Playing Rough Costing Players
Written by hockeyheidi, Saturday December 05 2009
Fines for players and suspensions are growing in the NHL, so is this a case of protecting the integrity of the game or funding the newly acquired Phoenix Coyotes? Or something else?
Boarding, roughing, hits, that’s what you expect when playing hockey. Speed of the skater directly impacts his ability to control hits, but a skilled player should have the brake power necessary to avoid injury. Things happen, though.
When Alexander Ovechkin became the latest player suspended for a hard hit, the debate turned to the physical type of play Ovechkin demonstrates. He’s not a mean guy trying to take someone down, but rather athletically fast and dangerous. Coach Boudreau has the greatest player today on his roster, but at what cost? Ovechkin had to pay just shy of $100,000, however his reputation of being a good player hasn’t been lost. Unlike other players whose paychecks include hits and big penalty minutes, Ovechkin should not be perceived as a fighter or bad guy on the ice.
Fans love the physical nature of hockey. That’s why we watch Alexander Ovechkin play.
Don Cherry has criticized Ovi in the past for grandstanding, and his egotistical emphasis of his play. But when you are born to play, the play becomes you. Alexander Ovechkin maintains his identity in truth. Some have jumped on this suspension as an opportunity to vilify one of the greatest players to play hockey, in other words, “we told you so.” The stance taken is that Ovechkin would eventually crash and burn because of his charismatic style of play and his karmic attitude toward life.
The NHL wants to be a positive influence, especially for the younger crowd, so Ovechkin’s nonchalant attitude needs to be reprimanded before kids seek him as a role model. Too late. Good sportsmanship is not Ovechkin’s problem. His problem, apparently, is that he doesn’t care what others think about him. To kids this means he doesn’t buy into peer pressure or conformity to be true to who he is and who he has become.
Yes, Alexander Ovechkin plays aggressive hockey and a suspension isn’t surprising at this point in his career. But the villainous character of Ovechkin only exists in the imagination. His hit on Tim Gleason is just many that will happen in his career. For any player a hard hit will occur and a scandal will brew on whether it was a low blow or accident. Hockey fans have lost count of the suspensions this year due to nasty hits, and frankly support those deserved suspensions. But these players are not evil.
Hockey has always had the defenders as the tough guys; the blue line was the dangerous point of no return, but as hockey has evolved all players are expected to defend their zone. Look at left-wingers Sean Avery and Daniel Carcillo, who are the scrappers and cause chaos on and off the ice. Perhaps the NHL is trying too hard to present Disney on Ice rather than Rangers vs. Flyers, or Capitals vs. Canes.
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This is true. I was appalled at the call, not just because I'm a Capitals fan, but because it seems as if the NHL has it out for him. Sean Avery punched Varalmov in the face and wasn't even called for it. Ovechkin hits a guy roughly and gets suspended with out pay for two games. It doesn't seem fair to me. I guess that's why I'm not an NHL officiator.