NHL Players Do Not Mess Around in the Preseason

Hey Celine…..If you are going to lay out a Scott Stevens type hit………then at LEAST have the "stones" to back it up.

Yes,Okposo did have his head down…..but it is PRE-SEASON!!! No need to put the kid in the hospital with a borderline head-shot.

Man up you P*SSY!!!!!!!

It is a clean hit. Phaneuf didn’t leave his feet. And while Okposo was shoved before being layed out, he didn’t help his case either.

After a somewhat bad season last year, I think this means Phaneuf is ready to play this year.

And believe me, if one of your Canucks dished out a hit like that yesterday, you wouldn’t be complaining.

For the record, leaving your feet to make a hit does not automatically make said hit a charge.

Nice hit Phaneuf you d-bag. THIS IS PRESEASON. You are the biggest pu55y in the NHL. You go after guys and then run when they come back at you. If you are going to give big hits like that you better be ready to get skull fu**ed. You are a no talent pu55y and shouldn’t even be in the NHL. Get a life LOSER!!!

You are worse that Sean Avery!!! and you took his left overs, how do his ballz taste?

I am a canucks fan and while the point in the season for ending a non divisional teams important player is subject to questioning, one can conclude that both players are feeling the rust and things like this are bound to happen.
THIS WAS A CLEAN HIT. sorry, he did not leave his feet. Was it necessary?
Well, if you don’t want the islanders to schedule games against you in the preseason. Talk about giving another team motivation when the games actually matter though.

Granted it was a clean hit but you don’t need to lay out a guy and put him in the hospital during the pre-season! Dion already has a spot on the Flames roster so what is he trying to do?? I could understand if he was an invite or a call-up fighting for a spot, but not the teams best D man.

I guess Kyle Okposo’s initials stand for something else now…Keep your head up K.O, this isn’t peewee hockey. Phaneuf has to make those hits, that’s his job.

…and Morency racing out…PPPPLLLLLLEEEAAAASSSSEEE, you would get killed.

ALWAYS skate with your head up, kids…

correct me if i am wrong but he left his feet AND took about a dozen strides. isnt there a 2 stride limit?  preseason games should be non contact.  fanuff didnt impress anybody with a cowardly hit like that.  unfair to do that when there is no money on the line.  hope it is remembered and savagely avenged.

He took 3-4 strides skating backwards. If you have played ice hockey you would realise the hit was legal. Necessary? if it was regular season and one of our nucks, there would be much heralding.
I neither saw him leave his feet, only upon the audacious contact that occured he was in the air.
I was hit in a similar fashion going straight to the net which ended seperating my shoulder. the player who hit me did not leave his feet, but still after the impact jettisoned him as well.
try running into someone leaning in with your tip toes and at that speed being cemented to the ground.

Apologies for commenting on this matter once again.

i dont accept your apology. the point i made was it ISNT regular season. and i was referring to the SPIRIT of the two stride rule.  the rule is in place to prevent full speed headons. he hopped into him. no debate.
   according to you he ran into him LEANING ON HIS TIPTOES.  if you ever played hockey you would know that you cant skate backwards on your tiptoes. it was a charge.

Supernatural24:

Yes I would complain if one of the ’Nucks laid a guy out and then would back down when challenged. Ever hear of Matt "the turtle "Cooke?? Biggest p*ssy in the league!!!!

Did it all the time….laid out questionable hits and wouldnt back them up.Thats why A.V. got rid of his sorry ass.Couple of years ago Vancouver played Edmonton in a scrap filled game.Everyone was mixing it up….EVEN TREVOR LINDEN who NEVER FIGHTS.But there was one smirking goof who stayed on the bench and let his "teamates" fight instead.That player was Matt Cooke.He was gone within a few weeks after that.Ive NEVER respected that little sh*t.

I really didnt have a problem with Phaneuf’s hit(a few factors played their part in this)……but was it really neccessary to lay out the kid with a borderline headshot???? I mean it’s not like Dion was trying to make the team……his spot is secure.

Preface: I hate the Islanders.

Supernatural, NucksGM and CProulx must have watched a different video then the one I just viewed. They should call him Air Phaneuf after that hit. He bends his kness and explodes upward into that hit. If he didn’t leap then how did he end up parallel with the ice at 0:03? The force of Okposo’s helmet hitting DP just knocked the 6’-3" 215 pounder into the air?

We can argue all day whether it’s a clean hit or not, but please don’t lie about what’s shown on the videotape folks. If you can’t defend the "cleanliness" of the hit (or you don’t really care) you just deny reality instead? That’s what a troll does for lulz . . .

…welcome to the NHL boys (and girls apparently)…yeah it may not have been the cleanest of hits and yeah its preseason…so what?…

…if you don’t like hard play, breakneck speed or mercless decision making then maybe this is not the sport for you…

…I have played hockey at an elite level and yes one CAN skate backwards on tippie toes and charging is only a factor when one player is stationary and from conception players are taught to drive with legs through a hit…no body contact in preseason!??…your kidding right?…

…preseason is, for ALL players, baptism by fire…your expected to play at your highest level at all times while supporting the party line the coach lays out…there are no locks in the NHL, every position is evaluated regularly…I can imagine that given Dions lackluster play last season the bench boss has lit a fire under him…good news for the Flames…bad for the rest of the league…

…lets not forget they now have whats being tauted as the best D in the league what with Bau and Oki added recently…

…by the way, have I meantioned…I hate the Flames!…

well rambo, i mean edbread, your celluloid bravado is matched only by the vacuum in your skull.  all of that bellicose machismo sounds great until each money making star in the league is taken out one by one in meaningless preseason hits like that one.  and if you can skate backwards on your toes you really are the most elite skater the world has ever seen. which nhl team are you starring for?

I don’t know scurds, I’ll suffice to say I love hard play and hockey is for me. If everyone agreed with me there’d be no need for a discussion forum at TSN.

fair enough. big hits are great, but a bit of temperance in preseason might be prudent.

No worries, live by the sword . . .

Phaneuf’s day is coming.

Listen, Phaneuf is one of the best defensemen on the ice. Everyone always has something to prove; if anyone takes pre-season lightly they should play another sport. It was a CLEAN hit, he targeted Okposo, glided across the ice backwards and laid a shoulder into Okposo’s chest/chin. Now…

Everyone is up in arms with this being a dirty hit, but…all you Canadians are going to be happy when he gets your country a gold medal in the Olympics this coming year? I’m sure you won’t complain about a hit then…the end.

Go Bruins!

Dear Phaneuf,Don’t change anything.Sincerely,Guys who appreciate physical hockey.