Around the NHL 2023-2024

[Mike Liut]

Damn. I got tired just watching that.

Loved the commentators, “can’t believe they’re (the linesmen) not getting in there.”

I can! If I was the linesman, I sure as heck wouldn’t get in there until both were exhausted.

they were two of my favorite non Blues players growing up. I miss that type of hockey.

 

[Majorityof1]

The good ole days

Meh. If I want to watch a fight, I'll watch real fighters go at it in a ring or a cage. This is goons with no skill hitting padding and pulling jerseys. Snoozefest for me. I like the current days much better. I can watch fighters fight in the UFC and then tune in to hockey to watch hockey, not guys trying to undress each other and punch helmets and padding.

 

[BlueDream]

Meh. If I want to watch a fight, I'll watch real fighters go at it in a ring or a cage. This is goons with no skill hitting padding and pulling jerseys. Snoozefest for me. I like the current days much better. I can watch fighters fight in the UFC and then tune in to hockey to watch hockey, not guys trying to undress each other and punch helmets and padding.

Good for you, but there’s people that like to watch hockey combined with violence and fighting at the same time. Games with passion are much more exciting than some of these games that look like summer pickup leagues where nobody gets touched.

 

[Majorityof1]

Good for you, but there’s people that like to watch hockey combined with violence and fighting at the same time. Games with passion are much more exciting than some of these games that look like summer pickup leagues where nobody gets touched.

I never said I wanted a game without hitting. And if you think you need to fight to have passion, I don't know what to tell you. The after the whistle stuff where people wrestle with each other's jerseys and punch helmets is not it for me. There is a reason why boxing matches break the fighters up when they clinch to long. Its booooring. To each their own though.

 

[Memento]

Fate...rest in peace, Adam Johnson. I'm not going to watch the video or post it here; I will not subject myself or others to the fact that someone was just killed on the ice. It's a horribly-brutal way to go, and it just makes me cry, knowing that this man will never see a thirtieth birthday, and his family, friends, teammates, and coaches will have to pick up the pieces.

 

[Frenzy31]

Good for you, but there’s people that like to watch hockey combined with violence and fighting at the same time. Games with passion are much more exciting than some of these games that look like summer pickup leagues where nobody gets touched.

Personally, I like watching fighting when it is emotion driven. Someone hits one of your guys in a cheap way and someone starts a fight. Or the team is playing with low energy so someone starts one.

But I don't like goons. Watching Schenn drop gloves, knowing we will not have him on the ice for 5 minutes (likely atleast 1 shift/maybe 2) is what I want to see. He is usually dropping them for a reason. I want to see skilled players who play the game drop them. Not a clown show where the Reed Lowes go out for their 2 minutes of ice for the entire game to have a fight with another guy who is doing the same thing.

This is why I liked Reaves. He isn't going to hurt you when he was on the ice and can play.

But I still believe in players policing themselves.

 

[Brian39]

Fate...rest in peace, Adam Johnson. I'm not going to watch the video or post it here; I will not subject myself or others to the fact that someone was just killed on the ice. It's a horribly-brutal way to go, and it just makes me cry, knowing that this man will never see a thirtieth birthday, and his family, friends, teammates, and coaches will have to pick up the pieces.

I will also not be watching and have been thinking about this a ton over the last 36 hours or so. I can't imagine the fear he and everyone in that arena experienced in his last moments. I watched a teammate suffer a career-ending cut on his leg that wasn't at all life-threatening, but it was a horrible experience for everyone on the team. That was 10+ years ago and I still think about it fairly regularly when I skate. This is so, so, so much worse. Just horrible.

I don't think any type of neck guard will ever offer 100% protection against these types of tragedies while still allowing enough mobility to play at the highest level, but it is time that leagues mandated them as required equipment. I'm afraid it is just a matter of time before there is a similar tragedy in an NHL game that will cause the league to react, but it would be great for the league to be proactive.

 

[Xerloris]

I will also not be watching and have been thinking about this a ton over the last 36 hours or so. I can't imagine the fear he and everyone in that arena experienced in his last moments. I watched a teammate suffer a career-ending cut on his leg that wasn't at all life-threatening, but it was a horrible experience for everyone on the team. That was 10+ years ago and I still think about it fairly regularly when I skate. This is so, so, so much worse. Just horrible.

I don't think any type of neck guard will ever offer 100% protection against these types of tragedies while still allowing enough mobility to play at the highest level, but it is time that leagues mandated them as required equipment. I'm afraid it is just a matter of time before there is a similar tragedy in an NHL game that will cause the league to react, but it would be great for the league to be proactive.

I've seen the video and TBH aside from the outcome I think the Malarchuk video was way worse. The quality of the video is not good obviously. I don't want to get into much detail but even with a neck guard, the amount of force he was hit with the guard may not have helped.

 

[Memento]

I will also not be watching and have been thinking about this a ton over the last 36 hours or so. I can't imagine the fear he and everyone in that arena experienced in his last moments. I watched a teammate suffer a career-ending cut on his leg that wasn't at all life-threatening, but it was a horrible experience for everyone on the team. That was 10+ years ago and I still think about it fairly regularly when I skate. This is so, so, so much worse. Just horrible.

I don't think any type of neck guard will ever offer 100% protection against these types of tragedies while still allowing enough mobility to play at the highest level, but it is time that leagues mandated them as required equipment. I'm afraid it is just a matter of time before there is a similar tragedy in an NHL game that will cause the league to react, but it would be great for the league to be proactive.

Should have some Kevlar padding or something around the thigh as well. I worry about the femoral artery being severed. But I agree.

I've seen people say that Matt Petgrave tried to hurt Adam Johnson on purpose. I don't know what to believe because I refuse to watch video of this; I can't even watch video of Malarchuk's injury, and he lived through it.

What I do know is that it doesn't matter what happened; he should not be playing, no matter what, until the coroner's report is finished. If he did it on purpose (the least likely possibility, one I desperately hope isn't the case), he's a danger to everyone on the ice and should never play again and should face jail time for murder. If it was an intent to hurt, but not go this far, he should not be playing again because he's reckless, and he needs serious psychological help as well as prison time for manslaughter. If it was an accident, he's going to be thinking about that in his head for the rest of his days, and he shouldn't play before getting counseling.

Either way, it's just...I haven't stopped thinking about it when I saw the first page. My heart plummeted when I heard Johnson died. And now, according to some people on the main thread, Petgrave could've done this on purpose.

I just don't know what to think, honestly. I've just been alternating between crying and numb. It's a tragedy, no matter how you spin it. Adam Johnson should not have died. Period.

 

[Xerloris]

Should have some Kevlar padding or something around the thigh as well. I worry about the femoral artery being severed. But I agree.

I've seen people say that Matt Petgrave tried to hurt Adam Johnson on purpose. I don't know what to believe because I refuse to watch video of this; I can't even watch video of Malarchuk's injury, and he lived through it.

What I do know is that it doesn't matter what happened; he should not be playing, no matter what, until the coroner's report is finished. If he did it on purpose (the least likely possibility, one I desperately hope isn't the case), he's a danger to everyone on the ice and should never play again and should face jail time for murder. If it was an intent to hurt, but not go this far, he should not be playing again because he's reckless, and he needs serious psychological help as well as prison time for manslaughter. If it was an accident, he's going to be thinking about that in his head for the rest of his days, and he shouldn't play before getting counseling.

Either way, it's just...I haven't stopped thinking about it when I saw the first page. My heart plummeted when I heard Johnson died. And now, according to some people on the main thread, Petgrave could've done this on purpose.

I just don't know what to think, honestly. I've just been alternating between crying and numb. It's a tragedy, no matter how you spin it. Adam Johnson should not have died. Period.

The coroners report is meaningless when trying to figure out of it was done on purpose. The video makes it look really bad for the guy that did it but I fully believe that was tugged off balance by Adam's team mate which caused him to fall and in that moment of off balance his legged kicked up into the air.

 

[STL fan in MN]

Should have some Kevlar padding or something around the thigh as well. I worry about the femoral artery being severed. But I agree.

I've seen people say that Matt Petgrave tried to hurt Adam Johnson on purpose. I don't know what to believe because I refuse to watch video of this; I can't even watch video of Malarchuk's injury, and he lived through it.

What I do know is that it doesn't matter what happened; he should not be playing, no matter what, until the coroner's report is finished. If he did it on purpose (the least likely possibility, one I desperately hope isn't the case), he's a danger to everyone on the ice and should never play again and should face jail time for murder. If it was an intent to hurt, but not go this far, he should not be playing again because he's reckless, and he needs serious psychological help as well as prison time for manslaughter. If it was an accident, he's going to be thinking about that in his head for the rest of his days, and he shouldn't play before getting counseling.

Either way, it's just...I haven't stopped thinking about it when I saw the first page. My heart plummeted when I heard Johnson died. And now, according to some people on the main thread, Petgrave could've done this on purpose.

I just don't know what to think, honestly. I've just been alternating between crying and numb. It's a tragedy, no matter how you spin it. Adam Johnson should not have died. Period.

I watched it. The amount of force the boot/blade hit him in the neck is immense. I will have to admit, that I’m left wondering what the heck Petgrave is doing there. But it’s a poor angle and I’m sure as heck not going to go searching for more video of it. The only person in the world that knows if it was at all purposeful is Matt Petgrave. He’s apparently beyond distraught at what happened. IMO, we should assume it wasn’t on purpose and approach the situation with grace. I’m sure Matt needs support and he’s currently being vilified and being called a murderer. I’d say there’s about a 5% chance he swung his leg on purpose and a 0% chance he actually wanted his blade to connect with Johnson. I’ll believe the 95% chance he was knocked off balance and it caused his leg to swing violently in the most horrific location possible until some sort of evidence would suggest otherwise.

 

[Brian39]

I've seen the video and TBH aside from the outcome I think the Malarchuk video was way worse. The quality of the video is not good obviously. I don't want to get into much detail but even with a neck guard, the amount of force he was hit with the guard may not have helped.

I've watched a ton of gruesome videos as part of my job. I've been to my share of crime scenes with a body still on the ground. Gore and blood doesn't phase me all that much.

But I just don't have a need to see this video. The only people I've seen describing it as murder or intentional are people without a background watching/playing hockey. By all accounts, Petgrave is devastated over this and I haven't seen any of the involved parties suggesting there was malice. I don't feel any need to wade into an online debate about intent here and I don't have any need to watch a person die on an ice rink just so I can say that I have a better idea of what happened.

I have a really, really, really hard time believing that a pro player of any level would intentionally swing their skate at head/neck level.

 

[BlueDream]

Before I watched it, I thought the uproar was a typical social media overreaction.

But the video is bizarre. I have played hockey, and have watched it for decades. I cannot figure out why Petgrave’s leg was that high in the air on that given play. It makes no sense if he was simply “off balance.” Any hockey player with the most basic understanding of body control would have been able to prevent that. This includes youth players, seriously.

Now, there’s no way he intended to kill the guy.

But he was trying to, I guess, make body contact in an extremely reckless way. This was completely avoidable and should have never happened.

 

[Stealth JD]

I don't think any type of neck guard will ever offer 100% protection against these types of tragedies while still allowing enough mobility to play at the highest level, but it is time that leagues mandated them as required equipment.

chainmail armor is lightweight and would absolutely stop a skate-blade. Don’t know how realistic such an option would be but it is an option.

 

[Bye Bye Blueston]

My guess is he had others place non-hockey bets on his account. Why would that be illegal or against any rules though? Only reason that’d make sense is WHY he wouldn’t place those usually legal bets himself - he was currently on a road trip and the city he was currently in didn’t allow sports gambling.

That’s just a guess but given the various facts that have leaked out, that’s the only scenario that I can come up with that’d make sense to be against any rules. The betting sites track your location so he had someone else place bets for him on his account to get around the geo-tracking.

32 Thoughts talked done more about it today. They don’t know what he allegedly did. They said some folks think someone else bet on hockey from his account but they don’t know that and can’t prove it. They also mentioned that league views prop bets (say McDavid to score on certain period) same as betting on game and that could be part of it too.

 

[Mike Liut]

The coroners report is meaningless when trying to figure out of it was done on purpose. The video makes it look really bad for the guy that did it but I fully believe that was tugged off balance by Adam's team mate which caused him to fall and in that moment of off balance his legged kicked up into the air.

I think that’s very possible

 

[mk80]

It' such an unfortunate situation, and underscores the danger of playing hockey.

I do think there needs to be discussion about neck guards being implemented. I'm not going to say they should be or shouldn't be as an incident like this has thankfully been rare. But simply that a discussion should take place, maybe some leagues could test it similar to what leagues like the Atlantic League has done for the MLB.

 

[Celtic Note]

I once took a slap shot to the trachea during pregame. No one saw it. It felt like I couldn’t breathe for a minute. Luckily I eventually was able to take a breath in. One of the scariest moments in my life and no one even knew. I am surprised there was no damage done. If it happened a few years later when we were all bigger and could crank heavier shots, I have no idea if I would still be alive.

I had no neck guard at the time and I believe it was the year after they were no longer required or maybe two. But it’s been so long that I cannot remember.

Regardless, yeah necks are fragile and one of the least protected areas of your body in hockey.

 

[HighNote]

I once took a slap shot to the trachea during pregame. No one saw it. It felt like I couldn’t breathe for a minute. Luckily I eventually was able to take a breath in. One of the scariest moments in my life and no one even knew. I am surprised there was no damage done. If it happened a few years later when we were all bigger and could crank heavier shots, I have no idea if I would still be alive.

I had no neck guard at the time and I believe it was the year after they were no longer required or maybe two. But it’s been so long that I cannot remember.

Regardless, yeah necks are fragile and one of the least protected areas of your body in hockey.

I'm not even sure if a neck guard would have helped you there. The hard plastic is what you'd need, like on your shin pads. That absorbs shock. Imagine wearing a neck guard on your shin and taking a slapshot to it. That would be incredibly painful and would probably do close to the same amount of damage as it would if you weren't wearing anything.

 

[sbet1998]

The police are investigating it as they should but I dont see any way they can prove intent -- but it is the UK so Im not familiar with their justice system. What I saw was hard to determine but I dont see any real way he meant to do what he did. Seemed like he got clipped lost his balance and reacted like an idiot still trying to make a play on a puck carrier. The angle doesnt allow for much more analysis than that but it very well could have been intentional. Unless he admits it I dont think this goes anywhere.

Ill say this -- if you intentionally throw a kick at someone knowing you have a sharpened blade attached to the end of your foot -- whether you meant to harm them or not you should be held liable in the same manner. Its one of the unwritten rules of hockey to keep your blades away from players and on the ice at all times.

I think having a layer of kevlar or something light and flexible would be doable but I dont see the need to make more changes. This is such a rare occurrence.

 

[mk80]

Well the English Hockey Association certainly has moved swiftly on the matter.


Also I finally saw the video of the play (no thanks to the assholes posting it all over Twitter/X). I’m not sure how much any neck guard would have helped with how the play happened unfortunately. As for the investigation by the local authorities, I’m not surprised to see them open a case, I don’t think there was any intent or that any could be proven by what I saw.

 

[sbet1998]

Well the English Hockey Association certainly has moved swiftly on the matter.


Also I finally saw the video of the play (no thanks to the assholes posting it all over Twitter/X). I’m not sure how much any neck guard would have helped with how the play happened unfortunately. As for the investigation by the local authorities, I’m not surprised to see them open a case, I don’t think there was any intent or that any could be proven by what I saw.

Idiotic overreaction. Braindead response..

 

[STL fan in MN]

For the record, an investigation is opened on any non-normal, dying of natural causes death. So there being an investigation here doesn’t really mean anything.

I still say it was very likely a horrific accident. If you’re willing to watch the video, watch Petgrave’s left skate as he glides in. A huge part of his weight is on the edge of that blade as he’s preparing to explode up into Johnson for an open ice hit. The video is grainy but that left skate then appears to clip the back of Johnson’s teammate’s boot, causing it to lose contact with the ice. All of the momentum Petgrave had on that blade has to go somewhere. IMO, it sent his leg flying through the air, right as Johnson cut to his right and the blade and his neck horrifically met.

Maybe there was some recklessness on the part of Petgrave but I’d be shocked if there was any ill intent.

 

[STL fan in MN]

Idiotic overreaction. Braindead response..

Is it? Why?

Pros in Sweden and Finland have been wearing them for years. In fact, here’s a pic of Adam Johnson wearing one when he played for Malmo of the SHL.

 

[Celtic Note]

I'm not even sure if a neck guard would have helped you there. The hard plastic is what you'd need, like on your shin pads. That absorbs shock. Imagine wearing a neck guard on your shin and taking a slapshot to it. That would be incredibly painful and would probably do close to the same amount of damage as it would if you weren't wearing anything.

It is quite possible that it would not have helped.