What’s your unpopular hockey opinion?

[LMFAO]

The NHL is loosing a part of it's soul by taking fighting out of the game.

 

[Ogrezilla]

The NHL is loosing a part of it's soul by taking fighting out of the game.

On the flip side, I think completely taking fighting and the other goonish things out of hockey would make it 100% better.

 

[Howboutthempanthers]

Make the damn nets bigger. Its honestly not rocket science and obvious why this needs to happen, and its the answer to 90% of the NHLs problems gets fixed with one easy change.

Its just silly to me because it obvious that this will happen one day. And for whatever reason, we are delaying the invetiable. People want to see offence and high level talent go to work, and without fundamentally changing the game (ie going to 4 v4), there is no way to properly curb the size of today's players, and the effectiveness of the systems that coaches are running.

I disagree with so much here, let me just say: No to the bigger nets, no it's not obvious and inevitable it will happen one day.
How much offense and talent do you need to see, don't we have a lot of that already?
And we have different ideas of what offense and high level talent is. Offense at a high level, overcomes defense. Somebody just walking to the net and shooting it in with no resistance is the opposite of high level offense to me. I could do that.
Until they stop keeping score and stop counting wins and loses, and not make the ultimate goal of the league to win the stanley cup, you're going to get structure and systems.

 

[LMFAO]

On the flip side, I think completely taking fighting and the other goonish things out of hockey would make it 100% better.

I completely don't agree...I'm not saying bring the talentless goons back... I think fighting was perfect like 3 years ago. But last season you could clearly see the NHL is slowly trying to get rid of fighting and I don't like it..

 

[NyQuil]

Fighting is an alien part of hockey that has nothing to do with putting a puck in the net.

I enjoy the entertainment factor as much as anyone but it really has no business in the sport.

No other sports I can think of allow for bare knuckled boxing in the middle of play for some reason.

 

[Cats2TheCup]

You said he's the best player in the eastern conference so naming just one better is enough to debunk your statement.

So if someone names Nick Bjugstad as being better than Barkov, is that enough to debunk my statement? No. Three gives multiple chances to get it right.

 

[Sempiternal]

Fighting is an alien part of hockey that has nothing to do with putting a puck in the net.

I enjoy the entertainment factor as much as anyone but it really has no business in the sport.

No other sports I can think of allow for bare knuckled boxing in the middle of play for some reason.

Lacrosse

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

My unpopular hockey opinion is John Tavares tends to be overrated by a segment of HF (and the hockey media). He's a very good player, but he's often spoken of as though he's a Top 5 player in hockey, and constantly has excuses like "if he plays with this guy or that guy" to justify why his production lags behind guys he's constantly compared to.

 

[AD1066]

+/- while it has its flaws is actually a pretty good representation of a player's defensive ability.

Ehhh...

 

[NyQuil]

Lacrosse

Another Canadian sport.

I don’t watch a lot of lacrosse, that there is fighting is interesting and entertaining but also probably pointless.

Don’t they wear full masks?

Physical sports like rugby and football do not allow fighting.

 

[Ogrezilla]

I completely don't agree...I'm not saying bring the talentless goons back... I think fighting was perfect like 3 years ago. But last season you could clearly see the NHL is slowly trying to get rid of fighting and I don't like it..

everyone gets to have an opinion. Personally, I watch to see the skill and whatnot. Some people like the rough stuff. All good. For what it's worth, I don't want to take out the physicality. And if they could actually figure out how to only have real fights when the fighters actually care, at least those one's are entertaining. But I don't know how anyone enjoys two guys just casually agreeing to fight. What I really want to see go away is the garbage between the whistles. If a player is just standing there or trying to skate away and someone punches him, it should be a penalty every time.

I do think the league is in a bad grey area right now though. The players can't actually police anything, but the league doesn't do it either. The line for how far is too far is so blurry that nobody knows what they can and cannot get away with. Whichever way they go, the league really needs to draw a line. Does anybody in the world actually know what roughing looks like right now?

 

[LMFAO]

everyone gets to have an opinion. Personally, I watch to see the skill and whatnot. Some people like the rough stuff. All good. For what it's worth, I don't want to take out the physicality. And if they could actually figure out how to only have real fights when the fighters actually care, at least those one's are entertaining. But I don't know how anyone enjoys two guys just casually agreeing to fight. What I really want to see go away is the garbage between the whistles. If a player is just standing there or trying to skate away and someone punches him, it should be a penalty every time.

I do think the league is in a bad grey area right now though. The players can't actually police anything, but the league doesn't do it either. The line for how far is too far is so blurry that nobody knows what they can and cannot get away with. Whichever way they go, the league really needs to draw a line.

I do like the skill but I also hate seeing rats like Tkachuk being little piece of shit because they know they'll get away with it.

I also hate seeing players who were scared for their life to get in a scrum 4 years ago but suddenly grew a pair of balls now that they know they don't have to fight anymore.

 

[Ogrezilla]

I do like the skill but I also hate seeing rats like Tkachuk being little piece of **** because they know they'll get away with it.

I also hate seeing players who were scared for their life to get in a scrum 4 years ago but suddenly grew a pair of balls now that they know they don't have to fight anymore.

For what it's worth, I want the rats getting penalized for their shit too. Like I said, it's a shitty grey area right now that really does give the rats too much power/agency. Either the league needs to deal with cheap shit themselves, or they need to let the players do it again. Right now it's neither, and it's obnoxious, kind of embarrassing for the sport with shit like face licking, and it's plain dangerous.

 

[666]

The NHL needs to go back to wooden sticks and smaller goalie equipment. Technology is ruining hockey just like golf.

 

[RedBruin]

The NHL needs to go back to wooden sticks and smaller goalie equipment. Technology is ruining hockey just like golf.

Golf is ruining hockey ?

 

[Chips]

The NHL needs to go back to wooden sticks and smaller goalie equipment. Technology is ruining hockey just like golf.

Elaborate? You want less goals? Vastly improved “theory” ie training and systems are what has cut down flashy scoring. That and the talent gap between your average 4th and 1st liners has shrunk significantly (as in the 4th liners are better.)

If you removed modern technology/equipment players would skate slower, get injured more, and shoot worse shots... but defense would be so much better than years past.

Composite sticks make scoring easier, any scrub can fire a rocket

 

[DrewGl]

Make it a 60 game season. Love hockey but the season is too long and it would make for more rested players come playoff time = better hockey.

 

[Non Player Canadiens]

Players today or spoiled and entitled rich kids who want everything given to them without having to earn it.

is there a word that boomers like using more than "entitled"?

i don't think there's any difference in entitlement levels between "kids today" and previous generations, but what do I know

 

[666]

Elaborate? You want less goals? Vastly improved “theory” ie training and systems are what has cut down flashy scoring. That and the talent gap between your average 4th and 1st liners has shrunk significantly (as in the 4th liners are better.)

If you removed modern technology/equipment players would skate slower, get injured more, and shoot worse shots... but defense would be so much better than years past.

Composite sticks make scoring easier, any scrub can fire a rocket

To elaborate, the problem with scoring is that goaltender equipment is too big because new stick technology makes it easier to shoot harder so goalies need bigger equipment for safety. Give the goalies all the new carbon fiber padding etc just make it smaller while slowing down the puck with wooden sticks. If goaltender equipment was the size it was in the wooden stick era everything would be fine. It's the same problem in tennis and golf. The ball / puck needs to be slowed down and yes that should make it easier for goaltenders hense the much smaller equipment.

 

[Kairi Zaide]

Counting secondary assists brings nothing and simply adds unnecessary noise to point totals.

 

[MagicalRazor]

John Tavares isn't as elite defensively as everyone think he is

 

[MikeK]

is there a word that boomers like using more than "entitled"?

i don't think there's any difference in entitlement levels between "kids today" and previous generations, but what do I know

Obviously my opinion is well suited for this thread if it got such a response from the likes of you... and I never said "Kids today", I said "players today".

 

[Leksand]

I think Greg Wyshynski has been an incredibly innovative hockey journalist. I think he may get into the HHOF, which will require a change in the landscape before it happens, but that’s kind of the point.

 

[ybnvs]

I completely don't agree...I'm not saying bring the talentless goons back... I think fighting was perfect like 3 years ago. But last season you could clearly see the NHL is slowly trying to get rid of fighting and I don't like it..

The NHL is conspiring to remove fighting?

Utter nonsense on so many levels. It hasn't been outlawed in any way, shape or form. Players still have as much luxury to halt play and fight.

Here's a wild thought, bear with me...

Maybe, partly the reason fighting is down is because the players don't want to fight.

Hmm...?

Get out of your own head, man. The game is changing. Evolution is real, even in sports. Embrace it.

 

[Ryan Michaels]

John Tavares isn't as elite defensively as everyone think he is

I think thinking John Tavares is elite defensively would be the unpopular opinion.