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The NHL never ceases to amaze me, when I see a league that tries so hard to look so tough, yet everyone's panties get tied up in a knot over the most asinine things. A league that tries so hard to get noticed south of the border, yet at every turn does something so bush league. A league that can't come to a consensus about what to do when players are assaulted on the ice, yet act swiftly to make sure that a goof like Sean Avery can't make an ass of himself in front of Martin Brodeur. It's embarrassing really, and it has nothing to do with what Avery did two nights ago against the Devils. It has everything to do with the hockey community's severe overreaction over what he did.
First let me just say this Avery is a tool, plain and simple. But what he did in front of Brodeur was harmless, if not incredibly stupid and a little genius at the same time. Here is the video, if you haven't seen it yet.
Now, what the fuck was wrong with what Avery was doing there?! He was distracting Brodeur. He wasn't touching him, he wasn't interfering with him, he was screening him and being VERY effective too.
So you have puckheads saying that Avery, in his actions was disrespecting Martin Brodeur. Oh, poor Martin—arguably the best goalie in the history of the NHL and a multi-millionaire to boot. Were your feelings hurt? Poor baby. WHO THE FUCK CARES?! As much of a dick as Avery is, he has every right to do everything in his power within the rules to help his team win. I give him kudos for being creative.
Well, the NHL head office were pretty fucking swift to make sure this "disgrace to the game" never happens again. In what can only be described as a monumental overreaction, they went ahead and massaged the misconduct rule to make sure that this never happened again.
It kills me that it takes this league years and years to enact certain rules that might benefit the game and players' safety (ie: no-touch icing, mandatory visors, etc...), yet take only one day to make sure one of their superstars doesn't get his feelings hurt.
NHL head office weren't the only overreactors. Players, media and fans alike have been chiming in over the last 48 hours to talk about how despicable an act it was. Meanwhile guys like Chris Pronger get away with trying to sever another player's Achilles with his skate blade and gets short unpaid vacation for his atrocity.
If you ask me (and I know you didn't) what Avery did, wasn't any more embarrassing for Brodeur than it was for his own team. It was stupid in the sense that he had his back turned to the play and could have easily blocked a shot that would have gone in, or taken a shot to the back of his head. But it wasn't illegal.
It was genius because he succeeded in distracting Brodeur and although a goal wasn't scored immediately as a result, Avery did score seconds later and who knows how much of an effect his previous actions had on Brodeur's psyche.
Puckheads say that Brodeur is too much of a vet to let antics like that bother him. Obviously this wasn't the case. It seems to me he was sufficiently bothered, he even took a couple of shots at Avery (something that hasn't even been mentioned). On the very next play, Avery scored. Looks like it worked. But it will never work again, the NHL has made sure about that. The league, players, media and fans are very good at making sure all creativity in the game is stifled. Usually in the name of good sportsmanship or for the good of the game or something to the effect.
Case in point: I recall back when Sidney Crosby was still in junior, there was a play where he was behind a net with the puck (ala Gretzky) but instead of coming out with either a pass or a wraparound, he picked the puck up with his stick and scored a lacrosse-style goal. It was brilliant and it worked! He got raked over the coals by puckheads for showboating, as if, somehow his actions were an insult to the other team or the game itself.
Fast-forward to this year in the all-star game where the NHL tried that breakaway challenge. The only player who tried anything creative was Ovechkin. The event failed miserably because of lack of creativity. Because NHL players aren't allowed to show any sort of creativity for fear that he might insult the opposition or maybe insight them into playing better.
It's no surprise that the most exciting player today isn't Crosby, it's Ovechkin. Why? Because he doesn't care if his actions insult his opponents. He's playing for himself, his team and the fans...so was Avery. Perhaps hockey needs more Sean Averys.
This league is constantly shooting itself in the foot. This one story has eclipsed what has otherwise been a pretty exciting playoffs so far. This league head office doesn't have a clue. The problem in this case though is that the rest of the hockey community seems to actually agree with the league's actions. It's no wonder when other sports fans look at hockey as a viewing option, they dismiss it as a bush league sport.
So I'm offering up a round of Bitch Slaps all around; To the NHL, the media, the players and the fans. LIGHTEN THE FUCK UP! Don't be so sensitive! You're supposed to be tough guys not a bunch of little girls!
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