He never jumped. The impct power when hit was upward and therefor he lifted from ice. After contact. After!
Looking back at prime Niklas Kronwall
- Thread starter Eye of Ra
- Start date
He was a mediocre top pairing guy once Lidstrom retired, but if there's such a thing as an "Elite 2nd pairing guy" he'd probably fit into that.
Might have been even better if his knees weren't shit from the start of his career. Made you pay if you didn't keep your head up.
Might have been even better if his knees weren't shit from the start of his career. Made you pay if you didn't keep your head up.
bleedgreen
Registered User
Oh god no, and not because I’m an old fart who thinks the old days are always the best. Stevens was a different beast. The time he played in it was completely acceptable to head shot multiple people in the same game, almost every hit in the game would be a play stopping scrum today. It was the height of violence in the NHL not just inside of game play but in the fighting - and inside that really violent time in NHL history people were scared of Scott Stevens. Pretty much everyone. Lindros was a monster and fought the fight for years and Stevens ended him.
I loved Kronwall and think no doubt he was an all around better player but the hitting was not at the same level of Stevens, and definitely not more frequent or a higher volume.
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krutovsdonut
eeyore
- Sep 25, 2016
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kronwall is only noteworthy outside detroit for his hitting. he was otherwise a pretty vanilla top 4 dman not worthy of a main board thread to discuss his career.
you can't judge him on the hitting by today's standard. by the standard of his day he was right on the edge clean and he was also a lot cleaner than the guys before him. in particular, kronwall inherited the hip check crown from marchment and was eleven billion times less dirty.
for those who get the vapours about the way he hit and say we can't celebrate it, tell us your views on boxing on ufc, the latter of which as a sport that has risen since kronwall plied his trade. for the rest of us i think we have to admit those hits were spectacular and a part of the game at that time and kronwall was a master of the art.
you can't judge him on the hitting by today's standard. by the standard of his day he was right on the edge clean and he was also a lot cleaner than the guys before him. in particular, kronwall inherited the hip check crown from marchment and was eleven billion times less dirty.
for those who get the vapours about the way he hit and say we can't celebrate it, tell us your views on boxing on ufc, the latter of which as a sport that has risen since kronwall plied his trade. for the rest of us i think we have to admit those hits were spectacular and a part of the game at that time and kronwall was a master of the art.
That's basically my assessment. I think he was a pretty reliable dman, but not a #1.....good 2nd pair guy. I think some have overrated him in the past because of his big hits. I remember thinking at times that he was totally putting himself out of position to make a big hit.
krutovsdonut
eeyore
- Sep 25, 2016
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agreed. kronwell made spectacular statement hits once every couple of games and the rest of the time played with some edge but was not noteworthy for violence. stevens was way more lethal and systematic. lindros got hoisted on his own petard.
BHD
Eh...
Run the Jewels
Make Detroit Great Again
Fit in best on the 2nd pairing alongside Brad Stuart. Was never quite capable of holding down a top pairing when Lidstrom retired, but there’s absolutely no shame in that. Very good offensive d-man who played mostly on the 2nd PP unit. There was plenty of bite to his game. Crossed the line as many big-time hitters tend to do.
Chuck Norris Trophy
Registered User
- Jan 22, 2015
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Yep, those hits were completely legal during his hayday, but man, watching those clips now make me grimace. Just like Scott Stevens.
- Mar 4, 2004
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Probably underrated overall because he played with Lidstrom for so long.
For a portion of his career Kronwall had a phase of "exploding upwards" during hits that I never liked as it became popular in the NHL. Eventually and too slowly the league cracked down and he adjusted. Was always a fan of him catching guys carrying the puck out of the zone with their head down. It's hockey 101. Watching these playoffs I said just the other day I think Kronwall could've potentially killed someone because so many guys are exiting the zone with their head down.
And it's hard not to laugh at all the salty tears from people who exaggerate what he was going on out there, much like Stevens. They see highlights of the 10 worst hits and act like they were doing it every shift.
Everyone claims to love hard hitting hockey until it happens to one of their players.
For a portion of his career Kronwall had a phase of "exploding upwards" during hits that I never liked as it became popular in the NHL. Eventually and too slowly the league cracked down and he adjusted. Was always a fan of him catching guys carrying the puck out of the zone with their head down. It's hockey 101. Watching these playoffs I said just the other day I think Kronwall could've potentially killed someone because so many guys are exiting the zone with their head down.
And it's hard not to laugh at all the salty tears from people who exaggerate what he was going on out there, much like Stevens. They see highlights of the 10 worst hits and act like they were doing it every shift.
Everyone claims to love hard hitting hockey until it happens to one of their players.
- Mar 4, 2004
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This makes no sense. Konstantinov and Chelios were both much dirtier than Kronwall and rarely if ever fought.
To compare Kronwall to Ulf Samuelsson is just hilarious. Remember when I mentioned your hot takes on things concerning the Wings? This is a perfect example.
I got a kick out of him being suspended for the hit against Kucherov in the playoffs.
Mainly because Kronwall had far more questionable hits that went unpunished, and the league has a reputation of not wanting to suspend in the playoffs.
Mainly because Kronwall had far more questionable hits that went unpunished, and the league has a reputation of not wanting to suspend in the playoffs.
I am not exposed
Registered User
I think my favorite Kronwall moment was when he wrecked Dany Heatley in game 3, and then Ryane Clowe went to the media and said "Did you see what he did to Dany Heatley? I just wish I was lined up against Kronwall."
Two games later...
Two games later...
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- Mar 4, 2004
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Kronwall was a legit #2 Dman, but I do agree when you mention his name people mostly think of his hits.
SavBigMoneyAtBedards
Back in Black, Red, and White
- Feb 11, 2012
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My favorite Kronwall moment was when he tipped Seabrook's shot just enough to help it get by the goaltender in overtime of Game 7 in 2013 after the Hawks came back from being down 3-1 in the series.
Hawks advanced and eventually won the cup.
Wings were so defeated they immediately moved to the Eastern Conference.
Hawks advanced and eventually won the cup.
Wings were so defeated they immediately moved to the Eastern Conference.
Run the Jewels
Make Detroit Great Again
The hardest hitter in the NHL who was overall good, but made some boneheaded plays defensively
Was miscast as a #1, but still a top pair D
tarheelhockey
Offside Review Specialist
Chelios was Messier-style dirty, but I disagree about Konstantinov being that kind of player. He was tough as nails and knocked his opponents to the moon, but for the most part he played a normative physical game for his era.
And that’s really the difference. Those guys played in a league where there was another guy on the other side of the ice playing the same way. Konstantinov’s most famous moments came against guys like Eric Lindros and Claude Lemieux, who were hunting him just as much as he was hunting them.
Kronwall was in a league where that had already rolled back that culture. His prime was the era of CTE research and catastrophic head injuries, with the 2011 season being the turning point where the league finally put their foot down. The emphasis being, we all knew the actual seriousness of high hits by that time.
The exceptions were egregious outliers like Cooke, Torres, Carcillo who were characterized by catching players at moments of vulnerability. Kronwall did his part by figuring out how to hit guys above the shoulders while keeping his pinky toenail in contact with the ice, to avoid penalties on technicality. It was a scummy way to play, no different than scummy crap 20 years earlier from the likes of:
He was really the last defenseman who made a habit of leaping at heads, and he deserves every bit of that reputation. I know you’re going to disagree, but I’m obviously not the only one in the room who felt he was cheap and disrespectful in the way he approached hitting.
And just yesterday I posted about how a Wings goal is my favorite of all time. That doesn’t mean I won’t criticize a player who deserves it, regardless of which team he played for.
JaegerDice
The mark of my dignity shall scar thy DNA
- Dec 26, 2014
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Great 2nd pair dman, that could play top pair but it wasnt ideal.
His hits always rode the line and were devastating. I remember watching Havlat’s soul exit his body from a Kronwall hit in the 2009 WCF.
Fell off pretty hard though. By 2013 he was a guy other teams actively targeted to enter the zone against cause he couldnt really keep up.
His hits always rode the line and were devastating. I remember watching Havlat’s soul exit his body from a Kronwall hit in the 2009 WCF.
Fell off pretty hard though. By 2013 he was a guy other teams actively targeted to enter the zone against cause he couldnt really keep up.
I think what annoyed me about the Havlat hit (And this happens a lot) is the response.
"f*** you for hitting my teammate hard! Now we're gonna make you pay by scrumming around his lifeless body with 18 skates (Plus four from linesmen) ready to cut his wrists, throat, etc."
You may have tried to hurt him, but now we're gonna recklessly hope we don't kill him!
One day, somebody is gonna get badly hurt by that shit.
BHD
Eh...
Not to the extent or nature of Kronwall. He was a different animal.
Brookbank
2 goals = brace
- Nov 15, 2022
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The guy who always got away with leaving his feet. And his fans would always say he just "exploded upwards". That was back when Detroit was the leagues pets
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