The NHL Are A Bunch Of Overly Sensitive Pussies

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!

Comments

[Buffalo Boy Mike]

I see your point of view too..I guess you could look at it from the other perspective, get rid of the instigator and Avery doesnt pull that shit either because some guy would take his head off for doing it.

To me the Instigator rule allows the jackasses to be just that jackasses. Eliminate that rule and his crap will end almost overnight

[Al]

I don't have a problem with that. The only issue I had was the NHL's knee-jerk reaction by changing the rules not just mid-season, but mid-playoffs no less just because what happened has gone against some stupid unwritten code that changes all the time depending on what the overly sensitive puckheads think that day. It makes the whole league look amateurish.

I personally don't see a problem with what Avery did, but that's a matter of opinion.

[Nhi]

I agree about changing the rules midway - is this a professional league, or is it run by a bunch of guys winging it as the playoffs roll on?

On Avery's behaviour, I didn't have an issue with it since it's not illegal. But then 2 thoughts occurred to me:

1. Barry Bonds (and a bunch of other MLB losers) used performance-enhancing drugs before a formal drug policy was brought in by the league. What they did wasn't illegal either, but was it right?

2. This NY Times article reminded me of what Alex Rodriguez did to the Jays last season, yelling "Mine!" resulting in a dropped ball. Again, not illegal (enough) to warrant any penalty, but hardly ethical.

Sure, these are two baseball examples, so it may not be an apples to apples comparison. But good sportsmanship is universal no matter what you're playing, and Avery hasn't shown any of it.

I give the NHL credit for seeing a potential issue and nipping it in the bud before it festers into a huge problem, unlike the MLB who pretended they didn't know guys were using drugs to bulk up. But at the very least, they should have waited until the end of the post season to ensure consistency during the playoffs. Freaking out now just takes away the little credibility the league had.

[Al]

On the Bonds issue, again, I'm not a fan of the man, but a lot of these guys (Clemons included) could have saved themselves a whole lot of trouble by just admitting that, yes they did use steroids or HGH when they weren't against the rules. Andy Petite did as much and no one is trying to throw him in jail for perjury. I don't blame Bonds as much as I blame Baseball for allowing it to go this far.

The ARod thing last year was, once again a stupid move by an idiot player, and I do think it's stated in the rule book that a runner can't interfere with the play by yelling, or something to the extent. If I'm wrong, then I have no problem with what he did except that I still think he's an asshole.

I agree that Sportsmanship is important in sport, I'm just not sure how you can regulate it officially. People love talking about these unwritten codes that players supposedly abide by, but I see those codes as moving targets depending on what players (and fans) feel like on a particular day.

In this case, no one likes Avery so it's easy to dump on what he did, just like no one likes Bonds. But the fact of the matter is, neither of them broke rules (that can be proven anyway). So the impetus is on the reaction of the leagues. Baseball finally gave in and introduced a drug policy, which is good for everyone in the game. Hockey reacted rashly to make sure that the actions of one hated player aren't repeated simply because no one liked what he did. I don't see the benefit to the game here, do you?

[Nhi]

You're right, you can't regulate sportsmanship. But like war, there are unwritten rules that need to be observed, or the integrity of the entire competition is devalued.

But again, a rule change or even a clarification partway through the season is inconsistent, and I don't agree with that.

[2Shay]

This is the first I've seen of this debacle. I have to say I'm with Nhi on this one. While that "play" if allowed to continue could very well alter the landscape of the powerplay, the only thing going through my mind was "Poor Sportsmanship".

[Procrasto]

Regardless as to who the goalie was/is, I think that Sean Avery's actions are not the kind that you want to promote a professional level sport - especially one that millions of kids aspire to be a part of.

In the small picture - Avery was doing what he does best - I actually laughed my ass off when I saw it. I wonder how many kids started dancing around their goalies the next practice shouting "Not touching - can't get angry"...

Remember that the NHL is reliant of sponsorship, and corporate partnership (TV?) who most likely view this kind of 'misconduct' as undesirable.

Personally I think the game of hockey is a beautiful thing, and there's no room for that kind of gamesmanship... it's one fo the few games where players can really express themselves with skill and speed.

I feel the same way about diving and Oscar winning performances in football/soccer.

Cheers!

[Al]

While I respect all of your opinions, you're all wrong on this one. This was an overreaction to something that was harmless.

You wanna talk sportsmanship, let's talk about a sport that allows two grown men to throw haymakers at each other with only a 2 minute penalty to act as a deterrent.

For those of you who think this is harmless and that kids know better than to think this behaviour is OK, let me tell you about my buddy Jeff's 2 year-old Aiden who loves watching hockey with his dad. Aiden loves celebrating goals. He stands in front of the TV with a hockey stick in his hand and his older sister's bicycle helmet on. When a goal is scored, Aiden throws his hands in the air and celebrates.

Recently, while watching a game, Aiden turned to his dad, threw his helmet off, threw down his stick and put his fists up to his dad to fight him.

Where are the NHL's priorities?