Confirmed with Link: Nik Kronwall Retiring

[Snuggs]

I think he did the right thing. Not much to add just will miss "the old days" seeing him play.

 

[MBH]

I remember when Kronwall was drafted. He was so tiny (5'10, 160). Everyone was like, WTF? Who drafts a tiny defenseman in round 1. In the age of Blake and Pronger, etc.

 

[Syckle78]

Just seen the news. Hats of to kronner on a very solid career. Thanks for contributing to a cup and some very entertaining hits!

 

[Dotter]

Sad to see. Hate that "era" is over and I am so old. What is his new role going to be?

 

[Dynheart]

Came here contribute to the thread on main channel, and boy what a **** show.

Gonna miss the hits, and his shot (in his prime). Just a solid d-man all around. Happy retirement Kronner!

 

[odin1981]

Great career Kronner. Thank you for the blood, sweat, and tears. Best of luck in the FO.

 

[Oddbob]

Congratulations to Nik for the great career! It was definitely time to step away, but he will be missed for the BIG HITS, and good defence he brought our club!

 

[Peter Tosh]

One of the few bright spots of the last decade of Wings history. Yzerman keeping him around is positive for team culture.

 

[newfy]

I think Stevens is clearly cemented as the hardest hitter of all time, I wonder if Kronwall has an argument for second all time though. On defense the only guy I can think of people might argue ahead of him is Rob Blake. Maybe some argue a Marchment or Kasparitus type but I dont think they hit as hard as Kronwall. Forwards are harder to compare but maybeWendel Clark is ahead of him? Maybe Cam Neely?

Kronwall has to be up there, harder to compare with forwards though

 

[Konnan511]

I think Stevens is clearly cemented as the hardest hitter of all time, I wonder if Kronwall has an argument for second all time though. On defense the only guy I can think of people might argue ahead of him is Rob Blake. Maybe some argue a Marchment or Kasparitus type but I dont think they hit as hard as Kronwall. Forwards are harder to compare but maybeWendel Clark is ahead of him? Maybe Cam Neely?

Kronwall has to be up there, harder to compare with forwards though

Konstantinov brought the thunder and lightning with his hits.

 

[Frk It]

I think Stevens is clearly cemented as the hardest hitter of all time, I wonder if Kronwall has an argument for second all time though. On defense the only guy I can think of people might argue ahead of him is Rob Blake. Maybe some argue a Marchment or Kasparitus type but I dont think they hit as hard as Kronwall. Forwards are harder to compare but maybeWendel Clark is ahead of him? Maybe Cam Neely?

Kronwall has to be up there, harder to compare with forwards though

Kronwall is up there. Also would put Chara & Pronger up there, maybe above him.

 

[MBH]

I think Stevens is clearly cemented as the hardest hitter of all time, I wonder if Kronwall has an argument for second all time though. On defense the only guy I can think of people might argue ahead of him is Rob Blake. Maybe some argue a Marchment or Kasparitus type but I dont think they hit as hard as Kronwall. Forwards are harder to compare but maybeWendel Clark is ahead of him? Maybe Cam Neely?

Kronwall has to be up there, harder to compare with forwards though

I think Stuart hit harder. And cleaner. And there were lots of 6'4 and 6'5 monster who could ruin your day.
But on a pound for pound basis, Kronwall could be #1.

 

[Rzombo4 prez]

Congrats on a great career for a very underrated player in my book. I appreciated the effort and heart the last couple of years when it was clear that the body was breaking down and compromising his play. Hopefully it does not tarnish memories of his play in his prime.

 

[newfy]

Konstantinov brought the thunder and lightning with his hits.

Vladdy would've been up there but his career was too short to be considered with these other guys. Kronwall's highlight reel probably quadruples Vladdys at this point.

Kronwall is up there. Also would put Chara & Pronger up there, maybe above him.

Those guys were definitely more physical and stronger in the corners/out front of the net but they were never really huge hitters in the same way Kronwall was. I would definitely have Kronwall above them as an open ice hitter but they were overall tougher dmen than he was

 

[Frk It]

Those guys were definitely more physical and stronger in the corners/out front of the net but they were never really huge hitters in the same way Kronwall was. I would definitely have Kronwall above them as an open ice hitter but they were overall tougher dmen than he was

Yeah, not sure I have seen a lot of guys willing to deliver those violent hits at the speed Kronwall would get to prior to contact. Guy definitely went full send, lol.

 

[Winger98]

I've seen Kronwall vilified for his hits. Konstantinov. Kasparitis. Ulf Samuelsson. All called various forms of dirty. But Scott Stevens is just held up as some paragon of hard hitting hockey and it's total crap. The guy targeted player's heads. Yeah, it wasn't technically illegal at the time, but it was dirty. And it was far worse and more consistent than anything these other guys did. Rant over but it's easy to seem like a big hitter when you routinely hit guys in the head.

 

[newfy]

I've seen Kronwall vilified for his hits. Konstantinov. Kasparitis. Ulf Samuelsson. All called various forms of dirty. But Scott Stevens is just held up as some paragon of hard hitting hockey and it's total crap. The guy targeted player's heads. Yeah, it wasn't technically illegal at the time, but it was dirty. And it was far worse and more consistent than anything these other guys did. Rant over but it's easy to seem like a big hitter when you routinely hit guys in the head.

If you watch Stevens highlight reel, he actually doesnt hit the head as much as everyone lets on. His hit on Lindros was a head shot and his hit on Kariya was late (I think) but for the ridiculous amount of big hits he has its hard to find a lot that are just targetting the head. Is there plenty with head contact? Yeah, but also full body contact. Kronwall did the same thing plenty, full body contact that starts with the head because the puck carriers have their heads down. His hit on Voracek was exactly what I'm describing here and 100% clean (and shouldnt be taken out of the game).

On top of that, its ridiculous to judge players for playing within the rules of the time. Stevens was never suspended for a hit he made and Kronwall was once. Given the absurd amount of insanely huge hits in both their highlight reels the one suspension is a pretty crazy stat

 

[MBH]

I've seen Kronwall vilified for his hits. Konstantinov. Kasparitis. Ulf Samuelsson. All called various forms of dirty. But Scott Stevens is just held up as some paragon of hard hitting hockey and it's total crap. The guy targeted player's heads. Yeah, it wasn't technically illegal at the time, but it was dirty. And it was far worse and more consistent than anything these other guys did. Rant over but it's easy to seem like a big hitter when you routinely hit guys in the head.

Kronwall is vilified for a few reasons.
1) He's European. And some North Americans are still weird about Euros.
2) His career spanned an era where his hits were both highlight reel plays, and also illegal. Stevens, for example, spent his entire career playing in the Rock'em Sock'em era. Keep your head up, kid. Kronwall's career started in that era, but the times changed. Today, Wings fans who celebrated many of Kronwall's hits 10 years ago would shudder at those same hits, and say there's no place in the game for them.
3) Kronwall wouldn't fight. He had no problem delivering concussion causing hits, but unlike a Scott Stevens or Chris Pronger or 90 percent of the guys who delivered violent hits, he didn't stand in and fight when teammates came looking for justice.

 

[ArGarBarGar]

Fighting for hits has always been a stupid hockey tradition.

I would prefer dirty hits are punished more severly than rely on players to get "retribution" or "own up" to a hit they made regardless of it being clean.

You get hit clean, you get up if you aren't hurt. You make a hit, you play more hockey.

 

[MBH]

If you watch Stevens highlight reel, he actually doesnt hit the head as much as everyone lets on. His hit on Lindros was a head shot and his hit on Kariya was late (I think) but for the ridiculous amount of big hits he has its hard to find a lot that are just targetting the head. Is there plenty with head contact? Yeah, but also full body contact. Kronwall did the same thing plenty, full body contact that starts with the head because the puck carriers have their heads down. His hit on Voracek was exactly what I'm describing here and 100% clean (and shouldnt be taken out of the game).

On top of that, its ridiculous to judge players for playing within the rules of the time. Stevens was never suspended for a hit he made and Kronwall was once. Given the absurd amount of insanely huge hits in both their highlight reels the one suspension is a pretty crazy stat

I'm friends with a guy who was Stevens' defensive partner for awhile in Washington. They purposely funneled the puck carrier into the Washington zone, and often hid Stevens and had him pop out from behind a guy to surprise him. He didn't give a f*** about headshots. Nobody did.
Puck carriers skate with their heads out front of their bodies.
Open ice hits means head shots.

As for the Voracek hit, it's illegal all day and all night in today's game.

 

[MBH]

Fighting for hits has always been a stupid hockey tradition.

I would prefer dirty hits are punished more severly than rely on players to get "retribution" or "own up" to a hit they made regardless of it being clean.

You get hit clean, you get up if you aren't hurt. You make a hit, you play more hockey.

Well, the case can be made that fighting is a stupid tradition period.
Or that hitting in the head is a stupid tradition.

But when you sees your teammate reaching for a poorly passed puck, trying to make sure he gets the puck out of your zone, and the guy from the other team sees his head down and comes skating in and plows your teammate in the chin/nose and leaves your teammate convulsing on the ice - if you don't feel like killing that motherf***er, I'm not sure what kind of teammate you are.

Hockey is a violent, emotional game.
But it's less violent and less emotional than it was 10 years ago.
And even less so than 20-30 years ago.

 

[ArGarBarGar]

Well, the case can be made that fighting is a stupid tradition period.
Or that hitting in the head is a stupid tradition.

But when you sees your teammate reaching for a poorly passed puck, trying to make sure he gets the puck out of your zone, and the guy from the other team sees his head down and comes skating in and plows your teammate in the chin/nose and leaves your teammate convulsing on the ice - if you don't feel like killing that mother****er, I'm not sure what kind of teammate you are.

Hockey is a violent, emotional game.
But it's less violent and less emotional than it was 10 years ago.
And even less so than 20-30 years ago.

Kronwall was challenged just as much for clean hits.

That's the thing, the idea is that if you knock a guy flat on the ice, clean or not, you are supposed to answer the bell. I find that to be silly. I understand why players want to get retribution if they think the hit was cheap or predatory. But I don't think the guy doing the hit has to respond to it, necessarily. And I don't think there is anything wrong with that.

Also in what way do you believe the Voracek hit to be illegal by today's rules?

 

[MBH]

Kronwall was challenged just as much for clean hits.

That's the thing, the idea is that if you knock a guy flat on the ice, clean or not, you are supposed to answer the bell. I find that to be silly. I understand why players want to get retribution if they think the hit was cheap or predatory. But I don't think the guy doing the hit has to respond to it, necessarily. And I don't think there is anything wrong with that.

Also in what way do you believe the Voracek hit to be illegal by today's rules?

I've always thought if you played violently, you should be man enough to stand in when challenged.
It's old fashioned thinking. But there's a code of honor around it.
I'll knock your teammate unconscious. And I won't hide if you come looking for me.

Kronwall would not have played the same way pre-instigator rule.

As for the Voracek hit, it looks like a shoulder delivered directly to the head.

 

[Retire91]

LOL this Kronner greatest all-time talk needs to dial down a bit. I am okay with teammates coming in for a player that got leveled by someone that put extra into it. If someone caught you good I get it the game should just move on. But when an opponent puts something extra into it I don't know what kinda teammate just moves on with the play. I remember quite a few of those kronner hits and have no problem with the other team taking exception. Kronner wasn't just taking someone out of the play he was trying to take someone out of the game.

 

[Winger98]

I'm friends with a guy who was Stevens' defensive partner for awhile in Washington. They purposely funneled the puck carrier into the Washington zone, and often hid Stevens and had him pop out from behind a guy to surprise him. He didn't give a **** about headshots. Nobody did.
Puck carriers skate with their heads out front of their bodies.
Open ice hits means head shots.

As for the Voracek hit, it's illegal all day and all night in today's game.

The Devils did the same thing. Too often you'd see the Devils "give" a guy the middle of the ice when the right play was to funnel them into the boards. They did it when Stevens was on the ice just to set up those hits.

Fighting for hits has always been a stupid hockey tradition.

I would prefer dirty hits are punished more severly than rely on players to get "retribution" or "own up" to a hit they made regardless of it being clean.

You get hit clean, you get up if you aren't hurt. You make a hit, you play more hockey.

Also, fighting after a dirty hit isn't really a deterrent. One team loses their star player for the rest of a series or a season, the other guy plays huggy bear for a minute or two and sits in the box for a bit. I'm surprised we didn't see more teams giving back what the Devils dealt and just blatantly running a guy like Niedermeyer far more often.