Are the playoffs becoming too violent?

[Master P]

Hell no, the league needs some more hatred and animosity between teams

It all starts at home.

Need to bring back the good ol'e days.

 

[Bileur]

There are 17 game in an NHL season versus 82 in hockey. Not exactly apples to apples. And remember how long it took the NHL to actually do something about Raffi Torres.

Football is a very physical sport, but over the years there are more and more rules to protect players from violent hits. On kickoffs, on quarterbacks, on receivers.

And then there's the obvious point that soccer is the most popular sport in the world and it's not like guys are punching each other in the head. It's regularly referred to as soft here.

The claim that fans love violence and more of it would make the game more popular simply isn't backed up by reality.

I’m fully aware of the number of games. 3 game suspension is equivalent to 14 games.

Hockey, like Football, like Boxing, have also implemented various rules to make the sport safer. Doesn’t mean you have to take it to the extreme.

Soccer is definitely #1 in the world. I think that is far more attributable to its accessibility and ease of play than absence of violence.

I didn’t actually claim more violence means more popularity though I do think there’s nothing wrong with loving a sport the way it is and not trying to make it into a different game.

 

[Space umpire]

Did you even read past the title? I am fine with physical play but intent to injure doesn't belong to hockey.

Hitting to hurt is part of playoff hockey and has been for more than 50 years.
The major change is the p***yfication of fans who think hitting hard is too violent.

 

[RussianBum86]

Not too violenct,but the cheap shots are increasing because there is no fear of a player pummeling in the cheap shot artist or pulling their star off the bench and tuning them up like the golden days.

 

[GordonGraham]

Game has never been softer,we need more

 

[nowhereman]

"Too violent", lmfao. This is the softest generation of hockey ever.

 

[Pablo El Perro]

"Too violent", lmfao. This is the softest generation of hockey ever.

Just all upset about a handful of plays. I wouldn't judge a generation by it, as some of those complaining are older than me.

 

[trellaine201]

They wouldn't be so violent if players respected one another and the refs actually reffed like their suppose to. Cheap shots are allowed in the playoffs.

 

[OysterForever]

Hitting to hurt is part of playoff hockey and has been for more than 50 years.
The major change is the p***yfication of fans who think hitting hard is too violent.

Why don't we change the scoring system from goals to amount of "bells rung" or teeth knocked out?

 

[Tie Domi Esquire]

Too violent you cupcakes are the reason why rats are allowed to run around making gutless plays without having to answer for it. Live with it now.

 

[edevils]

Question for those watching before the 90s:
Was the game ever as skilled as it is now?

 

[Mattb124]

The playoffs are not becoming too violent, posters are becoming too soft and feeling too comfortable bitching about and over-inflating every minor infraction. One only has to look at all the threads asking about suspendablwnplays where ~1:5 actually is to see that social media has caused people to become too comfortable sharing opinions that are a mile out in left field.

 

[the valiant effort]

Unwatchable garbage.

f*** the quality of hockey was terrible back then. I hated it then and I hate it now.

You can probably count the number of hockey fans that were alive in 1994 but didn’t like the style on one hand

 

[ThreeLeftSkates]

Maybe just take out the refs and let an arms race determine the winner. I'm actually curious what would happen with no rules. I guess we would have an increase in deaths per game which would be unacceptable to the bottom line.

Faster player turnover would keep salaries down.

 

[Sadekuuro]

Question for those watching before the 90s:
Was the game ever as skilled as it is now?

No. But it was more fun, much less systemic.

 

[jiitu]

You are the definition of a modern audience

Maybe grown up one.

Also i was playing as kid 25+ years ago some nhl fighting etc. But I have not stayed mentally as kid. Im ok that some adults go boxing, or im ok if players on ice fight although Im not big fan of that. There participants knows anyway the risks.

But Im far from ok for intentional effort hurting during the game. Especially head shots. That is sick. Even without immediate consequences, CTE actually kills people. Cheering for that is midieval level thinking. I guess some sadists would also enjoy still 70s Formula 1 with drivers dying in flames every second start. But not normal healthy people.

 

[Face Of Bear]

The more violence the better tbh

 

[The Gr8 Dane]

Maybe grown up one.

Also i was playing as kid 25+ years ago some nhl fighting etc. But I have not stayed mentally as kid. Im ok that some adults go boxing, or im ok if players on ice fight although Im not big fan of that. There participants knows anyway the risks.

But Im far from ok for intentional effort hurting during the game. Especially head shots. That is sick. Even without immediate consequences, CTE actually kills people. Cheering for that is midieval level thinking. I guess some sadists would also enjoy still 70s Formula 1 with drivers dying in flames every second start. But not normal healthy people.

I'm actually waiting for coliseum style combat to the death to return personally

 

[RussianBum86]

Why don't we change the scoring system from goals to amount of "bells rung" or teeth knocked out?

Every penalty should he decided by the offender and his victim having a fight to determine if he Goes to the Box. If the offenders loses you get a 5 minute pp and if the offender wins no penalty. Sarcastic post.

 

[FriendlyGhost92]

What kind of question is that? I do remember both. Savard was briefly top10 player in the league.

... It was kinda the point that their careers were cut short and they were prohibited from leaving nearly as much of an impact as others.

 

[byrath]

I could be remembering wrong, but I'm fairly sure intentional high sticks were once considered extraordinarily cowardly and were punished harshly

 

[nturn06]

Hitting to hurt is part of playoff hockey and has been for more than 50 years.
The major change is the p***yfication of fans who think hitting hard is too violent.

I love a big hit as much as the next fan, but I am getting tired of watching crosschecks to the back every time the puck is in the D-zone.

But I get it, D-men are not supposed to be skilled anymore, that is soo 1960's.

 

[Connor MethDavid]

I don't know about the original question, but my thoughts:

- Playoffs are a physical and mental battle and need to remain so. It gives additional meaning to winning the cup;
- There is a very clear intent to injure in a lot of the current playoff hockey, with people intentionally targeting heads. The obvious intents to injure need to be policed by the DoPs harshly and consistently, which is not occurring.

 

[FrozenKing18]

I like good clean physical hockey. Not a fan of the high crosschecks, elbows to heads, and the slewfoots recently. It's chickenshit hockey. Also the scrums after clean hits are just awful. Your player gets hit, hit them back. Perfect example of how that should be handled was the McNabb and Benn hits from last year.

 

[tarheelhockey]

I like good clean physical hockey. Not a fan of the high crosschecks, elbows to heads, and the slewfoots recently. It's chickenshit hockey. Also the scrums after clean hits are just awful. Your player gets hit, hit them back. Perfect example of how that should be handled was the McNabb and Benn hits from last year.

That Benn response is one of the most aesthetically pretty hits you’ll ever see. And executed in a disciplined manner — no charge, no elbows, no stick, right through the chest, on the puck.