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"My Take On The Preds"
TN • United States • 40 Years Old • Male
I've been a hockey fan all my life. Regardless of who is playing I always enjoy a good hockey game (raise your hand if you watch the IHL All Star Game) but with the recent Chris Simon incident (see video above) I have begun to question if the game has always been like this?

As a fan of the game I know that coaches put out enforcers at certain times knowing that they are going to drop the gloves but when a player like Simon goes off the deep end and attempts to injure outside the play of the game that bothers me. Don't get me wrong, I love the feel of the arena when the coaches match enforcer against enforcer knowing that these guys will go. At that moment I am transported back to ancient Rome to the coliseum watching gladiators fight for their lives. But what Simon did...what Bertuzzi did to Steve Moore does not belong in our game.

I remember many an IHL game as a youth when my Flint Generals and a foe (many times the hated Saginaw Gears) would have bench clearing brawls. While we don’t see that kind of play much any more (the Sharks and Coyotes did all pair off last night in a heated game that should see some more suspensions from the NHL) what gets the attention is bonehead plays like Simon or like the Predators own Scott Nichol. (Let me say this now. I don't see the game through Pred colored glasses when a Predator does something like Scott Nichol did they need to be punished. There is no place in our game for that. None.)

As a fanatic of the game I do, of course, defend the honor of my game to those who don't understand it but these types of acts make it hard to do. Where is the honor Simon? Where is the honor Nichol? Where is the honor of the entire Philadelphia Flyers team? I feel that Colin Campbell is doing the right thing and making the suspensions tough but the players themselves need to hold each other accountable to this. Bring back the honor to the game.

So I ask the question to the readers of the blog...has the game always been like this or have we become more sensitive to this type of behavior? Are we seeing more because of more cameras at the games? What gives? Help me out here.

To view video of the Simon incident got to http://predjoe.wordpress.com/
Filed Under:   fights   chris simon   flyers   predators   ihl  
December 21, 2007 9:43 AM ET | Delete
I don't think its always been like this at all. I haven't watched hockey for much more than 11 or so years, off and on as a kid and far moreso when the Preds came to town, and I don't remember seeing anything on par with Simon's antics. I don't think its necessarily fair to put Nichol in the same category as him, if for no other reason than the severity of the act. With Simon some of the things he does just seem premeditated almost, blatant intent to injure and maim. Nichol is similar but more of a crime of passion and heat of the moment thing. You're right, they're both wrong; just one is more wrong.I know some people speculate that the softening of the game has led to more incidents like this. Stupid penalties for nothing reign supreme and fighting is not as accepted as it used to be. Perhaps the harder nature of the old NHL permited more of an emotional outlet for people and mitigated things like we see today. I don't know, I don't particularly prescribe to any theory one way or another, but it is a thought.
December 21, 2007 10:53 AM ET | Delete
Joe as usual a very good blog. Imho there are several reasons for the increase in these types of occurances. Unfortunately, i think it primarily is just a reflection on society in general. It may well also be that in the old days, these types of players never made it to the big show. fewer teams fewer slots and all that. There is definitely no place for this kind of stuff. Retaliation appears to be more immediate now. Used to be if you got a shot on someone, they would wait until they had an opportunity for a legal shot back at you. now they just slash, stomp or whatever at that point. I agree with AR that maybe somethings that used to be more accepted and are now penaltites might lead to pent up frustration. Why would you want to risk injuring someone to the extent you could limit or end their career? Somewhere down the line these guys are not being taught to respect the game and their fellow players.
December 21, 2007 11:15 AM ET | Delete
Spare me the "honor of the Philadelphia Flyers team" comment. Colin Campbell doesn't have the guts to suspend anybody not on the Flyers or named Chris Simon. Three of the Flyer incidents were borderline non-suspendable infractions, and I believe Campbell only dealt those suspensions to aboud the wrath of the Canadian media. How about suspensions for Dion Phaneuf, Gary Roberts, or one of the twenty or so other players who have committed more suspendable infractions than Randy Jones.The way to fix the problem is to remove the instigator rule. Take it out and problem solved.
December 21, 2007 12:56 PM ET | Delete
Well I feel a lot of this has come on since the NHL implemented the instigator rule. Use to if someone took a cheap shot at your player you would put your enforcer out there to go get them. Didn't matter who it was. Now you just get a penalty and in the end a suspension for instigating a fight. That is why we need to loose this rule and loose it immediately. You use to never see these kinds of things because you would get your a$$ handed to you. But now it's not like that. Guys like Simon, Bertuzzi and Nichol can go out there, take a cheap shot and never be held accountable by the enforcer. I miss the enforcer. The whole Stu "The Grim Reaper" Grimson type of players. It was an aspect of our game that kept cowardly stuff like this from happening! And yes, Bertuzzi, Nichol, Simon and the rest of those type players are all cowards and the things they have done are cowardly moves. Great blog Joe! Keep it up!
December 21, 2007 1:46 PM ET | Delete
Instigator rule has not lived up to its expectations. It has hindered more than any perceived help and needs to go (or at least be modified drastically).
December 21, 2007 2:56 PM ET | Delete
plots4 -- are you still on about this "Philly conspiracy" crap? Grow up. Ohlund got a 4 game suspension (deserved) for a whack that was FAR less dangerous than the Jones hit. Do I need to remind you that Philly is closely watched (under official notice, in fact) because of FIVE dangerous hits in less than 2 months. it's not the other way around as you and some Philly fans would like to spin. And yes, the Canadian media has so much influence over anything...what a crock you spew...get over it.
December 21, 2007 9:46 PM ET | Delete
(raise your hand if you watch the IHL All Star Game) Well,not that devoted, but as a fellow Flintoid I keep up with the league. Generals are doing well this year, and even have Kris Draper as one of the ownership group now.
December 22, 2007 12:42 AM ET | Delete
rdfred - apparently you have not been in tune with Koivu of the Wild. His leg was broken by that Ohlund slash and he is still out. It's been almost 10 games and he is still out. "FAR less dangerous"? Get a clue.
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