****Official 2019-2020 NHL Season Thread****

[DaFace]

Originally Posted by WhiteWhale

Hockey is the weirdest sport.

It's the only sport I know of where every team has one guy who's job is to give himself long term brain damage by fighting 4 times a week.

IT's the only game that leaves in rules that put people in danger and then say "Yeah, but if someone DOES hit our start center legally and cleanly we have someone to beat the shit out of him for that."

Imagine if every NFL team had one guy who's job it was to enter the game and beat the shit out of anyone who sacks your QB.

I don't hate hockey or anything, but it's really bizarre when you think about it.

Someone hasn't actually paid attention to hockey recently.

[WhiteWhale]

Originally Posted by DaFace

Someone hasn't actually paid attention to hockey recently.

Absolutely true. Last time I paid attention the NHL was still endangering players and refusing to acknowledge a link between CTE and concussions.

If they've taken measures to protect their players over the past few years, good for them.

Regardless, it's STILL a unique aspect to this sport in the meta context.

Don't be so defensive.

[DaFace]

Originally Posted by WhiteWhale

Absolutely true. Last time I paid attention the NHL was still endangering players and refusing to acknowledge a link between CTE and concussions.

If they've taken measures to protect their players over the past few years, good for them.

Regardless, it's STILL a unique aspect to this sport in the meta context.

Don't be so defensive.

It's not defensive to point out that you're spewing bullshit that doesn't really even apply to today's game. It's the equivalent of showing up on an NFL forum and ranting about how the NFL needs to protect QBs more. Sure, that might have been the case at one point, but it's a very outdated take.

[Bearcat]

Originally Posted by WhiteWhale

Hockey is the weirdest sport.

It's the only sport I know of where every team has one guy who's job is to give himself long term brain damage by bare-hand fighting 4 times a week.

IT's the only game that leaves in rules that put people in danger and then say "Yeah, but if someone DOES hit our start center legally and cleanly we have someone to beat the shit out of him for that."

Imagine if every NFL team had one guy who's job it was to enter the game and beat the shit out of anyone who sacks your QB.

I don't hate hockey or anything, but it's really bizarre when you think about it.

Is the NHL still denying a link between CTE and concussions?

It wasn't only to fight, but teams definitely had goons who were there to be overly physical.... the difference being there's no place to hide in hockey.

A safety destroys a receiver, then....? Maybe that safety gets cheap-shotted later if someone goes out of their way to do it?

In hockey, you could get destroyed the very next shift, or as you said, have to answer with a fight.

Who knows how much of a deterrent it really was (and fighting isn't even allowed in college, the Canadian leagues, international play), but most of the goons are out of the league as the game has shifted to be faster and more skilled after rule changes years ago... and they've had review committees in place for a while that will get players suspended for targeted/dangerous hits.

There are still a few players around who just don't get it.... the NHL definitely isn't aggressive with their suspensions by any means, but they actually produce videos of what they saw and the reasoning behind each suspension, including the player's history and comparisons with other suspensions, which is of course incredibly transparent and forward thinking.

IMO, they could do more to get rid of those players who don't get it, and impose lengthier suspensions in many cases.... but, overall, the goons are gone and fighting is way, way down.

[Willie Lanier]

Originally Posted by Bearcat

It wasn't only to fight, but teams definitely had goons who were there to be overly physical.... the difference being there's no place to hide in hockey.

A safety destroys a receiver, then....? Maybe that safety gets cheap-shotted later if someone goes out of their way to do it?

In hockey, you could get destroyed the very next shift, or as you said, have to answer with a fight.

Who knows how much of a deterrent it really was (and fighting isn't even allowed in college, the Canadian leagues, international play), but most of the goons are out of the league as the game has shifted to be faster and more skilled after rule changes years ago... and they've had review committees in place for a while that will get players suspended for targeted/dangerous hits.

There are still a few players around who just don't get it.... the NHL definitely isn't aggressive with their suspensions by any means, but they actually produce videos of what they saw and the reasoning behind each suspension, including the player's history and comparisons with other suspensions, which is of course incredibly transparent and forward thinking.

IMO, they could do more to get rid of those players who don't get it, and impose lengthier suspensions in many cases.... but, overall, the goons are gone and fighting is way, way down.

Yeah goons are pretty much non existent in today's game...

[St. Patty's Fire]

Originally Posted by WhiteWhale

Hockey is the weirdest sport.

It's the only sport I know of where every team has one guy who's job is to give himself long term brain damage by bare-hand fighting 4 times a week.

IT's the only game that leaves in rules that put people in danger and then say "Yeah, but if someone DOES hit our start center legally and cleanly we have someone to beat the shit out of him for that."

Imagine if every NFL team had one guy who's job it was to enter the game and beat the shit out of anyone who sacks your QB.

I don't hate hockey or anything, but it's really bizarre when you think about it.

Is the NHL still denying a link between CTE and concussions?

Designated enforcers have mostly been phased out and replaced by guys who are tougher than most but can actually play. Staged fights are few and far inbetween nowadays. If there’s a fight, it’s usually just two players who have had enough of each other.