What's Your Most Controversial Hockey Opinion?

[FerrisRox]

I respect your posts quite a bit. And I hope my tone doesn’t offend, it’s more towards me elaborating my thoughts rather than your post.

But I can honestly say, playing some **** tier of hockey doesn’t make someone a better hockey fan. I’m not questioning about knowledge of the game itself, but the obnoxious train of thought that they automatically have more authority when discussing hockey.

**** that noise. It doesn’t make someone a hockey “purist” or that their opinion has more weight. Just because someone had more opportunity to play doesn’t make them have more credence than someone who is more knowledgeable about the game but didn’t play.

It invites this toxic as hell gatekeeping. No, I don’t think someone who played a year or two of junior C hockey 20 years ago has more hockey authority.

You're certainly entitled to your opinion.

I have seen, countless times, opinions being expressed here where it's plainly obvious that the person sharing the opinon has never played the game.

As I said, you're entitled to your opinion, but I'm not sure how you arrived at it. I can't envision a scenario where I wouldn't consider the opinon of someone who has actually done the thing they are offering opinions on more valuable than an opinion from someone who hasn't done it.

If I want to learn how to cook, I want to be taught by someone who can cook, not someone who watches the Food Channel.

If I have a health issue, I want to go and see a specialist for what my ailment is who has studied it and dealt with it. Not someone who has the full DVD boxset of ER.

It's difficult for me to understand how you could think playing the game, particularly at higher levels wouldn't offer you all kinds of valuable insights that are quite simply impossible to gather from simply watching the game.

You see it here all the time when there's a controversial hit. Threads flooded with opinions from people that quite clearly have never played the game. What makes it so obvious is the opinions obviously illustrate that the person doesn't have a clue how quickly a person can close on you, how they can come out of a blind spot, how difficult it is to be aware of your surroundings, the other players proximity to the boards, etc.

"Have you ever played the game?" became a cliche around here not as an obnoxious trump card, but because there are definitely thoughts and opinions here that make it clear beyond a shadow of a doubt the person sharing the opinion either never played or played a low level of the sport.

It doesn't mean those people can't share opinions or can't be very knowledgeable about the game. But it does mean that there are definitely things that you simply cannot know or cannot understand without having actually experienced it.

 

[FerrisRox]

Literally the next post



You can't make this **** up

Do you not agree with what I said?

Do you think the Leafs are a solid defense-first cub?

Do you think the Leafs are a tough fighting team?

Do you think think a team that hasn't won a playoff round since before the iPhone was invented is a solid post-season club?

This isn't blasting them. It's laughing at a comment that literally says all the things the Leafs aren't good at are 'bad' coming from a Leaf fan.

You wouldn't find it funny if a Canadiens fan said "I think teams that have big forwards are boring, teams that have a coach that can't speak French should be fined and fans that always brag about the history of their franchise are the worst."

I know I would.

 

[Pens1566]

Lemieux's '93 season is the best single season performance ever.

 

[abo9]

The Leafs will win the Cup, Sheldon Keefe win the Jack Adams and the media will spread how "amazing" he is as a coach.

Note: I have no idea if he is good or not. But the Leafs are very talented and teams usually play much better after a coaching change

 

[Kamiccolo]

Do you not agree with what I said?

Do you think the Leafs are a solid defense-first cub?

Do you think the Leafs are a tough fighting team?

Do you think think a team that hasn't won a playoff round since before the iPhone was invented is a solid post-season club?

This isn't blasting them. It's laughing at a comment that literally says all the things the Leafs aren't good at are 'bad' coming from a Leaf fan.

You wouldn't find it funny if a Canadiens fan said "I think teams that have big forwards are boring, teams that have a coach that can't speak French should be fined and fans that always brag about the history of their franchise are the worst."

I know I would.

You are laughing but most Leaf fans feel their team hasn't hit their potential under Babcock and will change those things starting this season.

 

[TampaBayLightning]

I think on a power play the short-handed team should not have sticks.

 

[Slyfox]

You shouldn't be able to ice the puck shorthanded. Also, teams should be able to review a no call and overturn it

 

[GrizzGreen]

You're certainly entitled to your opinion.

I have seen, countless times, opinions being expressed here where it's plainly obvious that the person sharing the opinon has never played the game.

It's difficult for me to understand how you could think playing the game, particularly at higher levels wouldn't offer you all kinds of valuable insights that are quite simply impossible to gather from simply watching the game.

You see it here all the time when there's a controversial hit. Threads flooded with opinions from people that quite clearly have never played the game. What makes it so obvious is the opinions obviously illustrate that the person doesn't have a clue how quickly a person can close on you, how they can come out of a blind spot, how difficult it is to be aware of your surroundings, the other players proximity to the boards, etc.

"Have you ever played the game?" became a cliche around here not as an obnoxious trump card, but because there are definitely thoughts and opinions here that make it clear beyond a shadow of a doubt the person sharing the opinion either never played or played a low level of the sport.

This: the "Tom Wilson is a worthless goon and I wouldn't take him on my team" crowd just reeks of being men's league heroes or having never played. Physicality is becoming more and more rare and is vital, especially when you pair that with being 6' 4", 220 and being a 30+ point guy who's responsible defensively and can play up and down a lineup.

Knowing if you get drilled in the back, you're looking up to see your teammate absolutely bury the guy who hit you is important. If you've never been absolutely stapled, you don't know the feeling.

 

[Kublakhan]

Refs are just as blind now as they have ever been..

 

[McSendy]

No defense for Bill Peters, but there are some pretty horrible rap lyrics out there, any yet nobody will raise an eyebrow that Akim Aliu may have been playing some absolutely disgusting music.

 

[frog]

i like gary bettman

 

[Satire]

Hockey, and many other sports, will be replaced as the top revenue generators by e-sports in the next 20 years.

 

[FerrisRox]

You are laughing but most Leaf fans feel their team hasn't hit their potential under Babcock and will change those things starting this season.

So you think the coach told them to play soft and poor defensively?

 

[ScaredStreit]

Ovechkin is highly overrated. Most of his goals are scored the same way and while he scores a lot of them, he's not a dynamic goal scorer whatsoever. He contributes little else.

 

[Kamiccolo]

So you think the coach told them to play soft and poor defensively?

Yes. His Detroit teams were always bottom 5 in hits. He doesn't like guys fighting unless it is absolutely necessary. Defensively, he wanted them to play like the Blues when instead they should be defending by moving the puck as a unit.

We will see if the numbers improve.

 

[Motte and Bailey]

Punching someone in the face is worse than spitting on them.

 

[FerrisRox]

No defense for Bill Peters, but there are some pretty horrible rap lyrics out there, any yet nobody will raise an eyebrow that Akim Aliu may have been playing some absolutely disgusting music.

Why do you assume he was listening to "rap music?"

Also, why should anyone raise an eyebrow over the lyrics to music being played in a locker room?

What point are you trying to make here?

 

[FerrisRox]

Yes. His Detroit teams were always bottom 5 in hits. He doesn't like guys fighting unless it is absolutely necessary. Defensively, he wanted them to play like the Blues when instead they should be defending by moving the puck as a unit.

We will see if the numbers improve.

You think defending is moving the puck?

 

[Kamiccolo]

You think defending is moving the puck?

For the Leafs yup. You will see it will work.

 

[ToDavid]

You think defending is moving the puck?

Moving the puck out of your zone with possession means less time in the offensive zone for the other team. That's a part of defence.

 

[FerrisRox]

Moving the puck out of your zone with possession means less time in the offensive zone for the other team. That's a part of defence.

Part, no question, but to suggest the Leafs should be "defending by moving the puck as a unit" is ridiculous.

First of all, every team moves the puck as a unit. There is no team that funnels the puck to a single player and then he and only he moves the puck and secondly, that doesn't describe playing defence at all, it describes transitioning from defence to offence.

 

[ToDavid]

While I'm here.

The "you've never played" argument is so cringeworthy. 99.99% of the people who use it probably played at a level that was closer to Timbits than the NHL. Also, since it's the internet, they have no actual knowledge of whether the other person did or did not play. Making it doubly worthless.

 

[CaptBrannigan]

I don’t think I can quite articulate this well enough, but players like Domi (and there have been others for sure he’s just the one I remember recently) who say they feel they need a bigger hockey market in order to get into it are ones I wouldn’t want on my team. As an NHLer if you need some external factor like that to get into it I don’t see that player giving what they should over the course of a season. Seems like the mindset that would allow you to more easily not be up for an early start time game, or on the second night of back to back, or similar situations. A player who would really have peak and valley performances instead of being a solid bet from game to game.

 

[LeapOnOver]

That's my favorite post on this thread. Now that you mention it, it does sound like a no brainer.

NHL wants to favor more goals yet in the last minute of a game leading team always hold like crazy and there's 6-7guys in front of the net holding each others while the rest pass the puck around looking for a shooting lane which is hard with 6-7 fat boys 6'3 200lbs+ guys in front of a small net.

I actually first proposed this on my own boards about three years ago. I'm really happy to get so much positive feedback about it because it garnered very little reaction over there. I just can't believe it hasn't been done yet. Makes no sense to me at all that games finish the way they do when it's like that in none of the other major sports. Thanks!

 

[CaptBrannigan]

While I'm here.

The "you've never played" argument is so cringeworthy. 99.99% of the people who use it probably played at a level that was closer to Timbits than the NHL. Also, since it's the internet, they have no actual knowledge of whether the other person did or did not play. Making it doubly worthless.

This 100%. I’m super fortunate to have skated (as a goalie) with some former and current pros in a structured pickup for a while and the opinions they share on hockey and hockey events are as varied as the individuals themselves. It’s not as if there’s one solid mindset among them.
Often the “if you played, you know” guys are spouting opinions that rarely jive with the (limited) insight I’ve been privy too. Very generally speaking, they’re much more laid back than the “where you play?” crowd.