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33
23

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From Our Editors

Constantly updated with quick takes from the staff.

Mike Milbury Is Still An Idiot

On last night’s HNIC Hotstove, former New York Islanders GM Mike Milbury made some interesting claims regarding head injuries and changes to players’ helmets.

Pierre LeBrun was introducing a idea for a helmet that would make it safer for when players fought; the outer shell and visor come off leaving a smaller, protective helmet behind to protect the player’s head during the fight. When the idea for the new helmet was scoffed at, LeBrun brought up the latest string of concussions and big hits and the dangers of dying on the ice. Here is Milbury’s response:

“Someone dies everyday, it doesn’t matter. If you don’t want to get hurt, don’t play the game, don’t play it! Every day we talk about how to make it safer, the equipment’s better, everything’s better. Guys have been playing this game at high speeds for a long time and that’s when it’s fun; when these guys after each other and play physically, that’s when it’s fun. It’s getting to the point of nauseaum, everytime we talk about it, every week.”

Milbury would go on to say that the players that are victims of these brutal and dangerous hits should get part of the blame as well, and that someone needs to teach them how to “slow down, and absorb a hit.”

You can see the entire video here.

2 comments

by Brandon Worley • Nov 8, 2009 1:04 PM EST

More Injury News From Around The League

Besides Cam Ward leaving Saturday night’s game with a lacerated leg, the Detroit Red Wings lost forward Jason Williams for at least eight weeks with a broken right fibula. Williams is fifth on the team with seven points and has average fifteen minutes a game for the Red Wings.

The Islanders lost defenseman Radek Martinez for the season after he tore his ACL during the third period of the Islanders’ game against the New Jersey Devils. Martinek was second on the team in average time on ice at 22:47/game.

Flyers’ rookie James van Riemsdyk left Saturday night’s game with a broken pinkie. He is officially listed as day-to-day. Riemsdyk is tied for the league lead in points for a rookie.

by Zachary Zielonka • Nov 8, 2009 8:05 AM EST

NHL Attendance Down After October

FanHouse’s Kevin Schultz takes a look at the NHL’s first-month attendance numbers, and it’s bad news for the NHL, at least in the short term:

Only nine teams had an average attendance higher than their average attendance last season. On the flip side, 18 teams are down, including five which are down more than 10 percent from their 2008-09 averages.

One obvious example is the Chicago Blackhawks, which averaged 22,000-plus per game last year; in October, the Hawks averaged 20,309. Not good. That said, it’s just a month, and it’s early in the season, and, if I may utilize an unscientific gut perception here, the NHL certainly seems to be making some headway in awareness department. Or that could just be my imagination. Thus far, the numbers say otherwise.

4 comments

by Eamonn Brennan • Nov 4, 2009 8:28 PM EST

Another Headshot, More Suspension Talks, The NHL Is A Broken Record

This past weekend, there was yet another vicious hit to the head in the NHL that left a player down on the ice, and the NHL community up in arms over whether the person throwing the hit should be suspended. This time it was Andrew Ladd on Matt D'Agostini:

It seems that in the past few weeks, there have been an inordinate number of devastating headshots and dirty hits around the NH -- Tuomo Ruutu on Darcy Tucker, Willie Mitchell on Jonathan Toews, Mike Richards on David Booth, to name a few.

Colin Campbell, NHL disciplinarian, seems to have lost control of the play in the NHL despite communicating this statement to every team:

We cannot and will not tolerate blows to the head that are deliberate, avoidable and illegal. The length of suspensions for illegal blows to the head will be increased if these incidents persist across the League. Taking steps to maintain the safest on-ice environment possible for the players remains our most important priority.

Not only are we seeing illegal headshots continue, but we are also seeing an increase in supposedly legal hits where players throw shoulders into opposing players heads' with similar results from an injury standpoint. The fines and suspensions do not seem to be adequate to control player conduct.

The meeting of all the NHL GMs next week in Toronto will undoubtedly be abuzz with talk about head contact, however the GMs have considered the issue in the past and were reluctant to make any changes to the rules. Perhaps the increase in frequency and injury will spur them into motion.

Of course, the esteemed Don Cherry has also weighed in:

That's hockey...If you want to change the rule, take hitting out of the game, OK.

Somehow, I don't buy into the idea that preventing players from inflicting concussions and other serious injuries equates to turning hockey into a non-contact sport.

1 comment

by Aaron Lerner • Nov 3, 2009 1:18 PM EST

Hockey Goalie Does Thriller Dance, Completes With Athletic Play

How many versions of the Thriller dance did you see this Halloween? Hopefully not too many.

Second question: How many versions of the Thriller dance by a Finnish hockey goalie did you see the Monday after Halloween? Via Fark, prepare to break that unfortunate drought:

The best part about hockey goalies doing Michael Jackson dances is that they can credibly do the splits, something neither you nor I nor the drunk guy in your kitchen dressed as Papa Smurf can pull off. Not that I'm speaking from experience here.

0 comments

by Eamonn Brennan • Nov 2, 2009 8:37 PM EST

What's with the Horrible Jerseys in the NHL?

The Montreal Canadiens busted out their third jerseys for tonight's tilt against Toronto, which reminded us more of a barber shop than a hockey team. Seeing these headache-inducing sweaters makes one wonder why teams insist on producing horrible looking jerseys that everyone laughs at. Do these designers honestly believe they're creating something groundbreaking? Observe:

The Stars' anatomy lesson:

This is so '90's..

And of course, the infamous Canucks eyesore:

by Brandon Worley • Oct 31, 2009 11:08 PM EDT

Scary Moment In Denver Last Night

Denver Pioneers goaltender Marc Cheverie had a scary moment last night as he left the game with a severe cut to his leg. Western College Hockey Blog has the details of the play:

Goaltender Marc Cheverie had to leave the game early in the third period, with what sounded like a pretty nasty injury. It sounds like MSU’s Justin Jokinen was tripped by Denver’s Patrick Wiercioch—Wiercioch received a 2-minute slashing penalty on the play—and Jokinen slid skates first into Cheverie and caught Cheverie’s leg with his skate.

It sounds that Cheverie, a Florida Panther prospect, is going to be alright. It just took a bunch of stitches to close up the gash and Cheverie will miss some time this season to heal.

by Zachary Zielonka • Oct 31, 2009 2:48 PM EDT

Mike Green Gets Blue on Twitter

Washington Capitals' defenseman Mike Green isn't feeling well this morning, and he let all of his Twitter followers know:

J.P. of Japers' Rink gives his thoughts on the tweet and whether this level of sincerity from pro athletes is a good thing or not:

But it gets right to the heart of the conflict sports leagues and teams are facing as they try to figure out how best to handle their employees' new-found voices. Part of the beauty of some of the increase in coverage referenced above is that it's coming from the athletes themselves - unfiltered, warts and all. So do we, as fans, want more of "Mike Green being Mike Green," or do we want a censored, PG-rated version? My guess is that what we want and what the team (@WashCaps) and League (@NHL) want are not one in the same.

by Brandon Worley • Oct 29, 2009 2:15 PM EDT

Naked Shootout 2: This Time It's Illegal

The Idaho Junior Steelheads of the Western States Hockey League are in some hot water after being banned from their rink for one week. Their crime: imitating the naked shootout made famous by the Tampa Bay Lightning last week.

From the AP story (via Raw Charge):

Doug Holloway, Boise’s recreation superintendent, says rink employees told him players would take something off every time they missed a shot.

An adult whose daughter was on another rink saw the 17- to 20-year-old Steelheads skating in their skivvies and complained to a city hotline.

Rink employees who noticed the scantily clad skaters urged them to cover up.

While the Lightning played a funny game that saw Martin St. Louis get down to his long shorts and undershirt, the young Steelheads took it a bit too far:

Internet videos show a Lightning right winger, Martin St. Louis(notes), stripping to his long, dark shorts and shirt; the Junior Steelheads apparently went further, with some disrobing down to their sports briefs. At least one 17-year-old player doffed his underwear completely, to "moon" another player.

by Brandon Worley • Oct 28, 2009 2:09 PM EDT

SB Nation's Lighthouse Hockey Compares The Battle Of New York

At this point last year, the Rangers were good and the Islanders weren’t. Right now, the Rangers are still pretty good and the Islanders still aren’t. Dominik from Lighthouse Hockey takes a look at the Islanders heading into their first game against the Rangers.

Are the Islanders in a Better Place than a Year Ago?

In a word, yes — though in part by default. Last year this time, some fans were still (somehow) unclear that the rebuild was in full effect. Meanwhile, within the roster there were several veterans who were about to become quite unhappy — no matter how many or how few minutes they took from the Youth Evaluation Agenda.

The Islanders have a good foundation and they should become a good team within the next few seasons. Although, we have been saying the same things about the Kings.

by Zachary Zielonka • Oct 27, 2009 9:13 PM EDT

Budaj Diagnosed With Swine Flu; Avalanche Run Far, Far Away From Him

While the Avalanche having a good start, good times couldn’t last forever as Avalanche backup Peter Budaj has been diagnosed with swine flu. From the Denver Post:

“We’ve taken the necessary steps, the necessary precautions, to keep him away from the guys at the right time,” Sacco said. “Hopefully, he’ll be joining us on this trip.”

Budaj has not played in a game yet for the Avalanche and the Avalanche should not really miss Budaj for the time being. Craig Anderson, the Avalanche starting goaltender, has posted an 8-1-2 record with a 2.14 GAA and .940 SV%.

by Zachary Zielonka • Oct 27, 2009 6:49 PM EDT

Wheel of Justice, Turn, Turn, Turn. Give Us The Punishment They Shall Earn

From CBC’s Jeff Marek:

Campbell just told us on hnic radio that scuderi was fined today for chimera hit. Also, meeting w/ott tmrrw about his weekend hits.

The Chimera hit that Campbell was referring to you can see below. The Dallas Morning News is reporting that the Steve Ott hearing will be done over the phone. Ott's hearing will deal with his hip check on Carlo Colaiacovo as compared to the knee on knee hit he had on B.J. Crombeen.

The NHL has had their handful of hits on their hands and have handed down varying degrees of punishment. Between the three game fine for Tuomo Ruutu to the non suspension of Mike Richards, the reaction of fans to Colin Campbell and Bill Daly’s decisions have been mixed.

by Zachary Zielonka • Oct 26, 2009 7:07 PM EDT