Lindros advocates elimination of body contact

[orby]

I would still watch even if body contact were banned, if only because I'd be interested to see what kinds of players thrived in that environment and what strategies would have to be devised to get around the rules. It would be a different game, for sure, but not necessarily a bad one.

 

[Burke the Legend]

He's not crazy. A couple of points in his favour are one that the game right now where almost every possession near the boards (and that's most) ends with body check is relatively new. Go watch an old NHL game from the 70s or 80s and it rarely happened. Defenders just veered off to get back to the play when their assignment dished the puck off, they rarely followed through with a bodycheck. Was this somehow weak, low quality hockey? I don't think so, looks pretty good to me. Second point is that of the millions of grown, working men and women who play amateur beer league hockey, it's done non-contact. Feels like pretty real hockey to me, main difference of course is that guys can play heads down, because they don't have to look up for someone coming out of their periphery trying to take that same head of yours off.

What we'll probably see is harder contact banned to start. Like you're not allowed to take a stride at a guy who has already released the puck and maybe you only get a split second to finish if he no longer has it, otherwise you have to make heavy effort to veer off.

 

[Lions67]

I cannot see hockey ever removing contact and I do not want to see that but Scott Stevens played to hurt people and I can understand why so many people hate him. Someone should not be punished for life because they did not have their head up.

Lindros was no angel.
And!!.... it was his own damn fault he got clocked.

Karma baby, karma is what killed that beast!

 

[Drake1588]

There's a fallacy in the military that the highest priority is to bring everyone back alive and unharmed, but that's false. The chief priority is to accomplish whatever mission is set out for you, and with that in mind, to bring everyone back alive and unharmed to the greatest extent possible while meeting that objective. If the priority was protecting your people, you would never leave base/take off/leave port. The world out there is dangerous.

The first priority of the NHL is not to keep everyone safe, but to provide entertainment and make a dollar. Within that construct, the stewards of the game are motivated to promote a reasonable level of safety without sacrificing their main goal. Tweaking the rules and enforcement mechanisms in the service of improving injury metrics is laudable, but there are limits, because at the end of the day it's a bloodsport and a significant share of its appeal is the violence.

Hockey without violence is a very different animal, and you would lose a lot if you were to give up much of what gives hockey its unique character compared with other sports, namely the interchange of skill and grace with fearful violence. Threaten that core conceit, and you threaten your revenues. In any event, I don't think the stewards would support more than one day abolishing fighting, and even that point is a long way off in the future.

 

[BenningHurtsMySoul]

Lindros was the 10 year old that's already 150lbs for pretty much his entire career, even after he made the NHL he had a considerable physical advantage over everybody.

It left him vulnerable and he paid for it.

 

[Sol]

Lindros should keep his stupid opinions to himself.

 

[smokingwriter]

Ken Dryden has earlier talked for a blanket elimination of head shots and introduction of automatic penalty for hit to the head, no excuses, no exceptions.

Eric Lindros took even more drastic view arguing that hockey may retain its nature even if all body contact is eliminated.

https://www.nationalpost.com/sports/hockey/nhl/eric-lindros-drastic-rule-change-nhl-concussions-body-contact/amp

Interesting note from Dryden in article:

Lindros loved body contact when he was the hammer instead of the nail.

 

[smokingwriter]

The NHL and NFL should soon stop trying to make their sports safe by continuing to reduce hard body on body contact/hitting. The lawsuits against the leagues are based on players believing the leagues had knowledge that hitting was causing CTE and kept it from the players and did nothing to protect them. Once those lawsuits are settled the leagues should be at square one, if you want to play the sport you assume the risks, it's out in the open now. Boxing still exists, MMA/UFC is huge and I can't even watch it it's so violent, watching both women and men knee each other in the face is barbaric but it's their choice to take part in it.

If the evidence of damage keeps growing then I'm sure we'll see a lot less kids involved in hockey and football. In the US it's incredible what I'm seeing, tons of high schools shutting down their football programs, not for insurance or moral reasons, but because there's so few kids signing up to play. I don't think safety/health concerns are the only factor, there's also changes to how teenagers are living their lives, they're on their phones and tablets all the time, video gaming, socializing.

The NHL should pay a terrible price for what it's done to old-time players. Absolutely disgraceful, and not at all surprising.

 

[Lazlo Hollyfeld]

The thread title and the article are both misleading.

 

[Whaleafs]

The NHL 2020-2021

 

[egelband]

It's ridiculous and you're right I do have it backwards. They grew up playing the sport. They knew it was a rough sport and there might be consequences. That is why they make the big bucks.

They don’t make big bucks because of concussions. They make big bucks because people want to see the stars play. Thats why the goons make the *little* bucks.

 

[egelband]

He's not crazy. A couple of points in his favour are one that the game right now where almost every possession near the boards (and that's most) ends with body check is relatively new. Go watch an old NHL game from the 70s or 80s and it rarely happened. Defenders just veered off to get back to the play when their assignment dished the puck off, they rarely followed through with a bodycheck. Was this somehow weak, low quality hockey? I don't think so, looks pretty good to me. Second point is that of the millions of grown, working men and women who play amateur beer league hockey, it's done non-contact. Feels like pretty real hockey to me, main difference of course is that guys can play heads down, because they don't have to look up for someone coming out of their periphery trying to take that same head of yours off.

What we'll probably see is harder contact banned to start. Like you're not allowed to take a stride at a guy who has already released the puck and maybe you only get a split second to finish if he no longer has it, otherwise you have to make heavy effort to veer off.

Yep. Well said. Guys were hitting to get the puck, cause a turnover, hockey plays. Not to injure or intimidate. I think there was more of a fraternity sense back then. Now, for whatever reason, it’s a lot more cynical.
I think many would agree, hitting is fine and appropriate. But those guys skating full speed from the periphery to total a guy, who’s often tied up with another player already, is garbage. At least that’s my opinion.

 

[King 88]

Well absolytely yes to this. Eric got hitted pretty bad I guess if he says stupid shit like that.

 

[Rich Nixon]

The thread title and the article are both misleading.

Yeah, exactly. He never "advocated for eliminating body contact" and we're 4 pages in with that fact barrly acknowledged. HFin' hard.

Also, lol at some of the takes from people who never saw Lindros play. Sad story and perhaps a fine example of hubris, but man...he could do it however he wanted.

 

[Siamese Dream]

People may laugh but I honestly believe the game is going this way eventually

The IIHF have already introduced the new "late hit" rule which effectively means you aren't allowed to finish your check anymore

 

[ManyIdeas]

People may laugh but I honestly believe the game is going this way eventually

The IIHF have already introduced the new "late hit" rule which effectively means you aren't allowed to finish your check anymore

Does it essentially require contact to immediately remove player from puck? Just curious, not sure of the rulings or examples they have used to determine late/legal.

 

[Eisen]

Lindros of all people....

 

[Eisen]

People may laugh but I honestly believe the game is going this way eventually

The IIHF have already introduced the new "late hit" rule which effectively means you aren't allowed to finish your check anymore

Which I agree with. Late hits are 90% to punish your opponent and not making a play.

 

[Perfect_Drug]

Does international hockey have less contact?

I'm all for international sized rinks and rules.
Just a more pure game imho.

 

[Aurinko]

Lindros of all people....

You still have to play the game the way others play, even if you don't agree the rules.

 

[Eisen]

You still have to play the game the way others play, even if you don't agree the rules.

Yeah, but he went over the top.He was making the rules more than other people. To this day I'm surprised that he didn't eat stick at one point of his career.

 

[Human]

let's see how hfs sweetheart will fare in this thread.

this is one of the reasons the Pens players were high-fiving each others on the bench when Kasparaitis killed Lindros. absolutely pos hit here on an indefensible player. big bully crying about hits.

 

[Tomas W]

The hiting ia a big reason to why people watch hockey in the first place. But ok head shots need to go.

 

[Kranix]

Interesting note from Dryden in article:

Why are shifts so short now?

 

[blood gin]

The hiting ia a big reason to why people watch hockey in the first place. But ok head shots need to go.

Head shots are banned already. And they have been for quite some time. You can't target anybody and hit them in the head with any part of your anatomy. Trouble is the game is played at a lightning quick pace and decision are made in a split second. Things change so quickly. That's why it still happens.