2024/2025 Around the League

[henchman21]

I've seen Adam Foote stand guys up at the blue line and knock the slobber out of them without him having to resort to what Trouba did there. Nikita Zadorov is a friggin' giant and yet it's extraordinarily difficult for me to name times he hit a guy in the head. He almost always plants that shoulder right in the other player's chest.

Both of them have a lot of hits akin to this.

This was bad because Barron’s head was down and didn’t expect to get hit that hard.

 

[Pokecheque]

Both of them have a lot of hits akin to this.

Trouba's hits are almost exclusively like this.

 

[henchman21]

Trouba's hits are almost exclusively like this.

Nah… he has a lot of these and more than normal. But the dude is one of the most physical players in the league and this was the first we are chattering about this year.

 

[dmac7719]

I've seen Adam Foote stand guys up at the blue line and knock the slobber out of them without him having to resort to what Trouba did there. Nikita Zadorov is a friggin' giant and yet it's extraordinarily difficult for me to name times he hit a guy in the head. He almost always plants that shoulder right in the other player's chest.

Rewatch the Scheifele hit

 

[Pokecheque]

Nah… he has a lot of these and more than normal. But the dude is one of the most physical players in the league and this was the first we are chattering about this year.

Eh, like you say, it's a matter of opinion and I still think he's the dirtiest player in the league. He's Tom Wilson in defenseman form. Zadorov can lay big hits and--I'll just disagree with you here--rarely if ever does he pull shit like this.

 

[Pokecheque]

Rewatch the Scheifele hit

Okay, I did. Doesn't look like targeting to me.

Also, ha ha, didn't realize Trouba was the guy who went after Big Z afterward.

 

[henchman21]

Eh, like you say, it's a matter of opinion and I still think he's the dirtiest player in the league. He's Tom Wilson in defenseman form. Zadorov can lay big hits and--I'll just disagree with you here--rarely if ever does he pull shit like this.

He's definitely up there on dirtiest player. This just wasn't one of those instances. His past plays shouldn't play into the evaluation of this being dirty or not. He's had plenty of other hits this year where we haven't had one to talk about. I would say the main reason we are even talking about is because it is Trouba.

I can post a bunch of Z that are as bad, if not worse than this. It happens with him too. It happens with any physical player, most don't walk the line as closely as Trouba, but the line almost always gets crossed sometimes.

 

[The Abusement Park]

Rewatch the Scheifele hit

Was gonna say the Scheifele hit is widely celebrated here and those are quite similar from my memory.

 

[McMetal]

Was gonna say the Scheifele hit is widely celebrated here and those are quite similar from my memory.

The difference is that Schiefele popped right back up after he got hit, and Barron stayed down. For all the spectacular ragdolling that ensued from Zadorov's hit, there wasn't any injury on the play, because he didn't throw himself into the hit like Schiefele had dumped his sister.

 

[henchman21]

The difference is that Schiefele popped right back up after he got hit, and Barron stayed down. For all the spectacular ragdolling that ensued from Zadorov's hit, there wasn't any injury on the play, because he didn't throw himself into the hit like Schiefele had dumped his sister.

Which one? I recall on one of the three Schiefele was down for a while.

In any case, Z goes over the line a good amount too. He's gotten tossed for boards and elbows as well. Last year he got hit with two games for a brutal hit on Raymond in like Feb/March and then in April had a terrible boarding play on Howden. Naturally physical players will go over the line, and Trouba is no exception. But this hit on Barron wasn't over the line as it is defined today.

 

[Pokecheque]

Even Z admitted (and apologized) for that awful hit last year. For a guy who is as physical as he is, he didn't actually get suspended for a long, LONG time. And while I know the DOPS is run by idiots, I really don't think he's done much at all to warrant suspensions. The one where he finally DID get dinged, yes, that one was bad and deserved as much. But it's a big exception to the rule.

In any case, Z goes over the line a good amount too.

I simply don't agree with this. Of course he crosses the line, any player who hits as much and as hard as he does inevitably will. But he's proven he has a sound hitting technique that isn't headhunting, doesn't explode upwards into players, and he usually keeps the arms down. He's a big guy but he usually doesn't catch guys high and he doesn't really feel the need to add momentum, whereas a guy like Trouba goes full ninja.

 

[Chiarelli]

Running around robbing heads
All whacked on the Trouba tracks

 

[henchman21]

Even Z admitted (and apologized) for that awful hit last year. For a guy who is as physical as he is, he didn't actually get suspended for a long, LONG time. And while I know the DOPS is run by idiots, I really don't think he's done much at all to warrant suspensions. The one where he finally DID get dinged, yes, that one was bad and deserved as much. But it's a big exception to the rule.

I simply don't agree with this. Of course he crosses the line, any player who hits as much and as hard as he does inevitably will. But he's proven he has a sound hitting technique that isn't headhunting, doesn't explode upwards into players, and he usually keeps the arms down. He's a big guy but he usually doesn't catch guys high and he doesn't really feel the need to add momentum, whereas a guy like Trouba goes full ninja.

Yeah he admitted it was bad and he's not as egregious as others, but to act like he doesn't routinely is just not accurate. This was him a couple months after they Raymond hit:

https://x.com/i/web/status/1775354910722175130

 

[McMetal]

Which one? I recall on one of the three Schiefele was down for a while.

In any case, Z goes over the line a good amount too. He's gotten tossed for boards and elbows as well. Last year he got hit with two games for a brutal hit on Raymond in like Feb/March and then in April had a terrible boarding play on Howden. Naturally physical players will go over the line, and Trouba is no exception. But this hit on Barron wasn't over the line as it is defined today.

The hit on Raymond that got him suspended wasn't really about Z headhunting, he just went for a big hit and mistimed it. Yes, it was head contact and yes, it deserved a suspension, but I don't think there was anything intentional about it.

 

[henchman21]

The hit on Raymond that got him suspended wasn't really about Z headhunting, he just went for a big hit and mistimed it. Yes, it was head contact and yes, it deserved a suspension, but I don't think there was anything intentional about it.

I don't think he was headhunting either. He was going for a big hit and screwed up. It simply happens. In this Trouba hit, he wasn't headhunting there. Just going for a big hit and he landed it (cleanly). Similar to Z on Kase a couple years ago. Now Trouba does headhunt, but this hit just wasn't an example of it.

On a different note, Lundell looks incredibly good stepping in for Barkov.

 

[Pokecheque]

Yeah he admitted it was bad and he's not as egregious as others, but to act like he doesn't routinely is just not accurate. This was him a couple months after they Raymond hit:

This was way more recent, he did not routinely engage in bullshit like this during his time in Colorado (nor did he, near as I can tell) in Chicago, Calgary, or Vancouver. The worst hit I can remember him making as an Av was a high hit on Jack Eichel, which ironically pissed off Eichel so much that HE got suspended for a cheap shot later in the game on Carl Soderberg (which pissed me off because it derailed Soderberg's best goal scoring season in his career IIRC). But again, those were the exception.

Recently, yeah, he's made some bad hits I'll have to admit but I don't feel it's reflective of his past exploits.

 

[henchman21]

This was way more recent, he did not routinely engage in bullshit like this during his time in Colorado (nor did he, near as I can tell) in Chicago, Calgary, or Vancouver. The worst hit I can remember him making as an Av was a high hit on Jack Eichel, which ironically pissed off Eichel so much that HE got suspended for a cheap shot later in the game on Carl Soderberg (which pissed me off because it derailed Soderberg's best goal scoring season in his career IIRC). But again, those were the exception.

Recently, yeah, he's made some bad hits I'll have to admit but I don't feel it's reflective of his past exploits.

https://x.com/i/web/status/1491966460427743234

That's the Kase one I referenced. This is more borderline than Trouba's on Barron IMO. Though I don't think this hit is egregious either. Z isn't dirty in the same fashion as Trouba. Not even close. I just simply don't think this hit on Barron is any worse than a number we have seen with Z.

 

[Metallo]

I don't know about hilarious but at least Bergevin is entertaining with his suits and all.

If by "all" you mean "stupidity" then I agree.

 

[Pokecheque]

If by "all" you mean "stupidity" then I agree.

I'd be thrilled to have Bergevin take whatever talent and offensive dynamic they have left in L.A. and get rid of it in favor of one-dimensional grinders and slow-as-f*** defenders. The Habs were largely mediocre during his run, had one fluke run to the Final under crazy circumstances, then promptly imploded. If he brings that to the West Coast I have no problem with that.

Boy I usually give Ronnie Franchise a ton of shit for making so many bad calls on goaltending over the years, but he's practically a Benoit brother compared to Blake. Like, seriously, Blake is just incredible at finding some of the shittiest netminding in the league and getting it to Los Angeles. And you just KNEW Kuemper was gonna go down at some point, so that leaves him with Copley (whom I irrationally hate to begin with, not his fault), and...Big Save Dave. Wow.

 

[Balthazar]

Boy I usually give Ronnie Franchise a ton of shit for making so many bad calls on goaltending over the years, but he's practically a Benoit brother compared to Blake. Like, seriously, Blake is just incredible at finding some of the shittiest netminding in the league and getting it to Los Angeles. And you just KNEW Kuemper was gonna go down at some point, so that leaves him with Copley (whom I irrationally hate to begin with, not his fault), and...Big Save Dave. Wow.

Well it was either making that trade or buying out PLD.

They had goalie issues and Kuemper is a goalie so it was worth a shot. I'll not blame him for that trade.

 

[Pokecheque]

Well it was either making that trade or buying out PLD.

They had goalie issues and Kuemper is a goalie so it was worth a shot. I'll not blame him for that trade.

No, I don't blame him there, it was the other two I'm like...really? Copley I suppose has done well for them before so I could see it but having Rittich in the mix is just dumb IMO. He's awful. I can't believe that's who he chose to back up an extremely injury prone starter.

That's why I'm a tad confused as to what the Kings are trying to do this season. Feels like a punt year. They went big and traded for PLD, it blew up spectacularly in their faces, they got rid of PLD, and now they're just gonna see what happens. They already gave up on trying Byfield at center after less than 10 games, so it's just a top-2 center tandem of Kopitar/Danault, which wasn't good enough to begin with.

 

[expatriatedtexan]

No, I don't blame him there, it was the other two I'm like...really? Copley I suppose has done well for them before so I could see it but having Rittich in the mix is just dumb IMO. He's awful. I can't believe that's who he chose to back up an extremely injury prone starter.

That's why I'm a tad confused as to what the Kings are trying to do this season. Feels like a punt year. They went big and traded for PLD, it blew up spectacularly in their faces, they got rid of PLD, and now they're just gonna see what happens. They already gave up on trying Byfield at center after less than 10 games, so it's just a top-2 center tandem of Kopitar/Danault, which wasn't good enough to begin with.

I'm not sure that Rob Blake is all that great of a GM.

Hell of a dman, though. Really liked him until he ended Mueller.

 

[Metallo]

Flyers look putrid. Fedotov is worse than Georgiev if you can believe it. And somehow (with smoke and mirrors) the Caps look like a decent team.

 

[hockeyfish]

Flyers look putrid. Fedotov is worse than Georgiev if you can believe it. And somehow (with smoke and mirrors) the Caps look like a decent team.

Hard to play goal when the top of the top of the net is at your knees.

 

[Bill Peckerskull]

The difference is players like Zads and others do this 2 or 3 times a season at most. Trouba does this once every 15-20 games. He is actively headhunting almost every game.

@Pokecheque is right, he's the Tom Wilson of Defenseman. The only way you control that is taking his ass out with a big hit of your own, or beating his ass to a pulp for doing it. The league clearly DGAF.