Rangers statement on Wilson non-suspension

[Jaromir Jagr]

Fighting is being removed by itself. It is at historic lows. It doesn't really matter if the NHL leaves it in, because its impact is so low these days anyway and frankly, the fighting that occurs is nothing like that of the past. It doesn't move the needle. It doesn't change the momentum. It's essentially irrelevant and pure goons are completely extinct.

This is about cheapshots which are totally separate from fighting and should have been removed many years ago. I thought we were moving on from this after Cooke & Torres, but hiring Parros was a gigantic mistake and is making this death slower than that of Sears'.

 

[HockeyBasedNYC]

Bruins fan coming in peace. I think the Ranger's statement was excellent.

To all those who say "you handle it on the ice, not with words" I think you are living in the 80's. The League has almost completely eliminated team's ability to manage issues themselves, directly.

On top of that, they've always come down harder on revenge type penalties than any initial offense. That of course went into hyper mode with the Bertuzzi incident.

Bottom line is the League has a problem with Wilson that they don't know how to handle. He WILL hurt someone again, and the Rangers statement is going to put the League in a very difficult position when it happens.

Wilson is a psycho. Earlier this season when he mashed/concussed Carlo's head into the glass it wasn't because he was mad at Carlo, or the hit made particular sense, or it was just a hockey play. It was because he got smoked with a clean through the body check by Frederick earlier in the shift. He then went Roid Red... starting flying all over the ice trying to nail someone. Embarassed? Angry? Feeling Less Than? All of the above, probably.

The point is you cannot legally hit Wilson (or one of his teammates) without him going out and headhunting one of your guys. It's like having one of James Bond Villains Henchmen on permanent call.

Panarin is SOOOOOOOOO lucky he landed primarily shoulder first instead of having his bare head smashed on the ice. And that was nothing but pure luck. Without that luck we'd be having a very somber and very tragic discussion today.

One day someone will have their skull cracked open because Wilson snapped and didn't get as lucky as he did this time. As sad as that day will be, at least the Rangers will be able to tell Gary Bettman he didn't do his job and that he had already been formally and very publicly put on notice as to that fact.

Agree with it all, thanks for stopping by.



Incoming comment about Marchand in 3...2...1...

 

[RangersFan1994]

Eller on Wilson incident: 'I think it's being made a big deal because it was Tom'
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take out Eller for these comments

 

[HockeyBasedNYC]

Fighting is being removed by itself. It is at historic lows. It doesn't really matter if the NHL leaves it in, because its impact is so low these days anyway and frankly, the fighting that occurs is nothing like that of the past. It doesn't move the needle. It doesn't change the momentum. It's essentially irrelevant and pure goons are completely extinct.

This is about cheapshots which are totally separate from fighting and should have been removed many years ago. I thought we were moving on from this after Cooke & Torres, but hiring Parros was a gigantic mistake and is making this death slower than that of Sears'.

x1000

 

[Cameraguy]

Islanders fan here to support you. From what I saw from that clip on Panarin is disgusting. The fine on Wilson is unjustified, the league should be ashamed of themselves. We have your back and if we face Washington it's over for him. I don't care if we win or lose the series this has to stop.

I'll be glued to the game tonight, good luck!!!

 

[HockeyBasedNYC]

Eller on Wilson incident: 'I think it's being made a big deal because it was Tom'
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take out Eller for these comments

Um, of course it is. That is the point. The guy is a repeat offender and like others in the league either you change your ways or you should be kicked out of the league due to your repeated actions. Why is this such a difficult concept for people to grasp?

One day Wilson is going to do something like this to another player and while it will seemingly be "no big deal" that player could be seriously concussed or worse

 

[Ruggs225]

Well NFL players are suing the NFL for CTE and the result is a less dangerous but less physical league.

Its also amuch less interesting sport to watch in the past 5-10 years. I believe they even lost ratings last year. Though some of that could be bc of politics too. But no way to know. I do know the amount of roughing penalties is frustrating to watch and u basically cant hit a qb anymore. But the rules weren’t made with the players safety in mind, they were made with protecting highly paid players.

but for the NfLs case wasnt it former players? And wasnt it because the NfL hid the truth?

I dont think current players are suing, but i could be wrong. Ive stopped paying attention to all the lawsuits bc there are just too many now lol.

 

[SnowblindNYR]

Fighting is being removed by itself. It is at historic lows. It doesn't really matter if the NHL leaves it in, because its impact is so low these days anyway and frankly, the fighting that occurs is nothing like that of the past. It doesn't move the needle. It doesn't change the momentum. It's essentially irrelevant and pure goons are completely extinct.

This is about cheapshots which are totally separate from fighting and should have been removed many years ago. I thought we were moving on from this after Cooke & Torres, but hiring Parros was a gigantic mistake and is making this death slower than that of Sears'.

I think part of the problem is there's a bit of a mythology around NHL enforcers like they're the noblest of the noble and some of them are. But this mythology contributed to Bettman or Campbell or whoever hired Parros thinking he'll be noble and impartial.

 

[SnowblindNYR]

Its also amuch less interesting sport to watch in the past 5-10 years. I believe they even lost ratings last year. Though some of that could be bc of politics too. But no way to know. I do know the amount of roughing penalties is frustrating to watch and u basically cant hit a qb anymore. But the rules weren’t made with the players safety in mind, they were made with protecting highly paid players.

but for the NfLs case wasnt it former players? And wasnt it because the NfL hid the truth?

I dont think current players are suing, but i could be wrong. Ive stopped paying attention to all the lawsuits bc there are just too many now lol.

Hey, I don't like what the NFL has become. I still watch it because it's still better than not watching it.

 

[Miamipuck]

You really want Laff and Kakko fighting? I sure as shit don't.

You quoted a guy that's never been in a fight in his entire life. Of course any person with half a brain will not want them fighting.

This shit is a by product of a young rebuilding team and a complete lack of respect for other players (Wilson) and for their safety (DPOS). The league mandated the instigator rule to protect players and then is grossly derelict in protecting the players. It's patently stupid.

I applaud the Rangers for their statement. Unfortunately the Rangers writing that would look like hypocrites if they then called up a goon squad.

 

[GAGLine]

That's not fair to Smith either. Wilson is out of his weight class.

Maybe not, but that will be Smith's choice, rather than the Rangers calling up a kid and directing him to fight Wilson.

 

[Anthony5967]

I think that is what Rangers are afraid of. This statement was made to show Panarin that "they care".
They have invested near 12 million pr year in this guy. Why cant they invest a million and a half for someone to protect that investment?

Even Edmonton has it with a guy like Kassian. Vegas has it with Reaves and Kolesar.

 

[Unusual Suspect]

The great logical disconnect here is that although we'd ALL like to see Wilson in a thousand bloody chunks for what he did the other night, THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS DETERRENCE. The guys you can deter with a goon are NOT the other guy's goons, just their better checking players. There is not one hockey player on this planet whose insertion into a lineup would ever stop a psychopath like Wilson from doing what he does. You'd STILL have your top talents leaving on stretchers but have the unsatisfactory satisfaction of seeing Wilson have a bloody nose afterward.

The league needs to move on. Now that most teams are not employing headhunters, the NHL can't permit the last handful to run around unchecked. By which I mean, though there is no deterrence today, many fewer players are built mentally or physically now to be able to respond in kind on their own behalf. THAT'S where the danger lies. Getting Geertsen or Smith killed isn't gonna solve s**t, nor would adding a Reaves to the roster.

 

[Ruggs225]

Hey, I don't like what the NFL has become. I still watch it because it's still better than not watching it.

this is true. But i have definitely stopped watching as much. Thoigh thats also because im a Jets fan.

 

[Bob Richards]

Eller on Wilson incident: 'I think it's being made a big deal because it was Tom'
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take out Eller for these comments

Yes, Lars, people are mad because a repeat offender gets inexplicably weak punishments.

Lars Eller's big cranium really dishing out some big thoughts there.

 

[Ola]

Playing Geertsen in his first NHL game just so he can go out and fight Wilson isn't the right thing to do for Geertsen. And I'm sure the NHL would use it as a reason to hammer the Rangers.

I won't be at all surprised if Smith jumps Wilson at some point, as he's the only one who can do it. Unfortunately, that won't solve the problem.

If the NHL had suspended Wilson for even 1 game, they could have diffused the entire situation. Maybe the Rangers would still be upset, but Wilson wouldn't be in the lineup tonight, inviting further escalation.

I get this argument but to be honest, I am 100% sure that Geertsen would love this opportunity. There is a big difference between playing zero or 1 or a couple of games in the NHL.

I don't think how we handle this is that much in touch with reality. What is the issue? Washington is taking liberties against us and on top of everything, our most physical players are injured on top of everything. Is it a big deal if we call up a tough player? Since when?

They are overthinking it.

 

[Leetch3]

 

[Larrybiv]

Anyone make mention of (I think) Wilson's stick underneath Buch's neck? I mean, he was literally almost strangled by it.
I counted quite a few punches when 1st Buch was getting pummeled and then Panarin when he was DOWN. I WOULD SWEAR I thought I saw Panarin's head hit the ice when it happened, and was scared for his life and possible concussion.

Wonder if it was a NATIONALLY televised game (like tonight) if the NHL wouldn't have been so "blind eyed" to it. The entire NHL should be wary about playing against an obvious lunatic.

Didn't he say he was going to "watch himself", after the last suspension?

Not too long ago, we all discussed how 30 other teams would knock down the door to get him, if available. After this, any team would be crazy as he could ruin an organizations reputation. The Caps shouldn't be too thrilled with him. Probably against the players association, but the Caps should suspend him, but that would piss off their fans and the NHL for making them look bad.
How is THIS P.O.S. any better than Tony?

 

[SnowblindNYR]

Yes, Lars, people are mad because a repeat offender gets inexplicably weak punishments.

Lars Eller's big cranium really dishing out some big thoughts there.

It's like comparing Ted Bundy to some random killer and people can't tell the difference.

 

[JT Kreider]

And to think all those years when on July 1st the first thing Sather always HAD to do was waste cap space on an enforcer and we always groaned about if.

If he were still here his first offseason moves would be to trade for Lucic and Kassian and Rinaldo and Gudas

 

[Larrybiv]

Eller on Wilson incident: 'I think it's being made a big deal because it was Tom'
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take out Eller for these comments

Had it been anyone "other than" , rest assuredly they would have been suspended. Like stated, if he had gotten suspended yet again, would have lasted THROUGH the Caps 1st round and would have Washington crying to the league for hurting their chances.
Pathetic, absolutely pathetic. Sending the WRONG message.
Is Trouba ready? Or, hire Nicky for one game, and have at it Nicky!

 

[HHHH]

Bruins fan, but also a Wolfpack season ticket holder...(yes, living in CT is strange)

I like Mason Geertsen a lot and I loved his game last season in Hartford, and while he is a physical presence on the ice and moves okay for a big guy I am not sure he is someone who is gong to change the entire mindset of the Caps because of his presence in the lineup.

But, I would love to see him get a shot tonight, or at some point this season and the Rangers could certainly use some physicality in the lineup...

 

[nsvoyageurs]

the reason NHL is and will remain a niche sport has notjibg to do with the hitting and fighting.

it has everything to do with it being so god damn expensive to play. Also lack of ice rinks and leagues. But mostly the barrier to entry is cost.

but keep thinking it has to do with fighting. Thats cute.

I didn't say it has anything to do with fighting; I made no mention of fighting. I'm not a huge fan of fighting, but in some cases it might be necessary.

I don't disagree that it's expensive to play the lack of ice and leagues; it's a challenge. What I was referring to the NHL in general, not the sport.

 

[JLo217]

Avs fan coming in peace.

Avs have been on the wrong end of Wilson’s game before. f*** em up!

 

[Off Sides]

I agree cheap shots should be taken out, yet how much interest is there in the next game if this Wilson incident did not happen, or if he was suspended for this game? It would be a game against a playoff team and one eliminated, only Ranger or Caps fans tune in and even among those groups there is probably a pretty steep drop off in viewership.

From an ownership point of view, as morally bankrupt as it may be, player safety is a lower priority than anything that can generate revenue. If violent acts which go well beyond the rule book, or a moral compass generate interest, they will allow for it just as they always have, right up until the point they see they are losing revenue due to them, which so far has not happened as a result.