SB Nation User Blog: oldtimehockey09

witness the epic hotness of the larionov girls doing a xmass song to support hockey...

oldtimehockey09 — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 21:58:46 -0000

witness the epic hotness of the larionov girls doing a xmass song to support hockey fights cancer

The NHL's top secret flow chart for handing out suspensions

oldtimehockey09 — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 07:25:51 -0000

The NHL's top secret flow chart for handing out suspensions

hillarious, but true. special props (ick i think i just puked in meh mouth) to the boys over at broad street for the find

Not if, but when

oldtimehockey09 — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 02:58:21 -0000

OK folks, so a few weeks into the season there have been some great goals, great saves and great hits. There is nothing in the world like the game of hockey. the NFL is about 1/4 speed, basketball is actually a tall mans version of soccer, and baseball is at its core is about individual achievement (pitcher vs hitter). But the one thing that stands out is the rash of dirty, late, and just ill intentioned hits.

So what can the NHL do about it? Well in an article by SI.com's Darren Elliothe seems to point towards the NHLPA's unwillingness to bend on mandating shoulder pads and elbow pads no longer having the hard plastic end caps on them. Now for those of you folks who haven't played a competitive game, let me just let the cat out of the bag. ITS NOT THE BLASTED PLASTIC CAPS YOU DOLT!

Honestly my jaw hit the floor when i read this and thought to myself "what is this guy smoking because i want some too". But this article did serve a purpose, and i think that it was intended to get everyone thinking about what the NHL should do to prevent hits like

Now look, i have been and always will be a proponent of the "don't skate with your head down" mentality. but with that being said i think its safe to say something has to be done about the "grey area" that exists. It is just mind boggling to me that the NHL in all its wisdom (oxymoron kinda like military intelligence) established what a low hit is, established that going knee to knee is no good, but has as of yet established anything about head shots. Does anyone else find this fascinating? Seriously watching and listening to some of the explanations about why head shots aren't considered is amazing. "You should never skate with your head down". That mind set allows the hitter to do hist work with out any consideration of the consequences. "He had his head down, so i tried to separate it from his neck". Thats what you saw with the richards hit, it really doesnt matter if you look at it in slow mo, super slow mo, or doppler radar homer vision, at full speed he targeted his head. Same think with Panuef. meanwhile, Steve ott literally tried to seperate a guys legs from his hips.

Look, the bottom line is that all the other sports have measure to protect the players. No more helmet contact, no more horse collars, no more shots to the head, no more late hits on the qb. You plunk a guy in baseball, you better be read to get a fastball in the ear hole. So the question is not if, but when.....

When someone gets killed, will the nhl do something then? It nearly happened in the ohl. Lets stop beating around the bush here. You hit someone in the head, your suspended for 25 games. You board some one, 25 games, and if someone is injured because of your illegal hit, 35 games plus 1 game for each game that player misses. you end his career, you just ended yours.

problem solved

Breaking News: Penney leaves NHLPA

oldtimehockey09 — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 19:55:42 -0000

Breaking News: Penney leaves NHLPA

the truth about kunitz

oldtimehockey09 — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 22:02:50 -0000

Ok folks, over the past few weeks I have seen something that I did not expect to see on this thread. The over the top kunitz bashing is getting a bit….passé. From my personal observations as well as statements from Bill Guerin and Sidney Crosby, Chris Kunitz is doing his jobs extremely well. "What job, he is supposed to score goals?!" you say, well lets really look at what his job is.

First and foremost Kunikazi is a battering ram with feet.

His job is to jar puck’s loose, play a sound defensive game, and grind the puck out of the corners. Those are his primary responsibilities. Simply being on the first line does not by any means demand that he be a 30g a year guy. It is obvious that some of you folks have never played a competitive game simply due to the whole "hes on the first line, he makes big money, he should be getting 40g+ and the end of the year" mindset. Guys it doesn’t work that way. Kunitz’s job in laymans terms in the offensive zone is to get the puck to sid, sid then set’s up bill, or scores on his own. Now would having Kunitz’s pot thirty to 40 this season help out the cause? Yes of course it would, however being 9 – 2 I wouldn’t be so worried about it. Let us not forget, it was kunitz who set the tone in virtually each and every playoff series last year. It was not the scoring of sid, geno, billy and max. That scoring was a byproduct of kunitz’s tenacity and wicked bad hitting game. Will he get on track, sure he will and quite frankly I would rather have hime start the season slow and come on strong late during the final playoff push and into the playoffs then have him start hot like he did last year and peter out in the playoffs.

how quickly we forget it was kunitz's hussle and tenacity that set-up the stanley cup clinching goal in game 7

Just some food for thought....also known as take a chill pill and relax.

kings shopping frolov? pens intrested???

oldtimehockey09 — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 05:07:02 -0000

kings shopping frolov? pens intrested???

i dont know about you but this one perked my intrest considerably

a fantastic tribute to the igloo.

oldtimehockey09 — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 00:51:15 -0000

a fantastic tribute to the igloo.

What’s good for the goose…..

oldtimehockey09 — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 02:25:21 -0000

Ok so now that I’m good and fired up its time to really touch this subject.

So some of us watched with a sense of disbelief, others just had the "there go the flyers again" mind set when Richards bulldozed flower and the melee ensued. Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield were said to have made an appearance during this fracas in the forms of Chris Letang and Scott Hartnell. But this issue is bigger then the Flyers I think. This message sending issue is what the league has said they will "crack down" on. Good job there.

None of us are naive enough to believe that there hasn’t been times in seasons past, or won’t be times this season where the pens pull the same number. I think most of us hope not, but seriously there will be games where bad blood boils over and next thing you know you have the Hanson’s running around like goobers. Now the real problem isn’t that some fans support this with the mind set of "let’s make them pay for coming into town one way or the other". It’s the fact that there are still players on every roster that are on the roster for specifically this purpose. Why has the supposed "crack down" been ineffective, and why is it that blatant issues go with out suspension?

"If it bleeds it leads". That’s the philosophy that the NHL has taken in this mess as usual. The only time anything really happens disciplinary wise is when Ovechkin, Crosby, Malkin, or Datsyuk is injured. That’s why guys like Hartnell, Carcillo, Colton Orr, and so on are in high demand. More people come to the games to see the shenanigans then stay away from it. Remember when Todd Bertuzzi broke a guys neck when he decked him away from the play? That was a story for about 10 minutes. The NHL handed down their suspension and that was about it. Donald Brashear vs Marty McSorely, Tie Domi vs Ulf Samuelsson. The list goes on and on. So where is the straw that broke the camels back? Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying eliminate fighting, I am saying lets make things 100% clear, after the whistle any kind of shenanigans get you a 2 minute minor, second time in a game you get a game misconduct. You wont be able to eliminate fighting, but the fact is continuing on this path will only drive fans from the seat now.

The coaches have got to get a handle on their players. That has to be reinforced from the top down. But there are a lot of old school coaches out there that love to make each opposing team pay every time they play. Guys like Jim Schoenfield, The Mullet, and Mike Keenan are no longer with any organizations’ and I say good riddance, Hockey is fast, its fancy, its intended to showcase the great talents. Guys like Simon Gange, Richards, Crosby, Malkin, Staal, Alex Ovechkin , Pavel Datsyuk, Bobby Ryan, Tavares, Getzlaf. The game has passed the likes of Carcillo, Orr, and their comrades, its time we do too.

And now a poll.

Poll

do the extracirricular activities put more bodies in the seats, or drive them away?

Hell's Yeah i wanna see blood!!!!

15 votes

Nah its just stupid men doing stupid things...see david letterman

18 votes

While i love the game, I wont take my kids to one because of these retards!

2 votes

35 votes | Poll has closed

this is prolly a little late, but its one hell of a vid

oldtimehockey09 — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 03:04:13 -0000

this is prolly a little late, but its one hell of a vid

A Look Back and a Look Ahead

oldtimehockey09 — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 00:48:11 -0000

A final "hey the season has started. LETS GET IT ON!

A Look Back and a Look Ahead

So here we are, once again at the start of another glorious NHL season. Some teams have improved, some have not, and everyone knows the road to the cup runs through Pittsburgh. Teams like the Flyers and Leafs have improved dramatically on paper. The Flyers are still stinging from their 1st round exit. Taking a gamble on Emery, and not so big of a gamble on Progner.

via blog.pennlive.com

via philatude.files.wordpress.com

The Leafs failed to make the playoffs, and have added some more punch on the wing side of the house with the addition of Kessel.

via a.espncdn.com

Washington has added Kunble but still has their hopes pinned on Theodore and Varlamov. Varly may be good, but only time will tell and with his outstanding performance during last years playoffs, one can only expect more of the same.

via www3.pictures.gi.zimbio.com

Then there are the Pens. The outsider wouldn’t think of Geno Malkin as a tough customer, but then again his throw down with Zetterberg and his constantly sticking his head in front of shots last year says otherwise.

via images.dailyradar.com

One wouldn’t think of Sid as a great leader at the ripe age of 22. But then again they didn’t have to ride the pine in game 7 of the finals due to injury, not wanting to cost his team the win.

via cache3.asset-cache.net

via www.vancouversun.com

One wouldn’t think of a guy they call "flower" as one of the most clutch goalie’s in the league. Back to back one goal games following a 5 goal drubbing says different.

via www.nationalpost.com

His coach said he has no offensive skill, some say his coach went on at length about how is offensive skill was offensive. But Max Talbot says heart matters more.

via cdn.picapp.com

The road to the cup still runs through Pittsburgh, and to those other teams out there thanks. Thanks for getting in the way, thanks for forcing the Pens to find out what it means to have heart, be tough, and learn to lead through trial by fire. Now you want the cup??

via sports.stanjames.com

Come and get it sucka