Jordin Tootoo has always left a bad taste in my mouth, but previously, he was just an annoyance. However, after last night, I see him in a new light. It could be a little bias, as he tried to take out Mathieu Schneider twice. Why does any team feel they need a guy who can go out there and lay on nasty hits and pretty much just put the other team in danger? I’m all for hitting/checking and even fighting–but there’s a right way and a wrong way. Leaving your feet to try to lay a huge hit is not acceptable. I have no doubt that if Schneider had not jumped out of the way, he would have been injured. And when fighting, generally you want to square off first and then fight–which I’m sure is what Bootland would have expected.
The only thing Tootoo brings to his team is this type of rough play. He generally would be put in the same category as a Kirk Maltby or Sean Avery. However, those two players have other benefits. Avery has 32 points this season, including 12 goals. While Maltby has a mere 8 points this season, his defensive game has been valuable to the team for years. You’ll always see Maltby out on the PK. So what does Jordin Tootoo bring along with his antagonistic style? With 2 goals, 6 points, 98 PIM and a +/- of -12, not much. His +/- is the worst on the team by 6. Last night, he had two shots. Most of what he did on the ice was simply going from hit to hit. And his hits are not standard hockey hits–they are risky.
The way that Tootoo plays seems to be evidence of something very disturbing going on in the NHL today. There is a lack of respect among opposing players. There was the Bertuzzi attack on Moore, the McSorley incident, the McLaren hit on Zednik, the cheap shot Janssen laid on Kaberle, and most recently, the Simon incident. These are the most wide-known of the past few years. But there are also a lot of hits that go unpenalized and unpunished. Take, for instance, the Raffi Torres hit on Jason Williams earlier this season. It was obvious charging on a guy with his head down, but there was no call made and no action taken by the NHL. The League is more interested in making the game exciting than protecting its players. If these types of hits continue to go unpunished, they will not stop. Even when the NHL does hand out suspensions, they are almost laughable. A 20-game suspension for Bertuzzi when Moore will never play again? A 25 game suspension for Simon when, had his stick been 1 inch or so lower, he could’ve easily killed Ryan Hollweg? No penalty, fine or suspension for Torres, when Williams had to be taken off the ice on a stretcher? Here’s a reminder of what Bobby Orr said after the hit on Williams:
“I don’t want to see hitting taken out of the game, I love hitting in hockey, but if someone puts his shoulder into a player’s face, if he puts anything — an arm, an elbow, a glove — I think that player should get a penalty. Definitely, it should be a penalty. We are having players getting knocked unconscious before they even hit the ice and carried off on stretchers. How can that be legal? When did hitting someone in the head with your shoulder or any part of your body become part of the rules? Anything above the neck, it’s wrong.
“Hey, I got hit a lot when I played and I didn’t get hit in the head with checks. Players didn’t always hit like that. To me, that’s not part of bodychecking. I mean, don’t you have to be responsible for your actions? If you hit a guy in the face with your stick by accident, you’re going to get a penalty. Two minutes, four minutes, five minutes, something. If you go to bodycheck a guy and you hit him in the face or head, and injure him, that’s legal? That’s fair? That’s not a penalty? I’m sorry, I don’t think that is right. It should be a penalty.”
The high-stick penalty has forced players to always be aware of where their stick is and what it is hitting. Why do they not have to have the same responsibility for their shoulders? In the NFL, if you hit a player in the head, it’s a penalty. It doesn’t matter if it was on purpose or not, it’s a penalty.
The NHL needs to take a serious look at what’s going on in the League and do something about it. This means harsher punishments for these types of hits. With some of these hits, the officials did not see it. Perhaps they need to be able to go to a replay every time something like this happens, and if they see it there, to be able to asses a penalty. Maybe it would help to institute post-game handshakes after every game.
The general population already has the Slapshot view of hockey. Incidents like Bertuzzi-Moore and Simon-Hollweg just increase this perception, especially when the NHL doesn’t do much about it. We all know that is not the image the league wants. But as long as there are guys like Tootoo, whose sole purpose is to run around and hit as many people as hard as possible, that is the image the NHL will have.
Players like Jordin Tootoo have no place in the NHL. Guys like him are what’s wrong with the league today. He has no intention of actually playing hockey - only skating around looking for people who aren’t looking and then trying to hit them as hard as he can without any regard to the other player’s health. Honestly I think I’ve seen him pass up scoring opportunities just to charge at somebody before.
And as long as general managers like Brian Burke are in the league, the problem of head shots will never go away. I recently saw a bit of an interview with him on TV, and this is what he said after being asked if he would vote to rule out hits to the head:
“NO! I will never vote for any rule that would take away hitting. Hitting is part of the game. I will not vote for a rule that takes away hitting.” (All said with a constipated look on his face of course.)
For some reason, he kept saying “hitting” and not once did he address “hits to the head”. Newsflash Burke you idiot! You were asked specifically about head shots, not hitting in general. Why did you completely ignore it and act as if the issue EVERYONE is discussing these days is just simple bodychecking? How in the world can anyone honestly think that making hits to the head illegal would decrease physical play? It seems Bettman shares this misconception as well, which is why he’s the worst commissioner ever. It’s sad that some things will never change for the better because we have such idiots running the show.
Sorry about going on a bit of a rant there. I HATE Jordin Tootoo and I HATE Brian Burke.
Perhaps Tootoo ran Schneider twice because Scneider broke Scott Nichol’s thumb in a previous meeting this year. Hitting people and running them isn’t alright. However two hand slashes that break bones. Well thats just peachy. Big hits make a game exciting. Dirty stick swinging not so much. Perhaps if the Wings actually weren’t a team of girly men they might try and stick up for one another. I can’t believe this team once dressed both Joey Kocur and Bob Probert.
I’m of the opinion Jordin Tootoo’s play is a by-product of the so called “new NHL”. A “monster” (to some, like you) created by none other the the very league he’s trying to stick around in.
Pre-lock out his type had a dead sure place in the line-up on either the third and fourth line as grinders and fighters. They were less in the centre of things but did the same job. The Red Wings had these guys, too. Kirk Maltby, Kris Draper & Darren McCarty would leave the opponents no room for thought or action or anything. They’d be in the opposing players face all night long. Given the opportunity to “relax” from said checking line, the opponents had to face Stevie Y, Shanahan, Slava Kozlov, Brett Hull, etc etc.. It was one of the best functioning teams I’ve ever seen. Everyone knew their role and played it to perfection. A couple of Stanley Cups bare witness to this fact.
How the mighty have fallen. Today, with the essence of the game boiled down to nothing else than having skilled POWER PLAY players on your team, these oh so important third and fourth line grinders struggle hard to even get a crack at the big league. Watered down “talent” like Flipulla, Hudler, Andreas Karlsson, Mikael Holmqvist and several other Euros take their place and stink up the league (I’m a Euro myself (Swedish, actually), so relax - it’s no racist remark or anything).
Some teams still dress a fighter, but most teams seem to go with one (or two in some cases out west!) so called “energy players” now. One guy doing what three men used to. Often a very young guys at that, just waiting for their chance to prove themselves and earn a regular roster spot. The result? Jordin Tootoo, Cam Jenssen, Jeremy Reich, Krys Barch, Darryl Bootland, Dan Carcillo etc, they’re some two-ten times more likely doing some kinda damage now than had they been around pre-lock out. Have a feeling they perceive things to be “all up to them” and their desire to leave a mark and earn a spot push them into making some less than bright hits and whatnot.
I love the fights and checks. Had that not been around, nor would I. I’d take my money and fly to Australia or whatever for a warm vacation instead of heading to North America in the middle of the winter to watch a few games. You just can’t have all skill in a line-up. It messes up the balance and deprives the league of enourmous amounts of energy. Jordin Tootoo and his likes do have a place in this “new NHL”. I imagine he’s feeling a bit cornered right now, but given time these new era checkers will adapt and prove just as crucial as your Maltbys and Drapers. Brian Burke will be proven right and hopefully he’ll make league commisioner one day.
(Sorry for the long post! Hope I made some sense..
Forget the runs at Schneider and look at the 3 minor penalties the Wings took on Tootoo in last night’s game and you see why these guys will remain the game. Both Pred goals in the first game were on the PP, so clearly part of their strategy was to get the Wings in the box as often as possible last night. Thankfully, it didn’t work.
On a side note, I’d love to see a new rule in the NHL banning players with a ratio of PIM/Points over 10 from wearing face shields.
Oh Justin…Justin, Justin, Justin. Maybe in time we’ll have a league for you where everyone’s nice and civil, players can prance around with their heads down, like a good game of pond hockey. Infact why wear equipment, lets just put a helmet and skates on and keep shots along the ice. Come to think of it, there’s a perfect game for you, it’s called ringette. You know what, we can probably get TV ratings up by attracting more female viewers. We’ll change the rules a bit, throw some novelty female players into a unisex league where no one ever gets hurt and we’ll all live happily ever after.
I don’t remember anyone other than opposing players complaining when Scott Stevens played. Other than being the best open ice hitter ever he comanded attention from players when he was on the ice…players were forced to keep their heads up or pay the price! Tootoo and players like him do the exact same thing, force the Mathieu Schneiders of the league to keep their heads up (it’s called hockey). Mathieu’s been around long enough to know better and he got out of the way of the freight train. Ask Paul Karyia if he still likes to admire passes while cutting across the middle of the ice. Hockey is a physical game with professional athletes who must learn from their mistakes. I would rather watch a Chris Neil, a Jordin Tootoo, or a Ryan Hollweg lay out some big hits any day before I would turn on a game of players who avoid hitting altogether. I’d rather a guy possibly not play the puck to lay out a nice hit rather then not finish his checks. Intimidation can go a long way…just ask anyone who plays Brian Burke’s MIGHTY Ducks. I’m not an Anaheim fan by any means but I like the fact that no one in the league is willing to take liberties on their players. That’s Respect!
It was a shame no one stood up for Williams when Torres killed him, but when your team (The European, I mean the Detroit Red Wings) doesn’t command any respect those things happen. I’ll tell you what, as Jason hinted at in a previous post, if Kocur or Probert were still around there would have been hell to pay.
There’s always going to be “energy players” around, fans, sorry, true fans, love watching them…moral of the story…keep your head up and be aware of them when they’re on the ice!!
Cheers!
I’m pretty sure that only reason Tootoo is still around is to serve as a living example to the rest of the dressing room of what a privilege it is to play in the NHL.
Justin:
The quote from Burke is disturbing. Why would anyone in his right mind support these kinds of hits? I agree with him that hitting should not be removed from the league, but that’s not the question that was asked. I do think that the hits to the head are too dangerous to remain in the league. Anyone who supports the kind of hits that I am talking about need to take a serious look at themselves and what kind of value they put on a human.
Jason:
That was Lebda, not Schneider. Get your facts straight if you want to be taken seriously.
Robert:
Tootoo is hardly like Draper and Maltby, and I think I said that. You refer to these guys as pre-lockout? If I’m not mistaken, Draper and Maltby are still in the league. And they’re doing the same thing they did before the lockout. You can’t say there is no place for that kind of player in the league, as Malts and Drapes are just as important today as they were four years ago.
“Energy player” can mean many different things. Some teams use guys like Tootoo to bring energy. Others use players like Kyle Calder, or Detroit’s GR line for energy. It’s a different kind of energy, but guys like Calder and Cleary are still called energy-players. In my opinion, calling Jordin Tootoo an energy player is a gross misrepresentation of what he actually does.
Putting Darryl Bootland in that category is absurd. He’s a tough guy and a fighter, it’s true. He takes a lot of penalties (most for fighting and roughing). But he brings so much more. Bootland would be classified as a tough scorer. But that point is irrelevant, because he is not in the NHL.
Let’s not forget where Brian Burke use to be, and what happened while he was there. And with his defense of hits to the head, I will say that the day he becomes commissioner is the day the NHL becomes Slapshot.
BDH:
You’re right, Tootoo does draw penalties. That’s an intangible that he’s valuable for. But I think to be in the NHL, you need to bring more than that. Good defensive game or something. If I was on an opposing team, I admit, I’d be hooking and hacking him too. He’s more than an annoyance.
I’m not at all arguing that the league needs to remove hitting. I’ve been very careful not to, because that is not at all how I feel. I sat on the glass at a Griffins game last night, and I cheered as hard as anyone else when there was a big hit. Yes, you have to keep your head up. That’s part of hockey. If you aren’t paying attention, you’re gonna get hurt on a clean hit. It’s the dirty hits, the ones that are dangerous even to players who are paying attention, that concern me. I love the physical aspect of the game, but within reason.
When Burke made the comments he made, he said that ruling out hits to the head would be next to impossible to officiate. Bodychecking in general would become illegal because it’s hard to see in real time the difference between a shoulder hit and a hit that touched someones head.
Justins comments on Burke are taken completly out of context.
I happen to agree with Burke, just because there are a few jackasses that assasinate someone every now and then, it doesn’t mean you have to eliminate physical contact altogether.
What are we going to next, ban slapshots because a few guys get broken feet when they’re hit with the puck?
As far as I’m concerned, Jordin Tootoo is a dirty little punk whose sole purpose is to rough up the other team and disrupt the game as much as possible. I don’t think there should be a place in the league for players of his caliber.
Seriously, I’m all for hitting, but it’s not the main point of the game. It’s like he thinks he’s playing some strange version of bumper cars with ice skates. I wonder if he even knows there’s a puck involved…
I don’t think anyone was supporting two handed slashing here. The discussion was about hits to the head. Personally I was quite upset last night when Chelios took a two hander to the wrist.
Perhaps if Tootoo wasn’t such a little punk, he wouldn’t back down when someone challenges him to a fight.
I could very well be wrong, but I have a feeling that in the long run, Tootoo takes more penalties than he draws…
Sounds like a great idea to me - except lots of players don’t wear shields already. How about not letting them wear helmets…or some other piece of equipment whose absence might cause a bit of pain…
Rob - Scott Stevens also produced offensively, and was responsible defensively. Neither is true of Tootoo.
I think a lot of people are missing the point here - we’re talking about hits to the head, not stripping the game of all physicality in general. If players can be responsible for keeping their sticks down, why can’t they be responsible for keeping their hits down too?
I wouldn’t expect perfect real-time calls (we don’t get that now anyway), but the NHL could still hand out suspensions/fines after review.
I have respect for the game that guys like Tootoo play, but only when they play it agianst willing combatants. Tootoo clearly lost some of my respect in both games against the Red Wings this week. The first game he hits about three guys and takes about 9 charging runs just in the first period alone. So of course he is gonna get noticed by a few of the Wings players like Schneider, Lebda and of course Bootland. However when Bootland confronts him for a fair fight, Tootoo doesn’t want to be fair so he just drops his gloves before Bootland even has a chance to and land two punches. Pretty cowardly and weak. Now I have no doubts that Jordin Tootoo could tear apart Darryl Bootland but at least give your opponent a chance. Who knows maybe Bootland could have won that fight, you never know. I mean I’ve seen guys take down George Laraque and that is never expected. The problem Bootland has is that he can’t skate really well and has little balance, but he can fight, he has proven that in the AHL time and time again.
I kind of lost a lot of respect for Nashville as a whole, especially guys like Shae Webber, Darcy Hordichuk, Vernon Fiddler and Jordin Tootoo. I love big hits and I always check out the hockey fights on http://www.hockeyfights.com, I love it, but hockey has to be a clean sport and all these four have chosen otherwise. Shae Webber for the second game in a row laid a cheap cross check on a Red Wing. First to Henrick Zetterberg about a week and a half ago and two nights ago on Tomas Holmstrom. Then last nights Vernon Fiddler takes a run at Chris Chelios after the second period horn had sounded and ends up on his rear end. Later that game J.P. Dumont chops Chelios with a two hander to his thumb and no call. Then again with the cross checking when Darcy Hordichuk tries to cross check Pavel Datsyuk low on his hip and Datsyuk luckly saw it coming and shoved Hordichuk down to the ice before he had the chance to seriously injure a Red Wing Superstar. So is it Barry Trotz sending his goons out to injure people or is that these players are out of control? I guess that is for the NHL to answer and I am hearing rumors that any hits to the head next year will be finable by the league and possibly have game suspensions as well.
So I hope that Tootoo and Hordichuck can just stick to clean play and keep fighting the fighters in the league, not trying to injure star players like the last two nights.
The NHL just handed Chris Simon a 25 game sentence for a two-hander slash to someones face. I highly doubt they’re about to start handing out suspensions on review for hits to the head.
I respect your argument, but I think that the NHL would be flogging a dead horse on this issue. Anyone who’s ever played hockey knows how hard it is to hit someone in the first place. How do you really know that someone was aiming for another guys head?
If anything, the NHL should be cracking down on the rock hard plastic cups most guys wear on their shoulders in the name of “protection”. Getting hit in the head is bad enough without some asshole sporting a piece of concrete on the offending shoulder.
Well said Glen, I agree completely. I love how Tootoo was all for fighting Bootland on his terms, but when Bootland challenges him to actually square off he runs away. Now that’s class! I’m fine with the idea of an energy player, it’s once they start crossing the line into cheap shot artist that I get concerned. I hope you’re right about the NHL fining players for dangerous head shots in the future. Hockey is a physical game, but stuff like that has no place in it. There’s no reason you can’t take somebody out of the play without taking his head off.
I think Megan’s point wasn’t that the NHL rule out all hits to the head, because like some of you say, it’d be very difficult to police that as well as being an unreasonable expectation for the players. I, of course, have stated I believe the NHL should outlaw all hits to the head regardless of intent, but I can see how that would be difficult.
I think her main point was that the hits to the head that cause injury need to be punished. That is something the NHL can do, and should do.
Here’s a sample key:
Or another:
It’s really very simple. The risk of a player acting hurt is no worse than that of players already selling a penalties.
This isn’t about removing hitting from the game at all. Megan, like myself and others, believes that if a player is hurt by a hit to the head, someone should have to pay a price, regardless of whether or not the ref saw it. If he didn’t, there are cameras all over the arena that can show the people upstairs. A limp player laying on the ice is usually a good indicator of an injury, and should indicate to someone that they need to check the tape.
I agree with you, James, about the equipment, but try getting that past the NHLPA, whose goalie members are loathe to allow any changes to their own equipment. I doubt the other guys would be too enthusiastic about such a change.
We’ve already wasted more time on this guy than he deserves. His NHL career has lasted a minute, and may have another 2-3 minutes if he’s lucky. Fact is, there’s at least one guy that’s deficient in one - if not more - facet of the game on 90% NHL rosters.
As a Wings fan, I loved this stuff when Avery was in Detroit (where he put up very similar scoring numbers to Tootoos - - his offense didn’t take hold until the trade to LA made him play a larger offensive role) and I don’t rememeber people running Bootland out of town after his first season in Detroit (2 points and 74 PIMs in 22 games).
If I’m a Pred fan - and thankfully, I’m not - or club official, I’m damn excited that this kid draws a lot of penalties, and is a box office draw, while playing the ‘high energy’ role.
You can be an “energy player” without being dirty. Unfortunately, Tootoo doesn’t know how. That’s the problem with him. Furthermore, he actually had some offensive potential. Just look at his offensive production in the minors. Now that he’s in the NHL though, he’s nowhere near the producer he was before. I don’t think he even tries to put up numbers.
I don’t believe that it would be difficult to regulate hits to the head. Just look at the NFL for example. They do an excellent job of it. Is the NHL admitting that their officials aren’t good enough to protect their players properly?
Well, well more complianing about Tootoo. Is this a mans game or a lil pussy game. You all who hate Tootoo are not Preds fans. Your the opposition. So quit whinning and get on the ice with him, or against him either way you will know why he plays this way. This is NHL hockey, u want a game with no hits go play some rec. hockey with 50 yr olds. I bet one will give u a hit for the fun of it then you will complain agian. Just shut up already man u guys are annoying.
Sorry Jason but Schneider never broke scott nicholes thumb. Never even came close to him doing it. Yes scott nicholes broke his thumb during a wings game but it wasnt scheider who did it. Speaking of thumbs how about that two hand chop by that pred on chelios? Yup your team cheapshoted all that night including with Tootoo pulling unsportsmenlike with Datsyuk during a play that was blown dead and he just go’s after dats for no reason.
Tootoo just goes out on the ice and trys to goon it up with cheapshots and sucker punches. No I would not like him if he was on my team if thats all he was gonna provide.
Coming from the Loyal Legion in Nashville, I have a couple things to say:
1.) Jordin Tootoo is a tough NHL player. Say what you want, the guy does dirty work, draws penalties, and sticks up for his teammates.
2.) He electrifies the home crowd with big hits and scraps.
3.) Even though our PP is less than productive right now, it still feels like we can count on him to draw at least one penalty every night.
However, with that said, I will be the first to admit that Jordin is probably the worst player we have on our team. He cant shoot, he cant pass, and he cant skate, but he provides energy that can be taken for granted, especially if you have a team that doesn’t live off of it. He has actually improved his game a decent amount. I watch him every night and he actually works on his game quite a bit. He’s trying to become more of a player in the league, but who knows if that’ll happen.
I guess every team has something that gets under the skin of the rival fans. We have Tootoo (and probably other things) that annoys Wing fans, and Nashville fans (and I’m sure many other fans) HATE the fact that Detroit players complain about e-ver-y-thing. Is that a drill in practice in Detroit? At least Jordin plays the game instead of complaining about things beyond his control. If he gets a penalty, he’s the first one skating himself over to the box.
Other than the fact that he took time off to aid the workers of his restaurant in Chicago (cool I guess), I’m tired of Chelios and wish he would pleeeeease just shut his mouth and play the game.
Im not sure if you remember what a gutless man maltby was and still is,with his full face shield.He was a true hit and run artest.As for tootoo you try surviveing the northern leagues of manitoba at 5 foot 6.I have a picture with him and my son who was 12,tootoo was 18 and they were the same height.But meaghan im sure you have no idea of the road he had to travel,but i would bet a dollar to a dime you would not of made it.He had to battle every step of the way,and yes ive seen him hight men twice his size and not just on the ice.But if you want him to wait for bootland to get ready,ask your self how many faces did maltby wipe his razor sharp gloves across.Did draper back up his actions are did others do it for him.Is chelois the cleanest player you ever saw.I can still remeber the times maltby at 220 pounds turtled to a smaller man.
Patrick,
Way to define the Nashville fan stereotype, buddy.
D. Smith,
Thanks for being a reasonable voice for your team’s fanbase. Still, I don’t quite understand what difference it makes to you if the Wings try to argue a call. Do you have to hear it? Does it really matter? Tootoo beelines it to the box because he knows Trotz will be pissed at him if he gets another for complaining.
Also, Chelios took time off to help the workers at his Detroit restaurant, not the one in Chicago.
Lastly, Chelios has been in the NHL longer than most officials. If he wants to argue calls, he’s earned the right.
Robert,
For your information, Kirk Maltby wears a visor because he was almost blinded by a stick earlier in his career. If he gets hurt there again, he won’t be able to play.
Also, anyone in the NHL has been on a long road, so Tootoo’s not special in that regard. Did you write your comment from an NHL lockerroom or am I right to assume you also wouldn’t make the League?
Take another look at the byline. It’s “Megan,” not “meaghan,” bud. I guess I shouldn’t expect too much of someone who spells “artist” as “artest,” “surviving” as “surviveing,” or “hit” as “hight” but there’s no excuse when you can just check the byline and copy the little squiggly lines and circles that we call letters.
Ha, nice line about the razor sharp gloves. I got a good laugh out of that one.
Funny, I can’t recall a time when Maltby “turtled,” and I’ve been watching the Wings for 12 years.
Whine all you want about Maltby, but he more than redeems himself with his penalty killing, his shorthanded goals, and his leadership. Tootoo has none of those qualities.
Matt please dont expect much from a grade 10.congratulations on your ability to spell.As far as you saying im not good enough to be in the nhl,grow up man this is not recess.And not every one has the same jouney in life.If you think that my little friend you must live in a bubble.Maltby got his eye injury along time after he was gutless.
Megan detroit sucks edmonton oilers rule ……. but not this year. Jordin Tootoo has been in the NHL for a good while now, and his statistics are the same. I think he’s good enough to be in the NHL, Why? becaues of how he plays, survival of the fittest. Anyway Tootoo good, Detroit bad.
I’m sorry but people talking about dirty play from the preds. Look at your own team first esp chelios and to some extent schnedier
Alright my bad on the Detroit not Chicago restaurant.
Anyways, I won’t disagree that Chelios has earned the right to argue calls. However, I see it as a way to work the officials. I just don’t like it. Of course, we have Steve Sullivan, who is our crybaby, but I just see it as a way of disrespect to the officials, and the other team. Sort of an attitude of “its never my/our fault, I/we never make a mistake”. Maybe that’s unreasonable, but whatever, it’s all good.
Robert, I’m sorry for the jab at your spelling, but there is no excuse for getting Megan’s name wrong.
Okay, you made basically the same comment to Megan and I used it on you to show how dumb it was. You’re exactly right, we all have different walks, so someone who has no shot at the NHL is not a lesser person for it.
Regardless of when Maltby’s eye was hurt, it’s a valid concern for him and calling him “gutless” is way out of line. Very few men who make the NHL are truly gutless. That’s not even our charge against Tootoo, who has obviously got guts, it’s just that it’s to a reckless degree.
10th grade, eh? Well, good luck in your continuing education. Study hard, otherwise you’ll have trouble getting people to take you seriously.
D. Smith,
I understand what you mean, but sometimes the refs really whistle a stinker and I, for one, like it when they get told so in no uncertain terms by the players. Other times, I agree, it’s disrespectful. It’s a situational thing.
I really like the rose colored view that Red Wings fans have about things. The Wings can do no wrong and everyone else is always wrong. If Toots hits were all charging then he would be called on it every time, and he is not. Seems like anyone who dares to hit a Wing is a goon. Yet, Chelios can elbow to the head, or crosscheck to the head, or slash to his hearts content and that is ok. Maltby can do the same and still that is ok.
I was at the game where Bootland and Toots got into it, and also checked with an avid Wings fan to make sure I was right, and to us it was Bootland who dropped the gloves first and then got clobbered and turtled.
Now for the funny part, I grew up in Detroit and was a long time Wings fan when I lived there, and guess what, they hit and hit hard during that time, and even, god forbid, had some dirty players on their rosters.
Get over yourself people, Hockey is a hard game.
Tootoo must be doing something right….I don’t see any Wings fans agitated at Jody Shelley or someone from some random team like Columbus. He’s doing his job and the team is producing, which naturally will get under people’s skin.
“Also, anyone in the NHL has been on a long road, so Tootoo’s not special in that regard.”
I have to disagree here Matt. Tootoo comes from a crappy run-down reserve that has 7 times the suicide rate among youth than any other typical Canadiain town. His brother committed suicide just before Tootoo made the jump to the NHL.
I do realize that almost every hockey player had to leave home at some point to further their career, but it’s harder for a native person to adapt to the city life after leaving a reserve. Most run into trouble somewhere along the way, which is exactly what happened to his brother.
Ok, i didnt mention i was a Canucks fan 4 life sorry LMAO but complain complain u guys. and the red wings are the biggest whinners in the league.
James,
I’ve heard parts of Tootoo’s story, but not those details. Obviously, he’s come out of a hard life and has made a big accomplishment in being the first Inuit NHLer, but what I meant by that comment was he had to fight his way through leagues like anyone else who makes the NHL.
Obviously personal issues vary widely from player to player and Tootoo’s history is something that sets him apart from guys who were more fortunate, but every pro had to work through incredible adversity to make it to the top level of any sport, let alone hockey. That was my point, not that his life wasn’t hard or something.
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Sorry Jason but Schneider never broke scott nicholes thumb. Never even came close to him doing it. Yes scott nicholes broke his thumb during a wings game but it wasnt scheider who did it.
What, do you just make up shit? There’s video of the slash, which occurs just before Nichol leaves the game. Cut off your fingers if you have nothing to contribute, idiot. Schneider slashed Nichol, resulting in a major injury.
Gray000,
Lay off. As was already pointed out above, it wasn’t Schneider, it was Lebda according to Nichol himself.
Hey Matt,
Point taken, maybe I’m just overly sensitive about the issue since I saw a few of my friends take the same path as Terrence (Tootoo’s brother) before I finally left the reserve for greener, more productive pastures.
Getting back to topic, I would like to reiterate how hard it would be for the NHL to determine intent (even on review) on a split second hit. The league barely even hands out suspensions on guys who dive on review, which is currently on the NHL rule books. I don’t disagree with you, I just don’t see it happening anytime soon with this group of monkeys in charge.
Opening up the rule book like you talk about just seems like it would open up a can of worms that I’m sure the NHL doesn’t want opened.
Damn, I was sure I was going to fit another “open” in that last sentence somewhere. C’est la vie said the old folk, it goes to show you never can tell.
Keep up the great blog. MEGAN and Matt.
Oh yeah and D Smith has a point.
Isn’t this whole dance of guys cussing out the refs on their way to the penalty box getting tired? No other sport allows this type of abuse to happen to their officials.
Guys should shut their mouths and take their medicine knowing that whining about a penalty isn’t going to get them anywhere. I thought that was why teams designated Captains and Assistant Captains. These are the guys who are supposed to be doing the bitching.
By the way, I’m not being Wings-specific here, every damn team seems to do this and it has to stop.
James,
I can understand being sensitive about that. I’m sorry I wasn’t more clear on my initial comment, which was a response to one of the snarky Nashville fan potshots at Megan.
I know it would be hard to regulate hits to the head, which is why I’ve always maintained that the League should deal out punishment for those hits regardless of intent - just a blanket punishment. Still, I can see how that would go over like a lead balloon, even though players are expected to control their sticks and are punished regardless of intent when they don’t.
So, that’s why I’d like to perhaps see hits to the head which cause a player to lose consciousness, at the very least, be punished with a penalty immediately, with the possibility of further punishment on review. The official can get the necessary information from the trainer on the spot and can assess the penalty after talking to him.
Players absorb plenty of hits to the head without much apparent damage, so it’d be stupid to penalize all of them. It’s the ones that cause injury that we’re concerned about. Basically, if a player loses consciousness or gets carted off on a stretcher, I don’t think it’s too much to expect the hitter to have to face a penalty or, in some cases, even a fine/suspension.
As for contesting penalties, I wouldn’t be surprised if much of the talk-back we see is actually asking for clarification. A lot of these penalties we see these days are what used to be called phantom calls so a guy who’s suddenly slapped with a hooking penalty for the slightest tug, which he may not even remember doing, is understandably going to be mystified. It’s when players argue obvious penalties that I get irritated and I don’t deny that it happens.
On one hand, I don’t know why they bother since I’ve never seen a ref say, “Oh, crap, you’re right! No penalty.” But refs that make a point of explaining to the players and the coaches are better for it, in my book.
You’re right, the rising number of players talking to officials goes against everything I knew about the rules back in the day. I thought only the captain or alternates could talk to the refs, but apparently that’s changed.
I don’t really know what the League could to to curb it, since the game is so emotional without the new contradictory penalty system making things worse. If the players had no way to vent being called for a completely inconsequential hook, there’d be a lot more pent-up frustrations, perhaps.
One thing I hate about the new system is how they’re so obsessed with handing out the little hooking and interference penalties that they miss other more obvious calls. For example, the other night, Niklas Kronwall had his path to the puck completely cut off by two Predators players, an obvious interference call, but seconds later, the ref called Jason Arnott for his arm sort of being in the way of another Wing. It was terrible.
It’s no wonder to me that players get upset at that kind of inconsistency. What’s the solution? Fix the system or put muzzles on the players?
Anyway, you keep up the great work on your blog, too!
Ur all just a bunch of racist’s u think it will stop, no it wont.