Players would be so terrified of something happening by accident, nobody would hit at all anymore. May as well just formally ban hitting if that’s the route you’re going to take.
He also now holds the record for a player taken first overall to be suspended on the 9th day of November and bunch more records I can make up.
So Slaf (or any NHL rookie) never played the game before ? They are on skates since they are 2 years old and play since their childhood in organized teams with coaches and referees. They know the rules.
Gotta play up the false outrage so everyone knows you’re a good person
Generations of hockey players have gone thru the NHL and never (or rarely) hit someone from behind near the boards. 40 years ago, they were stil mostly playing without helmets.
Not at NHL speed against players as fast and strong as NHLers. It would be hard to find the balance between wanting to show your physicality, protecting yourself, making the right play, etc. Would be easy to do too much, especially when you are trying to earn your place.
Do you really want to go down that road? Lmao. Sure let’s talk about stuff you could get away with 40 years ago.
Slaf was playing against men in Finland, at the Olympics and the World.... Slaf doesn't have to worry about his place. He is a 1st overall pick.
There was certainly less of those behind the back crosschecking near the boards.
Then why are people saying he’s not ready, should be sent to the AHL, should have went back to Europe, etc?
Proof?
The kid is improving every game, and by mid season, he will be a real full time NHL player with top-six potential and impact.
90's is 30 years ago... I am watching hockey since the mid-1960's. There was more fighting for sure. But those kinds of hits were very rare.
I think Slaf messed up, there… but I miss mean ass hockey.
no but 200 foot races to flatten the D on a negated icing would sure get the crowd going back then. And head hunting was celebrated (Both of which I hated to be clear)
Before Slaf does that, he could reach out to the player.
There was worse shit that happened.
There was worse things going on. Late hitting and head shots especially, but also hits from behind. In no way is it worse now, and the incident with Slaf is not anywhere close to some of the stuff we’ve seen. That’s the main point. If the league wants to set an example, fine, but let’s not act like what Slaf did was anywhere near as bad as countless other things we’ve seen over the years. It wasn’t a malicious play at all, he just made the wrong decision in the heat of the moment. Mistakes happen.
However, this being HF, we’ll want to know what he did in Liiga.
If you want to choose to see things in black and white, to each his own then. Discretion, nuance, and context matter, and have tremendous value when assessing situations and making decisions. People who have sense when it comes to these things are the ones we want in charge, not the rigid, narrow-minded, by the book types.
Mistake or voluntary: the result is the same. A guy has been, could be, badly injured.
