100%. That is team toughness and guys showing some leadership and guts out there. That should not be their jobs game after game. Had that been Hathaway instead of Couturier we might be down a defenseman right now.
Kane is still on our team. Desharnais did offer some physicality, but he was a #7 dman who was scratched in a third of our playoff games. Apart from him, our roster is missing nobody. So unless you think Desharnais is some massive loss, I fail to see how the Oilers are any less gritty than last year. Podkolzin is as gritty as Deshairnais, but he's a forward.
And that's what the entire team needs to do. I think Stecher did it because he was the closest, not that nobody else would.
Too bad Leon Draisaitl isn't one of those guys willing to step up. Imagine being 6'2" 210 lbs and a coward. Instead you have tiny Troy Stecher carrying water for the team against 6'4" 210 lb Sean Couturier. SMH.
Truth be told there are times that I am not a fan of his shenanigans because I am a big proponent of if you are going to dish dirt then you should be ready to back it up. That said, in no circumstances do I want to See McDavid, Draisaitl or Bouchard fighting much like you likely didn't want to watch Gaudreau drop them when he was a Flame (RIP Johnny Hockey). They are too valuable to our team. McDavid's last fight led to a broken hand in junior. If that happened now we would be f***ed. The whole point of having guys like Kostin, Deslauriers, etc. is for them to do the majority of the dirty work and fighting.
To some extent I share your sentiment. Draisaitl is a big boy who has a habit of using his stick in ways that are outside of the rules. The code says that he should either cut those antics out of his game or be willing to drop the gloves when called on. On the other side, I’m sure you can understand that nobody on the team wants Draisaitl taking fights.
We traded for better and more proven production and shipped out youth and speed. Long term it hurts us no doubt, but for this year, in yet another Cup or Bust year and possibly our last realistic one, it may pay off.
It's cause Drai is no dummy, he knows he is more valuable scoring goals than he is mucking it up with a bunch of flames players I mean players of much lesser talent.
He's a dirty player when pissed off but also a coward who runs from a fight when someone has had enough of his stick work and other dirty plays. Cowards always find an excuse not to fight and are happy to let others take a beating for them.
Stecher was the best one to do it, given everyone else's position on the ice. We probably would have gotten a fight instigator penalty if anyone else left their position to drop the mitts. Stecher did fine. Coutourier is big, but he's not exactly known as a brawler out there.
If ol' Pissy Leon has got you seething then that's a job well done by him
It's kind of funny that the two Flyers who fought are the two Flyers who recently had major spinal surgeries.
broadstreetbuzz.com
Couts should probably not be running over goalies if his spine is so fragile. Nobody forced Farabee to fight. Perry challenged him as they lined up, both guys dropped them. I genuinely hope neither are injured, but I'm not sure what relevance this has to anything.It's kind of funny that the two Flyers who fought are the two Flyers who recently had major spinal surgeries.
Joel Farabee undergoes disc replacement surgery
Joel Farabee is likely to miss training camp and potentially the beginning of the Flyers season after undergoing disc replacement surgery.
Yeah, Risto and a first or two for a mix of middling prospects seems like the right value. Hathaway I'd have time for on the Oilers, but he can't be worth more than a mid round pick.
