EHM The Blue Line

http://www.nhl.com/news/2005/09/234088.html

They've posted a video along with the above article about the way the NHL plans to call obstruction for at least the first two weeks of the season

It really does seem that the conversion from the old gritty NHL to the 'New NHL (No Hitting League)' is just about complete You will now get called for 'obstruction' as a defenseman for pinning offensive players on the boards and for clearing anyone out of the crease. How far we've come in a matter of years huh? We've gone from "if even just your skate lace is in the crease it's no goal" to "If an offensive player is in the opponenets crease he can't be touched". How exactly did that happen?

They are doing everything to get the goalscoring up. thats also in my favor, but not for the physical aspects of the game. no red line anymore and goaltender puckhandling zone are ok. but to penalize a defender if he's even looking in the same direction as a forward is awful. we had these obstruction rule 4-5 years ago, and after half a year no referee calls it anymore. hope its the same this time. poor defenders. they got no recognition til now (theres only an award for the best offensive defenseman, nothing for the best defensive ) and now their learned talents will be completly useless.

Sounds a lot like European hockey. Only problem is, atleast in here the obstruction is still very much a part of the game, but the referees are giving penalties for them. In another words the players can't change their style, instead the whole game changes into a contest of better special teams, as both teams constantly have someone sitting in the box.

Same goes for international games, and I don't like it.

Tasku wrote:In another words the players can't change their style, instead the whole game changes into a contest of better special teams, as both teams constantly have someone sitting in the box.

This is what happened during the last time they announced this was a priority and then the players started to pain and the coaches started to pain and the league and/or the the refs couldn't take the heat and within a month it was back to the same old hooking and holding and trapping etc. I honestly don't expect it to be any different this year. It may start out this way, though I even doubt that... but I seriously doubt come the December for example that this will be "in effect".

ESPN (who are no longer carrying NHL games btw) has an article talking to coaches about the "changes" and for example Lemaire talks about players losing their jobs because they can't cope with "The New NHL". I think that's all rubbish pretty much, but they do talk about how they will adjust to/for the two-line pass and larger offensive zones etc. and that will be with us all year, so there will be some changes but the obstruction stuff won't last.

And I agree with Devils88, there definitely should be a defenseman's award that isn't just a "Highest Scoring Defenseman" award. Since nobody give a Adam Oates about tradition anymore and have very short attention spans I'd suggest naming it after recently retired Scott Stevens.

... Or call it The Ray Bourque Award!

Tasku wrote:... Or call it The Ray Bourque Award!

Ray is THE MAN! As a matter of fact I have a signed jersey of his hanging right here next to my computer However in his last season he had 52 assists (I'm not that much of a stat junkie by the way, it happens to be sticked into this jersey...) and while always known for playing great defense was a weapon on the offensive end.

That's why I thought Stevens because he was the protypical "defenseman's defenseman". You could bring out great "stay at home" from the past but the league doesn't seem to care about that kind of thing anymore so I figured Stevens would work.

Hi!

I'm just don't understood all new NHL rules, but talking about tough checks and hurtful stalkings I think there SHOULD be the rule to preserve skillful players(forwards/defenders, no matter) to play their reserved style of attacking hockey where they want it... I know It's a dream, but if NHL want to establish a rule guarding such players from getting season-injuries, I'm the one to vote for that with both hands. I'm not against fights, more the better, but I'm the fan of clever passing attacking hockey - what Greztky/Lemieux did - and that's what I want to see in oldest ever hockey league in da world. Too many skillful players are injuried during season, making impossible to succed in NHL. Young Russian players are already afraid to run into NHL fearing carrer injuries... probably life-time injuries they can get in in current (2003-2004 season) state of play... Money is the only 1 thing NHLPA can involve them into this All-American Ice Hockey boiler.

Alex.

Hockey is a tough and physical game played by the toughest darn atheletes in the world. The combination of offense and defense, speed and power, hitting and passing is what makes it great. If you do things to throw off that balance the game suffers, in my opinion. These rule changes are over those lines in far too many areas and I think they will be bad for the game.

Making defensemen play with their hands tied behind their backs throws off that balance. There should never be things in the rules like are featured in this video. Defenders quite simply cannot hit players who have the puck anymore. The video says that if a player recieves a pass and a defender "can't immediately make a hit he must let the player pass him by". That's like putting a time limit on how long a player can carry the puck... if a forward cannot take a shot he has until a count of three until he must pass or shoot or a delay penalty will be called. :rolleyes:

The problem with the other "changes" are that they create more problems than they "solve". They are careful to site the health of players so nobody can argue. Like you say, nobody wants to see players injured. At the same time checking is an essential and basic skill of the game. If you can't take a punch don't be a boxer. If you can't take a hit don't be a hockey player.

I don't want to see people blasted into the boards when their face is to the glass. However the "for the safety of the players" argument has led to their being a penalty for hitting players from behind into the boards. Fine. Well intentioned. We don't want players hurt.

In practice out on the ice now we have players intentionally turning their back to the check instead of bracing/absorbing for the check. They want the defender to be called for the penalty. They are now intentionally putting themseleves in the exact risk of injury situation that the rule is supposed to be "saving" them from. That is what happens with these "well intentioned" rules. I've seen a lot of players get hurt turning away from a check to draw the penalty, more than if they just called the charging and boarding penalties that are already in the current rules. This is the continuing problem with the league, make new rules or changes when there are already solutions written into the rules.

Making these changes about not being able to hit people in the crease (safety) and calling people for using their free arm to hold people along the boards (increasing pace of the game) are both also well-intentioned. We want a game that doesn't come to a standstill and we don't want players hurt. When applied to the actual game though this means that we now take away two more of a defenseman's abilities/skills/roles. Can't try and get the puck away with a battle along the boards because I'll get called, can't move a guy out of the crease (even without a crosscheck to the back or slash) because he'll go down like he's shot by a sniper in the balcony if I get near him looking to draw that new tighter called penalty.

Comibined with those three "new rules/focuses" we have defenders who can't hit anyone unless they've just gotten the puck and they can immediately hit them, they can't get near players if they are near the boards and have the puck, and they can't match up with anyone in front of the net. Boy, that'll be great to watch... I bet defenseman are glad they've been training their whole lives to play the position and now can only skate around to retrieve deflected puck and try to pokecheck oncoming offensive players. Thrilling.

Hahah!

The video doesn't work on my puter, so I was just assuming the rules are the same we have here, but are you serious about those shooting and letting the player pass - rules, or just being sarcastic?

It really sounds like a complete spoiler for the game, if the derenders have to let them pass, or there's a timer for when to shoot!

I know... longest. post. evar. Can ya tell this has gotten my Old Skool Original Six blood pumpin?

That was my own made up example with the shoot/pass thing but that is almost what the rules they are emphasizing for defenseman are. The quote before that one is an actual quote from the video where it tells defenseman if they can't immediately make a hit when they are defending a man and he recieves the puck they must let him skate past.

That sucks!

Grinding and wrestling for the puck is part of the game, dammit!

Not very entertaining to see fast skaters, if they don't have to deke and outsmart the defender, who will just let them pass. Wopee...

Just for the record the first Blackhawks preseason game saw 28 penalties called...