Tkachuk Spears Martin from the bench - Suspended 1 Game

[pheasant]

you think matt martin, a career tough guy, is gonna be like "yeah man that really hurt, especially my feelings, i really hope the NHL sees that and suspends him"? of course he's gonna say he didn't notice, he's not gonna feed tkachuk by directly telling him that it bothered him..

Well ya, that's true. Martin is smart to brush it off, even if it did hurt. But I think if Martin thought it was actually dangerous he would say more than "make it count next time", which he actually did say.

 

[Byrral]

Tkachuk's "spearing" are freakin' taps. Should he be doing them? No, but it's not like he slashing someone in the head like Gudas. He's pushing the boundaries. He knows when to contain himself. And that's why teams get pissed off at him.

So yes, pardon me for using the word "minor" the correct way.

So from this point forward players on the bench are allowed to get involved in the play on the ice and that is considered minor. Got it.

 

[MajorLeafsFan]

That's an insult to Keith. He played with an edge to his game but was a good power forward and fought his own battles.

That's actually a compliment to Keith. Matthew is good, but he has to figure out how to play without doing dumb things like this. Keith had to do the same thing when he first came into the NHL. He was suspended somewhere between 10 and 20 times between 2000 and 2005.

 

[CraigsList]

So are you saying that your team has never gotten involved in a scrum while on the bench? Come on, it happens quite often.

 

[TheBluePenguin]

Every time he gets suspended or kicked out of the game the Flames a worse team without his skill, it is a little shocking for me to see all the Calgary fans acting like people are over reacting, of course his style gets under your opponents skin but he is going to start costing you games if he keeps crossing that thin line between hard nose hockey and dirty hockey, I am a fan and have followed almost all the St louis kids and I just want to see him play up to his skill set, which he will not be able to do when he cannot even dress for games

 

[volcom92886]

5 games. Due to being on the bench, the spear itself and having a history with DOPS.

 

[PatriceBergeronFan]

Love Chucky, but this is what you have to live with. I’ll take it, the guy has a positive game impact whenever he’s on the ice.

Now has drawn more penalties than McDavid over the past two seasons.

He also had 105 PIMs last season as a non enforcer.

 

[karnige]

There's a lot of over-emotional people in this thread. Tkachuk gets under opponents' skin and the Nancys' on HF too.

Well the NHL wants to talk to him. If you like players spearing others and other old school stuff go watch hockey in the 90s. Game has changed so should your mentality. He's too good a player to resort to this bullshit. Flames need him playing.

 

[Pookie]

I think that is something that will likely dry up over the next few seasons. Leafs saw the same thing with Kadri (who once drew the most penalties in the league). Once the refs decide to turn on him, he will never get calls. Players will be able to manhandle him and the refs will look the other way, or call a retaliatory penalty against him.

Tkachuk doesn't embellish like Kadri used to, but there is only so many times you can "accidently" tackle a goalie before the he gets a reputation.

Kadri was also called out by his coach who told him to stop diving.

Probably more of an impact than refs or the NHL department of whim (err discipline)

 

[Byrral]

So are you saying that your team has never gotten involved in a scrum while on the bench? Come on, it happens quite often.

My post speaks for itself. Players getting involved from the bench in a play on the ice is not a minor infraction no matter how "innocent" it seems. The spear is "innocent" enough. From the bench is where the line needs to be drawn. Guess we will see today how the NHL feels about it.

 

[featherhawk]

What a freaking coward. Clown doors this sort of crap all the time and then turtles and guides behind teammates, coaches and now the boards of the players bench.

I hope he does not get suspended so he can play tonight and hopefully someone from the Habs pummels him into oblivion.

 

[LeafsLegendAkiBerg]

I think two or three games with a stern warning that the next on ice/off ice infraction will net him a lengthy suspension makes sense.

 

[Milan90]

Anyone else remember when hockey was actually fun to watch and featured antics like this constantly?

Can't have this in the game anymore though, I need to be entertained by "dump-and-lose-the-puck" hockey and shots from the point that I hope hit someone's knee and go in.

 

[CraigsList]

My post speaks for itself. Players getting involved from the bench in a play on the ice is not a minor infraction no matter how "innocent" it seems. The spear is "innocent" enough. From the bench is where the line needs to be drawn. Guess we will see today how the NHL feels about it.

I was calling the love tap minor. What Tkachuk did was definitely unacceptable, it was never innocent to begin with. I wouldn't even be surprised if the league suspends him for a game or two. What bothers me in this thread though is calling Tkachuk some kind of Matt Cooke or some "enforcer" that he really isn't.

 

[FrozenJagrt]

The only issue here is that he did it from the bench. There is no reason for him to get involved if he's not on the ice. It was a gentle love tap, and had he been on the ice there'd be no issue. I'm sure most of us that played the game at any level have given and taken harder spears when lining up for a faceoff.

 

[Tofveve]

He's got to grow up a bit. I hope the league just has a bit of one and one with him and says, look, you have a bright future but this stuff has to go. Okay kid? Now sit out a couple of games and think about it.

I mean he can be a hell of an effective agitator throughout his career, but you don't want to get mired down, make a bad name with stupid, petty suspensions.

 

[ImpartialNHLfan]

Anyone else remember when hockey was actually fun to watch and featured antics like this constantly?

Can't have this in the game anymore though, I need to be entertained by "dump-and-lose-the-puck" hockey and shots from the point that I hope hit someone's knee and go in.

Exactly, I hate what hockey is turning into. I'm a leaf fan and I have no problem on what he done lastnight. Sure he drove me crazy all night but I wish he was on my team.

 

[MajorLeafsFan]

Like a young Matt Cooke in the making

Yeah, exactly!

The fact Martin didn't feel it doesn't excuse the act. But it does provide evidence that it wasn't a powerful spear. If it wasn't very hard, then there isn't anything terrible here. I keep watching the video. It was a whimpy little poke.

I'm not even saying Tkachuk is or isn't a dirty player.

Then again, this is Matt Martin we're talking about. The guy probably wouldn't feel it if he'd used an actual spear.
Tkachuk's motto:

 

[Byrral]

I was calling the love tap minor. What Tkachuk did was definitely unacceptable, it was never innocent to begin with. I wouldn't even be surprised if the league suspends him for a game or two. What bothers me in this thread though is calling Tkachuk some kind of Matt Cooke or some "enforcer" that he really isn't.

Understood. Tkachuk plays with an edge and I wouldn't compare his antics to that of Matt Cooke. But to play on the edge, at some point, he must learn where the edge of line is and to not cross it. In this case, in my opinion, he crossed it.

 

[Deen]

I really hope the league doesn't neuter Tkachuk.

 

[tny760]

Anyone else remember when hockey was actually fun to watch and featured antics like this constantly?

Can't have this in the game anymore though, I need to be entertained by "dump-and-lose-the-puck" hockey and shots from the point that I hope hit someone's knee and go in.

it's funny when people say this because they so casually generalize today's game into being boring, but it's the exact same generalization they use to call 90s hockey fun. there's nothing fun about watching 1 minute of "hockey" consisting of endless hacking and holding interrupted by an endless parade of fake tough guys to the penalty box. especially when guys spent 5 minutes wrestling with the linesmen instead of just going to the box. wanna watch fighting, go watch the UFC. just bleed boys.

 

[LeafsLegendAkiBerg]

Anyone else remember when hockey was actually fun to watch and featured antics like this constantly?

Can't have this in the game anymore though, I need to be entertained by "dump-and-lose-the-puck" hockey and shots from the point that I hope hit someone's knee and go in.

Yeah! Remember when Tucker ran Neil on the bench and a huge brawl ensued? I mean, it's not like any of those players were punished or anything. That was old time hockey, not this new p***y NHL!

 

[KingBran]

I get 'old tyme hockey' and all that but that really has no place in the NHL.

 

[Milan90]

it's funny when people say this because they so casually generalize today's game into being boring, but it's the exact same generalization they use to call 90s hockey fun. there's nothing fun about watching 1 minute of "hockey" consisting of endless hacking and holding interrupted by an endless parade of fake tough guys to the penalty box. especially when guys spent 5 minutes wrestling with the linesmen instead of just going to the box. wanna watch fighting, go watch the UFC. just bleed boys.

I don't exclusively "want to watch fighting". I want games with animosity and emotion. They've basically eliminated most of the physical aspects of the game apart from shoulder checks into the boards. Every game feels the exact same; there's no rivalry, no animosity, or emotion. Everyone can remember the Stars-Bruins game or the Bruins-Habs game or Detroit-Colorado, Buffalo-Ottawa, etc. Nobody remembers virtually any of the games in the new NHL because there's nothing to remember. It's dump and chase, shots from the point, no hitting, no fighting hockey. It's an absolute snoozefest.

The physicality is part of the reason why I fell in love with the game. It was a great feeling when someone like Tkachuk would rough up one of your guys and you couldn't wait to face them again. When Cam Janssen took out Kaberle, their rematch was like a playoff game. Now refs will send guys out for chirping just in case some animosity and emotion might come from it. It's a joke, and we need more Tkachuks, and more guys to respond to the Tkachuks.

 

[Milan90]

Yeah! Remember when Tucker ran Neil on the bench and a huge brawl ensued? I mean, it's not like any of those players were punished or anything. That was old time hockey, not this new ***** NHL!

I'm not arguing against a suspension or fine. Bench-Ice interactions generally result in those. I'm arguing with the outraged "we really needa do something about this Tkachuk kid!!" Posters.

But notice how you remember the game in which that brawl happened? You're not going to remember any of these sweet 4-2 games in 14 years, like you remember that one 14 years later.