cuz the refs cant do it properly..

What other walk of life is it ok for the inmates to run the asylum...you dont need fighting in hockey and the reasonings to have it are as absurd as the notion of guys agreeing to fight before a faceoff and then patting each other on the heads after..it makes the game look so bush league and like a circus....

If you called penalties for the stick work and other BS you dont need thuggery on knives..thats what the problem is,the officials and league refuse to call the game and get the shyt out the league...

If you dont need fighting in football you certainly dont need it in hockey...

 

[Miggs]

@Jamal
@JLova



http://www.theargus.ca/articles/sports/2014/02/a-racist-team-legacy-pk-subban-and-the-olympics

Good article,he artiulated some of what i said during the olympics..the bigoted analysts lie about what they are watching to keep PK down,going by metrics hes actually there top defensive defenceman....

read the comment section tells you everything you need to know...racism in hockey and canada is alive and well...

 

[JLova]

Nah if you called the game properly you dont need goons enforcing it,when you think about it its kind of stupid having bums on skates who have no business playing at the top level "policing" it cuz the refs cant do it properly..

What other walk of life is it ok for the inmates to run the asylum...you dont need fighting in hockey and the reasonings to have it are as absurd as the notion of guys agreeing to fight before a faceoff and then patting each other on the heads after..it makes the game look so bush league and like a circus....

If you called penalties for the stick work and other BS you dont need thuggery on knives..thats what the problem is,the officials and league refuse to call the game and get the shyt out the league...

If you dont need fighting in football you certainly dont need it in hockey...

Not true.