Steve Yzerlland
Registered User
- Jul 18, 2018
- 8,226
- 4,052
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.
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.
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.
You dont know the rules if you think the Voracek hit is illegal in todays game. If a player puts himself in position where the head is hit first for the defender to make a full body hit its legal. Kronwall skated straight at Voracek and because of Voraceks body position the head was leading but Kronwall went through the whole body. There is possible way to hit that player without head contact. If you think Kronwall just shouldnt make the hit in that situation, thats fine but it isnt the NHLs point of view on hitting.
Its people who dont understand the rules like this that make the main board so hard to read after a big hit with head contact. If a full body hit is made that starts with head contact because of the position the person with the puck put themselves in, its a clean hit. Head contact isnt illegal, ONLY head contact or the head being targeted is whats illegal People need to learn this
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.
It WAS a deterrent in an age when players were expected to man up.
In the 1990s, a player like Kronwall would have been pummeled for his act. Even a guy like Ulf Samuelsson, regarded as a cheap shot artist who wouldn't drop the gloves, stood in and fought guys every once in awhile.
Post instigator, hitters like could slunk away.
It never felt right to me, a guy who watched 70s, 80s and 90s hockey.
It never felt right to me, a guy who celebrated Probert when he stood up for Yzerman, or McCarty standing up for Lemieux, or Shanahan standing up for Datsyuk.
It never felt right in 2008. And give what we know about the kind of damage Kronwall was probably doing to guys, his unwillingness to fight makes his hits seem even more cowardly.
And look - I say this as someone who RESPECTS his offense. And his defense. And who loved his open-ice hitting.
And who respected his willingness to talk to the media and answer monotonous questions about losing, every night, when things went south.
But I don't respect that he would deliver hits he knew cause injury, and then hid.
I know 99 percent of Wings fans disagree. But I don't care.
Principle point of contact = targeting.
If someone does to Larkin or AA or Mantha or Zadina what Larkin did to Voracek, I want my team to **** them up
But Kronwall didn't throw his hits knowing that they would cause injury. He threw them knowing that they would hurt. That is a HUGE difference. Like, he was trying to put some pain on guys, but it wasn't Ulf Samuelsson or Jordin Tootoo stuff that was clearly dirty. Kronner was trying to take guys out of the play, not out of the league.
Agreed.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.
Man.. The hate for Kronwall is real in the main forum. It's hilarious seeing all these teams full of scum bags try to make Nik sound like he is what's wrong with the league.... Flyer fans who have Gudas and the lowlife Ronaldo... Bruins fans...
The league needs more of Nik. Players who hit hard, and clean and stayed away from the bull****. The league is so fast now, guys who can hit within the rules and make it highlight worth are few and far between... You didn't see him ending careers, but he made the whole arena buzz. Plus he was a two way player, a leader and a fantastic role model for the fans since he played with respect and stayed out of the media garbage.
Imagine a league full of the speed and skill we have now and hits like Kronwalls? Would be amazing.
Principle point of contact = targeting.
If someone does to Larkin or AA or Mantha or Zadina what Kronwall did to Voracek, I want my team to **** them up
Usually not a main board flamer but I’m not about to let them say some of that **** lol.
Coming from fans of Hextall, Gudas, Rinolda, Chara, Cooke and more... Take it all with a grain of salt. There may not be a full deck to be played with.
I mean, crap, if you really wanted to go that route... Sidney Crosby was a more dirty player than Kronwall ever was.
Principle point of contact = targeting.
It WAS a deterrent in an age when players were expected to man up.
In the 1990s, a player like Kronwall would have been pummeled for his act. Even a guy like Ulf Samuelsson, regarded as a cheap shot artist who wouldn't drop the gloves, stood in and fought guys every once in awhile.
Post instigator, hitters like could slunk away.
It never felt right to me, a guy who watched 70s, 80s and 90s hockey.
It never felt right to me, a guy who celebrated Probert when he stood up for Yzerman, or McCarty standing up for Lemieux, or Shanahan standing up for Datsyuk.
It never felt right in 2008. And give what we know about the kind of damage Kronwall was probably doing to guys, his unwillingness to fight makes his hits seem even more cowardly.
And look - I say this as someone who RESPECTS his offense. And his defense. And who loved his open-ice hitting.
And who respected his willingness to talk to the media and answer monotonous questions about losing, every night, when things went south.
But I don't respect that he would deliver hits he knew cause injury, and then hid.
I know 99 percent of Wings fans disagree. But I don't care.
Name another player that has nutpunched someone from behind as the third guy into a fight. Both Crosby and Malkin should have been suspended multiple times, but Gary Buttman loves Sid and Mario.Crosby had some moments, but I give him a bit of a free pass. He has been targeted for years, and McDavid will likely take that role... Eventually you snap and lose your cool.
I remember the bull**** Pavel and Z had to put up with from Perry and Getzlaf and others that was allowed to slide right in front of the refs.
People on the main board, really 2 people in particular are completely out to lunch with their take on both Kronwall's hockey ability and his Kronwalling hits, it is nauseating!