It has been ten years since the Steckel on Crosby hit.

[Planetov]

I feel old because i was 18 when Sid joined the league, now I’m in my late 30s with a bunch of health issues including a benign brain mass limiting my physical movements and causing balance issues.

I think the pens and Crosby did okay all things considering.


Disgusting hit though. One is a plug and the other is among the greatest to play the game

Even in a thread full of black and yellow bias this is some serious hyperbole.

 

[Beau Knows]

I remember a lot of talk that he should have retired around that time. He went on to win a couple Cups, Smythes, etc and has scored over 1000 points since then.

Great to see guys like him and Bergeron comeback from some scary head injuries.

 

[Oilslick941611]

Even in a thread full of black and yellow bias this is some serious hyperbole.

I mean sure, guy looking the other, heading the other way gets a fly by from a plug with no business making the hit

 

[HTFN]

I mean sure, guy looking the other, heading the other way gets a fly by from a plug with no business making the hit

The plug was following the play, technically it’s the guy looking the wrong direction while trying to make a turn that does the fly-by here since he’s carrying most of the momentum.

David Steckel wishes he was the guy people say he was because of this hit, it would have added years to his career and millions to his bank account as a shit stirring type. In reality he’s a big bodied semi-soft dummy who skated through contact he barely noticed in an NHL game while following the puck. They literally drill taking contact without losing focus into you, this isn’t a free skate, nobody’s real instinct is (or should be) to turn around and wonder about who bounced off them just because it’s Sidney Crosby.

 

[Planetov]

I mean sure, guy looking the other, heading the other way gets a fly by from a plug with no business making the hit

They collided. There was no “making a hit.” And how does Steckel being a plug have any bearing on this play?

 

[BigBadBruins7708]

10 years later and I still have no idea what the hell Crosby was doing skating through the zone for that long while looking the opposite direction.

 

[crab]

The plug was following the play, technically it’s the guy looking the wrong direction while trying to make a turn that does the fly-by here since he’s carrying most of the momentum.

David Steckel wishes he was the guy people say he was because of this hit, it would have added years to his career and millions to his bank account as a shit stirring type. In reality he’s a big bodied semi-soft dummy who skated through contact he barely noticed in an NHL game while following the puck. They literally drill taking contact without losing focus into you, this isn’t a free skate, nobody’s real instinct is (or should be) to turn around and wonder about who bounced off them just because it’s Sidney Crosby.

hey Steckel was good at face offs okay

Same Penguins fans cheering on Matt Cooke and then calling this hit dirty, makes you chuckle

 

[dirtydanglez]

it wasn't a hit it was incidental contact. crosby was looking the other way while gliding into steckels lane.

 

[Luigi Lemieux]

10 years later and I still have no idea what the hell Crosby was doing skating through the zone for that long while looking the opposite direction.

13 years, this thread is 3 years old

 

[blundluntman]

I don't think Steckell intentionally clipped him, at the very least I'm pretty certain he wasn't headhunting. It'd be one thing if he was lining him up or had a couple extra seconds to react, but the turnover happened very fast and they collided after hardly 3 strides, that's not enough time to make a calculated decision like that. At worst, maybe he was aware of Crosby and thought "whelp, I'm not trying to hit him but if we collide, at least I take him out of the play for a couple of seconds." unfortunate situation either way but I don't think it was malicious (that kinda stuff happens for sure, but not in this case IMO). I'd blame Pittsburgh's medical staff first and foremost for even clearing him to play in Tampa

 

[Luigi Lemieux]

I don't think Steckell intentionally clipped him, at the very least I'm pretty certain he wasn't headhunting. It'd be one thing if he was lining him up or had a couple extra seconds to react, but the turnover happened very fast and they collided after hardly 3 strides, that's not enough time to make a calculated decision like that. At worst, maybe he was aware of Crosby and thought "whelp, I'm not trying to hit him but if we collide, at least I take him out of the play for a couple of seconds." unfortunate situation either way but I don't think it was malicious (that kinda stuff happens for sure, but not in this case IMO). I'd blame Pittsburgh's medical staff first and foremost for even clearing him to play in Tampa

It was a different time back then. He had no history of concussions and there was no concussion protocol to follow. I'll bet lots of players pre-2011 routinely played with concussions, knowingly or unknowingly.

 

[Voight]

The fact that idiots like Rob Rossi still act like Steckel was doing something intentional is hilarious. It was an accident plain and simple.

 

[Voight]

The contact on that play was almost entirely Sidney Crosby's fault. He abruptly turned, face-first, with his head down, while not looking where he was going but instead puck-watching. No hockey coach at any level would ever teach a player to do that.

If this was some non-star player, there is little chance anyone is calling this dirty. David Steckel is not that type of player and his career demonstrated that for anyone who is familiar. David Steckel is not Matt Cooke - although Pens fans from that era LOVED Matt Cooke and defended him waaaaay beyond the point of reason.

From the Pens forum in 2013 - well after Cooke's dirty hits were undeniable:

The Matt Cooke Appreciation Thread

Yes, I went there... Despite the negatives that came with him at times, Cooke could flat out play and was a huge boon on the PK. All the best in Minny to a guy that not everybody liked but everyone on these boards at least realized went all out night in and night out. Farewell Cooke...

forums.hfboards.com

So I'm inclined to think this is selective emotion-driven reasoning more so than sober thinking.

Never forget Lemieux's white knighting after the Pens-Isles brawl.... said while he gladly employed Matt Cooke

"We, as a league, must do a better job of protecting the integrity of the game and the safety of our players. We must make it clear that those kinds of actions will not be tolerated and will be met with meaningful disciplinary action."

 

[blundluntman]

It was a different time back then. He had no history of concussions and there was no concussion protocol to follow. I'll bet lots of players pre-2011 routinely played with concussions, knowingly or unknowingly.

That's true. It's honestly crazy how late to the party sports medicine is when it comes to concussions. I still have a hard time believing they couldn't diagnose concussions properly back then. It's one thing if they couldn't possibly know how bad it was, but if they didn't do their due diligence, I'd say the medical staff deserves scrutiny more than any party involved.

 

[tarheelhockey]

I remember a lot of talk that he should have retired around that time. He went on to win a couple Cups, Smythes, etc and has scored over 1000 points since then.

Great to see guys like him and Bergeron comeback from some scary head injuries.

Quite a few players have made that comeback in recent years. Skinner was another one who was supposed to have retired with head injuries by now.

The crackdown on headshots totally changed the dynamic. Today, we don’t automatically jump to “one hit away from retirement” when a guy gets a serious concussion, because it’s possible to keep playing and not be headhunted.

 

[tarheelhockey]

That's true. It's honestly crazy how late to the party sports medicine is when it comes to concussions. I still have a hard time believing they couldn't diagnose concussions properly back then. It's one thing if they couldn't possibly know how bad it was, but if they didn't do their due diligence, I'd say the medical staff deserves scrutiny more than any party involved.

Dovetailing two active topics, remember that this hit happened only like ten years after Bobby Clarke stripped Eric Lindros of the C for criticizing team doctors when they somehow “missed” his 4th concussion and told him to play through symptoms.