Has Hitting become more of a negative statistic

[BlackAdam]

I'm not saying hitting is bad but players just going out trying to stat pad as much as they can.
The way I see it if you're on the ice and have the puck, there's no need to hit cause you're maintaining possession.
Players with high amount of hits are just puck chasing and are usually playing in their own zone.

Currently the top 5 leaders in hits are playing on teams that are not in a playoff spot.

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[tabness]

new nhl has the fans it wants lol

 

[Three On Zero]

No, you need these types of players, they are the ones that wear down your opponent. They have a time and a place.

Grinders to wear the players down, skilled players to take advantage of it.

 

[mphmiles]

It's not a negative statistic as much as it's a statistic that's just not really correlated at all with effectiveness. Thankfully, the idea that you have to throw hits to be a good defensive player is slowly dying. There are some really good defensive players that throw the body a lot, and also many that really don't. Ex: Slavin, Tanev, Brodin, Forsling, Toews.

 

[Grifter3511]

It's true that if you're hitting players it implies your team doesn't have the puck. But that's also the ebb and flow of hockey. Without actually looking, I'm willing to bet that the team with the best possession numbers doesn't, or barely, cracks 60% possession time. That means there's still 40% of the time when your team doesn't have the puck. That's a significant amount of time. Wearing down opponents, separating players from the puck, dumping players on their butts so they are out of the play, are all effective methods to get the puck back.

 

[Bond]

It’s kind of like blocking shots. If all the player can do is block shots then they probably aren’t that good. Hitting still has its place

 

[mightbeabird]

Maybe it doesn't have the same effect on regular season games but come playoff time you want to be able to wear down your opponent.

 

[MessierII]

Is this Dallas Eakins alternate account or something?

No hitting is not negative.

 

[Bounces R Way]

It's a very poorly recorded statistic in the first place. Not to be taken seriously, good or bad.

 

[nbwingsfan]

Only people who have never actually played hockey would ever thinking hitting a lot is a negative thing. It 100% affects the other team