Puck Podcast – October 23, 2010

On this week’s show we’ll talk about a controversial incident in the State of Hockey and a couple of controversial hits. We'll also discuss goalie issues in Boston and Pittsburgh and tell you about a "bag skate". We will also read your e-mails on this edition of the Puck Podcast.


MP3 File

About Doug Stolhand 27106 Articles
Doug Stolhand is one of the co-founders and co-hosts of the Puck Podcast and has been a member of the NHL media since the show's inception in 2006.

7 Comments

  1. You guys sounded like you had more fun this week than other weeks. All the side track humor and Doug’s witty comments were hilarious.

  2. To comment on the remarks made by Billy Jaffe, Melrose, etc. its the same concept of “the customer’s always right”. If you kicked Bill Gates on the street, that’d be assault, but if you speak ill of Microsoft in a public forum, he’s got to deal with it, not jostle your sweater.

  3. Look, let’s get down to the point that the NHL seems to want to make and yet makes them squirm: “We know fans out there really like the violence… but we do not want to endorse it.” So they have come out and wrung their hands and shrugged their shoulders and said, “weeeellllll… we WANT you not to really hurt anyone… but we want you to LOOK like you are trying to hurt someone…” So, hit each other and hit hard, but not too hard…

    Let me get this news bulletin out to the NHL: Fans? LIKE VIOLENCE! When there is a big hit or a fight, fans cheer. When someone gets blown up on the football field, fans cheer. When baseball players get out there and shove each other for five mins… well, we kinda care… but when Robin Yount uses Nolan Ryan’s fists to rearrange his own face, we cheer!! Hell, NASCAR has immortalized Dale Sr because he DIED ON THE TRACK. Fans like violence. They like to see men do things to each other that we cannot fathom doing in our everyday lives. I am not getting up tomorrow and skating, shooting a vulcanized rubber sphere at 100 mph and then SLAMMING MYSELF FULL FORCE INTO SOMEONE at work. That’s part of why I watch. I think it is a PART of why we ALL watch.

    I am not advocating recklessness. Of course, blindside hits, hits to the head, slashing each other with sticks, and anything Todd F**ktuzzi wants to do to someone he thinks wronged “his boy” should not be allowed. But at some point, the NHL is going to have to accept that this is a dangerous sport and sometimes, **** happens.

    And it can happen with a perfectly legal hit. Remember when Jack Johnson slammed Ryan Smyth into the turnbuckle in Denver a few years ago? It looked terrible, gave The Smythe a concussion (helped by the fact that he decided to have his chin strap hang down somewhere below his collar) and would have resulted in Johnson getting his ass handed to him by Ian Laperriere if Rob Blake wasn’t a jackass and stepped in. But, it was a “legal” hit.

    The NHL should be concerned with the players safety. A league full of broken bodies does no one any good. They need to investigate and enforce better safety measures: better helmets, enforcing the chin strap actually being used correctly, visors, pads, and really take a look to see if the shoulder pads do more harm than good as they are currently constructed. And they should be outlawing and punishing what we damn well know is an illegal hit. Hitting someone clearly without the puck. Hitting someone in an obviously vunerable spot. And so on… But to try and define this to a ticky-tack level as they seem to be headed to do? Just ban hitting altogether and make the rink bigger… cause we will be watching the European game here in N.A.

  4. The largest problem I have with Rypien’s suspension is the fact that the NHL feels that Sean Avery’s ‘sloppy seconds’ comment is more egregious then Rypien putting his hands on a fan. That is a problem with the decision making process of the NHL’s front office.

  5. @ Danny M. The only point I wanted to make is that fans are also responsible for their actions. Just because you buy a ticket that doesn’t give you a free “I can do whatever I want” card. Players AND FANS have standards of behavior.

  6. On an unrelated topic, Ruslan Salei of the red wings is wearing the number 24, i was wondering do you think it is alright for him to wear that even though bob probert passed away recentley? Like to hear your thoughts. Love the show keep up the good work,
    Thanks

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