Has diving become a normalized part of the game?

[BraveCanadian]

Unfortunately, yes.

A lot of people don't value sportsmanship, and don't respect the game, themselves or their opponents and so they feel that cheating is somehow showing competitiveness.

It is a really sad and demoralizing way of thinking.

 

[VustyVoles]

Marty Necas is watching this thread w intent

 

[Golden_Jet]

Gallagher is real bad at it, but it been around forever.

 

[Sting]

He’s really cut it out of his game this season but no one is going to notice or care.

Nope - once Montreal fans jump on that train with their fearless leader Brendan Gallagher, the epitome of professionalism and respect for the game, there's no going back.

I think more than outright diving, what annoys me most is the "down by 1 goal, I'm going to embellish every single action taken against me".

This is employed by virtually every top team in the league and there's no way that's going away. It really is up to the refs to cut this out of the game and it must be incredibly difficult from their viewpoint on the ice to do this.

 

[HockeyVirus]

Absolutely. So many very obvious dives happen that do not get fined or penalized but called out by coaches (usually in game we can clearly see them saying it to the refs).

The second issue is when they do call a dive, almost always it ends up 4 on 4 as they take both and not just the diver.

The natural progression is we even see coaches and stuff talking about when you take a high stick, you need to make it obvious you got hit. Throw your head back, that kind of thing because if not more times than not the refs let it go.

My recommendations:

1. Rule change that diving infractions are 4 minutes so when refs call both, teams are punished for diving.

2. DOPS to take diving more seriously and start enforcing progressive fines that lead into suspensions. The fact that we can list a handful of players such as Stutzle known to be falling all over the ice every game and he gets nothing said to him can only be taken as endorsement.

 

[JPT]

I think the more interesting question would be, "Do fans of teams who dive the most see fewer dives?"

 

[12ozPapa]

I hate diving and it’s increase the last few years. Hockey used to be one of the few sports where that shit was policed a bit better. Oh well. Hard hitting hockey is mostly gone anyway

 

[Lazlo Hollyfeld]

It's frowned upon now. It's still happening just like it always was.

Try and revise history all you want but I’ve been watching hockey since the 1980s. The simple reality is that the prevalence and acceptance of diving is at an all time high.

 

[Gaylord Q Tinkledink]

Tim Stutzle would average 1 a period.

 

[Machinehead]

Try and revise history all you want but I’ve been watching hockey since the 1980s. The simple reality is that the prevalence and acceptance of diving is at an all time high.

I love how your perception of it is just fact.

In my opinion -and I've been doing this a long time too- there's nothing hockey fans complain more about than diving, and they've always complained about it, so it must have always been happening.

 

[PatriceBergeronFan]

Applauded more than ever before, endorsed by incompetent officials, and supported by worthless Parros who chooses one player a season to fine once for embellishment.

Cringeworthy as it has escalated beyond head jerks for near high sticks to feigning season ending knee injuries and concussions.

 

[OKR]

Players don’t necessarily dive more, they just don’t fight to stay up as much as they used to.

Ever since they tighten up the rules to prevent ”clutch n grab” hockey there really hasn’t been a reason to actively try to stay up, that combined with the speed of the game constantly getting faster leads to players losing balance easier.

 

[Matthews4Calder]

It all boils down to the people that run the league. Soccer is the same but EUFA, FIFA whomever are clueless. Start punishing the players more harshly. NHL the same. I always thought if you're calling a guy for a trip whatever and also hand out an embellishment penalty there lies the problem. maybe just call the embellishment. Crack down on the people embellishing and maybe it will reduce the diving that we see. Soccer is a joke let's keep hockey from becoming the same.

 

[blankall]

Always was. In fact that used to refer to it as one of those "veteran plays". I would say the strategy seems to have become more ingrained with the coaching now and how important power plays are.

This really took off post lockout. The 2010/11 Canucks used diving as their main strategy to win games. Antagonize, dive, get the call, send out the Sedins to cycle on the PP. Worked pretty well until the finals when the refs (and the non-canucks viewers) decided they'd had enough and put the whistles away a bit. The Bruins were equally good at antagonizing but dominated the Canucks physically.

Was hoping that the Canucks pounding was the end of diving, but it always sneaks it's way back into the game. A lesser, but similar, thing happened to the Oilers, but then they met the Panthers. The Panthers, like the Bruins, had the combo of both antagonizing players and players who could back things up physically.

 

[Golden_Jet]

Absolutely. So many very obvious dives happen that do not get fined or penalized but called out by coaches (usually in game we can clearly see them saying it to the refs).

The second issue is when they do call a dive, almost always it ends up 4 on 4 as they take both and not just the diver.

The natural progression is we even see coaches and stuff talking about when you take a high stick, you need to make it obvious you got hit. Throw your head back, that kind of thing because if not more times than not the refs let it go.

My recommendations:

1. Rule change that diving infractions are 4 minutes so when refs call both, teams are punished for diving.

2. DOPS to take diving more seriously and start enforcing progressive fines that lead into suspensions. The fact that we can list a handful of players such as Stutzle known to be falling all over the ice every game and he gets nothing said to him can only be taken as endorsement.

lol, a leafs player has had a more recent embellishment player get called than him,

Yes there can be a trip and an embellishment on the same call. Player was tripped but also embellished.

 

[Cup or Bust]

Since 2005 diving has been more prominent. It was definitely less previously when you were allowed to hook and hold more, the incentive to go down was much less.

 

[Score08]

Ask the panthers

 

[HockeyVirus]

lol, a leafs player has had a more recent embellishment player get called than him,

Yes there can be a trip and an embellishment on the same call. Player was tripped but also embellished.

Not sure what Leafs have to do with this. My point was punish the embellishment more severe than the penalty to stop heads throwing back like they got JFK'd by a slight high stick or every time they feel a stick in their legs diving like they are trying to take a bullet for the president.

 

[RickyLafleur]

it is what it is.

just look at the panthers, canes, sens, etc. big time diving teams and they all get rewarded for it.

you mean every single team, right?

 

[MakoSlade]

He’s really cut it out of his game this season but no one is going to notice or care.

A bad reputation is easy to get and hard to get rid of.

As for the nostalgia of diving, it has always been present. Seems ridiculous nowadays, but maybe that is because we can literally watch every NHL game and find a safe place to rage about it.

Old school example, Mario Lemieux. Guy could skate through a brick wall carrying the puck, and yet the slightest tap put him down like a shotgun blast.

 

[KirkAlbuquerque]

He’s really cut it out of his game this season but no one is going to notice or care.

yeah just like Crosby "stopped whining"

 

[Golden_Jet]

Not sure what Leafs have to do with this. My point was punish the embellishment more severe than the penalty to stop heads throwing back like they got JFK'd by a slight high stick or every time they feel a stick in their legs diving like they are trying to take a bullet for the president.

Guess you’ve never been high-sticked in the face then,

 

[NyQuil]

A bad reputation is easy to get and hard to get rid of.

As for the nostalgia of diving, it has always been present. Seems ridiculous nowadays, but maybe that is because we can literally watch every NHL game and find a safe place to rage about it.

Old school example, Mario Lemieux. Guy could skate through a brick wall carrying the puck, and yet the slightest tap put him down like a shotgun blast.

Well he’s paying for it now.

He’ll get hauled down in front of the ref and there will be no call.

It’s the bed he made and now he has to sleep in it.

As you say, it’s not just a reputation with fans but with the officials as well.

 

[Lazlo Hollyfeld]

I love how your perception of it is just fact.

In my opinion -and I've been doing this a long time too- there's nothing hockey fans complain more about than diving, and they've always complained about it, so it must have always been happening.

That's some faulty logic there, starting with a false premise.

It's not just my memory. Think of how the whole league was in the past. More fighting. More physical play. Don't miss games due to injury, certainly not for mental health or family issues. No faceguards. No friggin helmets at one point. (To be clear I'm not saying these things were good).

You didn't dive if someone lightly tapped your shin because you'd get a rep around the league and your own teammates would have less respect for you.

 

[Perfect_Drug]

There isn't really any reprocussions for diving.

What usually happens is the ref bites on the dive and calls a penalty.
Worst that happens is offsetting minors, maybe a chump change fine a few weeks later.



If you ain't cheating you ain't trying.