Looking back at prime Niklas Kronwall

[Your old Jofa helmet]

Three things come to mind:

1. Scoring a goal in the Olympic final in 2006 and winning the gold (after, if my memory serving me right, replacing injured Mattias Ohlund during the tournament). And then winning a gold in the World Championship the same year.
2. The cleanest big hitter of the generation. Just the way he timed the hit and the way he hit with his back... just beautiful, nobody did it like that.
3. That's when I finally realized that most people at HFboards:

• Don't know rules of hockey
• Don't know rules of physics
• Have vision impediments
• Don't know what they are talking about
• Are blind and salty homers

 

[F L Y E R S]

Kronwall.....another person that's a hero. The hits he's created over the years. Don't really watch them, but the fact that he's made them....I respect that

 

[PistolPete]

Great dman and guys always had to be aware of when he was on the ice.

Now, if you do a search on youtube, you'll quickly see what he's famous for. In my younger years, I love those highlights. As I've grown older and see the effects of those types of hits, I cringe. While he was a great dman in his day, I'm glad there are fewer Kronwalls in the league today.

Out of sheer curiosity, do you have the same reaction to fighting (assuming you liked it at one point)?

 

[PistolPete]

This guy was a pioneer of today's style of rats running around trying to injure people with gutless plays and not having to pay the price for it.

What is paying the price? Brad Marchand has been a rat since 2011, did he never pay the price?

Ken Linseman was a rat for over 15 years, he never paid the price?

Kim Clackson had a reputation for being dirty as well- during the 70s and 80s.

Dale Hunter?

This belief that dirty players is new only because of....decline in fighting? Lack of enforcers?....seems to be made in the belief that before this era there were no dirty players in hockey.

Perhaps dirty players are just an inevitable consequence of playing a physical game and fighting ir no fighting isn't going to get rid of it. After all, some of the dirtiest players were themselves enforcers.

 

[JohanFranzenstein]

Holy shit hfboards is soft

That absolute scumbag Scott Stevens does 10x worse hits than these and it's (in Don Cherry voice) ATTABOY GOOD OL CANADIAN BOY LAYING THE BODY!

A Swede does it and he's a rat, worse than Matt Cooke. Unreal.

 

[PistolPete]

Holy shit hfboards is soft

That absolute acumbag Scott Stevens does 10x worse hits than these and it's (in Don Cherry voice) ATTABOY GOOD OL CANADIAN BOY LAYING THE BODY!

A Swede does it and he's a rat, worse than Matt Cooke. Unreal.

Generational thing perhaps?

 

[19 for president]

It is like you never watched him with neutral eyes. If you dislike him just say it.

Huh? I'm saying most people will underrate him because he played his prime years behind Lidstrom and his skating had started to deteriorate by the time he was the Wings #1 in the post Lids years. If you look at his numbers from say 07/08-11/12 he put up really solid numbers for a guy that wasn't on the #1 PP unit.

I firmly believe he was a top 30 dman in the NHL and was a #1 caliber dman.

 

[Tie Domi Esquire]

What is paying the price? Brad Marchand has been a rat since 2011, did he never pay the price?

Ken Linseman was a rat for over 15 years, he never paid the price?

Kim Clackson had a reputation for being dirty as well- during the 70s and 80s.

Dale Hunter?

This belief that dirty players is new only because of....decline in fighting? Lack of enforcers?....seems to be made in the belief that before this era there were no dirty players in hockey.

Perhaps dirty players are just an inevitable consequence of playing a physical game and fighting ir no fighting isn't going to get rid of it. After all, some of the dirtiest players were themselves enforcers.

You seemed to have missed the point judging by these examples you're bringing up. Back to ChatGPT, brother. Kronwall didn't mean it, it's just not fair.

 

[Tie Domi Esquire]

Holy shit hfboards is soft

That absolute scumbag Scott Stevens does 10x worse hits than these and it's (in Don Cherry voice) ATTABOY GOOD OL CANADIAN BOY LAYING THE BODY!

A Swede does it and he's a rat, worse than Matt Cooke. Unreal.

The victim hood of the cheap shot artist brain scrambler. People hate Stevens' guts and a lot of people in hockey don't respect him but don't let reality stop you. It's just not fair.

 

[The Shadow]

Great dman and guys always had to be aware of when he was on the ice.

Now, if you do a search on youtube, you'll quickly see what he's famous for. In my younger years, I love those highlights. As I've grown older and see the effects of those types of hits, I cringe. While he was a great dman in his day, I'm glad there are fewer Kronwalls in the league today.

There is a price to pay for hitting like that. I wonder how his brain is doing today. You can’t collide at that speed and not have your brain move around

 

[KirkAlbuquerque]

Trouba was better

 

[cvaicunas]

He was a good puck mover and skater, but yeah I never felt he'd be a great #1 defensemen. He was already 31 by the time Lidstrom retired. He had some good years after that but wasn't like a star defenseman or anything. Great player to have on your second pairing.

Despite the big hits on occasion, he did not play a physical game.

I miss the days when we had Kronwall and Stuart as our second pair

 

[KirkAlbuquerque]

If you don't like Kronwall hits I'm not sure you can call yourself a hockey fan.

Im sure you’re not biased at all

 

[KirkAlbuquerque]

Holy shit hfboards is soft

That absolute scumbag Scott Stevens does 10x worse hits than these and it's (in Don Cherry voice) ATTABOY GOOD OL CANADIAN BOY LAYING THE BODY!

A Swede does it and he's a rat, worse than Matt Cooke. Unreal.

Cringe

 

[GMR]

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.

The Hawks had no business almost losing that series. Detroit wasn’t that strong at the time and some regard that as Chicago’s best team.

 

[BHD]

You keep calling the hits “senseless”… they’re not. They’re game changing hits that both tilt the momentum in your favour, and put a LOT of pressure on those wingers to make a panic play if they see him on the ice.

Trouba is a "game changer" in that sense then.

Yes I would have no issue if they were laid out with what were deemed legal hits. Thankfully they kept their head up and didn’t have to play against such a great hitter.

So you wouldn't have any problem with a Wing getting "Kronwalled" to the point of staring into space on the ice? Ala the Havlat in '09... Afterall, Edzo described that hit as "violent... but legal hit." With Doc later noting the positioning of Havlat.

And at the end of the day, nobody is debating whether his hits are legal or not. I mean... That's why he got away with them during his career. What irks fans is the nature of his hits. His hits were predatory, which says something considering hockey is a sport full of hitting.

Just because a guy has his head down doesn’t make them “predatory”. That’s called a good hit. I don’t know a ton of hard hockey hits that involved a guy fully aware they’re coming.

So if a player has his back turned to the play, it's totally acceptable for him to be drilled into the boards? Most players would do their best to avoid a collision like that.

Kronwall, on the other hand, played with reckless abandon. He made a point of catching players in defenseless positions, even if the hits themselves were clean.

 

[PistolPete]

You seemed to have missed the point judging by these examples you're bringing up. Back to ChatGPT, brother. Kronwall didn't mean it, it's just not fair.

You said rats making gutless plays and not answering; what did I miss?

 

[Russian_fanatic]

Holy shit hfboards is soft

That absolute scumbag Scott Stevens does 10x worse hits than these and it's (in Don Cherry voice) ATTABOY GOOD OL CANADIAN BOY LAYING THE BODY!

A Swede does it and he's a rat, worse than Matt Cooke. Unreal.

Don't let em get to you. Anybody who played the game with a bit of grit is a brain scrambling POS, who played dirty. This new generation is soft who looks down on physical play, and fighting in hockey... but those same guys will be the same ones drinking a beer and watching a UFC fight. Soft.

Kronwall was a very good defenseman. His hits where clean to me, if you where out of position, he was gonna hit you like a truck.

 

[dekelikekocur]

Trouba is a "game changer" in that sense then.



So you wouldn't have any problem with a Wing getting "Kronwalled" to the point of staring into space on the ice? Ala the Havlat in '09... Afterall, Edzo described that hit as "violent... but legal hit." With Doc later noting the positioning of Havlat.

And at the end of the day, nobody is debating whether his hits are legal or not. I mean... That's why he got away with them during his career. What irks fans is the nature of his hits. His hits were predatory, which says something considering hockey is a sport full of hitting.



So if a player has his back turned to the play, it's totally acceptable for him to be drilled into the boards? Most players would do their best to avoid a collision like that.

Kronwall, on the other hand, played with reckless abandon. He made a point of catching players in defenseless positions, even if the hits themselves were clean.

If you're moving the puck up ice and have your head down, you're in a vulnerable position that is entirely on you to suffer the consequences of because to cure it, you just make sure you're looking up ice (ie, keep your f***ing head up). There is no easy cure for being on the boards and getting boarded.

Stop trying to compare apples to oranges and tell us it's grape juice.

 

[PistolPete]

Don't let em get to you. Anybody who played the game with a bit of grit is a brain scrambling POS, who played dirty. This new generation is soft who looks down on physical play, and fighting in hockey... but those same guys will be the same ones drinking a beer and watching a UFC fight. Soft.

Are you saying here that UFC fights and their fans are soft?

 

[Russian_fanatic]

Are you saying here that UFC fights and their fans are soft?

If they advocate to ban fighting, and hitting in hockey.... ummm yeah.

Nothing wrong with UFC, I love that shit. It's the people who bitch and moan about fighting and hitting in Hockey, but then go watch a fight match is what I find hilarious.

 

[Lazlo Hollyfeld]

Trouba is a "game changer" in that sense then.



So you wouldn't have any problem with a Wing getting "Kronwalled" to the point of staring into space on the ice? Ala the Havlat in '09... Afterall, Edzo described that hit as "violent... but legal hit." With Doc later noting the positioning of Havlat.

And at the end of the day, nobody is debating whether his hits are legal or not. I mean... That's why he got away with them during his career. What irks fans is the nature of his hits. His hits were predatory, which says something considering hockey is a sport full of hitting.



So if a player has his back turned to the play, it's totally acceptable for him to be drilled into the boards? Most players would do their best to avoid a collision like that.

Kronwall, on the other hand, played with reckless abandon. He made a point of catching players in defenseless positions, even if the hits themselves were clean.

Trouba's clean hits can be a game changer, unless you're referring to Trouba's elbows, which are illegal plays. Much like your hitting from behind example is illegal. However hitting a player eligible to be hit, even if he has his head down, is not.

You say nobody is debating if Kronwall's hits were legal or not, but then you equate them with illegal plays.

As for a Wing getting Kronwalled, a lot of us fans here are old enough to remember Kozlov get absolutely crushed by Stevens with a hard legal hit. It's not fun seeing my teams players get destroyed like that, but that's gonna happen. It's hockey.

 

[Lazlo Hollyfeld]

The victim hood of the cheap shot artist brain scrambler. People hate Stevens' guts and a lot of people in hockey don't respect him but don't let reality stop you. It's just not fair.

You mean the Conn Smythe winning Hall of Famer named one of the top 10 players in hockey history? Sure.

It's fun to completely make things up to try and support your point.

 

[nbwingsfan]

Trouba is a "game changer" in that sense then.



So you wouldn't have any problem with a Wing getting "Kronwalled" to the point of staring into space on the ice? Ala the Havlat in '09... Afterall, Edzo described that hit as "violent... but legal hit." With Doc later noting the positioning of Havlat.

And at the end of the day, nobody is debating whether his hits are legal or not. I mean... That's why he got away with them during his career. What irks fans is the nature of his hits. His hits were predatory, which says something considering hockey is a sport full of hitting.



So if a player has his back turned to the play, it's totally acceptable for him to be drilled into the boards? Most players would do their best to avoid a collision like that.

Kronwall, on the other hand, played with reckless abandon. He made a point of catching players in defenseless positions, even if the hits themselves were clean.

To your last point, no, because that is, and always has been a penalty.

Thankfully the NHL has yet to introduce a penalty for hitting hard.

Putting your head down isn’t defenceless, it’s being stupid in a full contact sport.

 

[PistolPete]

If they advocate to ban fighting, and hitting in hockey.... ummm yeah.

Nothing wrong with UFC, I love that shit. It's the people who bitch and moan about fighting and hitting in Hockey, but then go watch a fight match is what I find hilarious.

Ah.

They are being logically consistent though since fighting is the event in itself in UFC whereas in hockey ita sideshow.

I personally find fighting in hockey boring and nowhere near violent enough to make it worth having.