It is very easy to get caught up in the moment. The here and now elicits an immediate response. Our emotions are touched and collectively feel the need to bring change to a scenario that we deem unfit for our sporting world.
The knee-jerk reaction is a normal and expected response, but as rational beings we have to take a step back sometimes and look at the bigger picture. Every horrific accident doesn’t fit the criteria for changing rules and immediately trying to make our games safer. I don’t think that most sensible humans want player injuries and would also agree that player safety is important.
Ultimately we cannot wrap our professional athletes in bubble-wrap and fill every arena with protective foam. There is an implied risk in any contact sport and the financial benefits and lifetime of fame serve as the reward to the risk/long-term repercussions of the physical sacrifices that are made. Is the trade off fair? Possible brain or joint/limb damage for millions of dollars is obviously a simplistic look at the issue at hand, but do any of these athletes not know what they are getting into.
The reason for this article is the reaction from the general and the hockey media after last Friday’s goaltender fight between Ray Emery and Braden Holtby. Anyone within 150 miles of Washington was calling for rule changes that ranged from game misconduct to banning fighting (again) to regulating goalies leaving the crease. Everyone has weighed in on the issue and now here is my take.
Get over it writers, fans and those who say that hockey must change the rules yet again. The goalie fight is something that is sensational because it rarely happens. Before Emery chose his unwilling dance partner does anyone remember the last time there was a goalie fight? We were repulsed by the visual of Holtby getting rag dolled by the Flyers goaltender (who, oh by the way, is a huge boxing enthusiast).
Emery skated down to the Capitals’ zone with bad intentions and the second he started heading down the ice Holtby knew what was going to happen. See, Ray Emery has a history of violence that goes back to his first time around in Philadelphia. This is nothing new to the sport, or Flyer goaltenders.
When Emery sought to engage Holtby the reaction was reluctant, but ultimately the stick was dropped and the helmet came off. While skating behind a referee or over to his bench could be considered an option in hindsight, a proud sport like hockey might be unforgiving of such actions. So the 6’2 203 pound Holtby drifted over to take on the 6’2 196 pound Emery while the other Flyer and Capitals’ players were engaged with one another.
The result was a pretty substantial beat down from Emery that probably made even the most die-hard Flyer fan want the referee to step in (ok, probably not). Holtby wasn’t cut or visibly maimed but did look to be pretty shaken up (literally) after the incident. Emery was given a total of 19 penalty minutes for the incident and shipped of to the locker room. Holtby was charged five minutes for the fight, but finished the game and the shutout for Washington. Side note, Emery was given the third star of the game for his
The reaction from the hockey world was tempered while the mainstream media returned to beat the “hockey is barbaric and they will never be anything but a niche sport”. The flavor of the last couple of years has been about player safety in the two main contact sports, the NFL and NHL. Sportscenter, Fox Sports and every major media outlet will continue to glorify the spectacular knockout shots, but will tell us all about how much things need to change.
Don’t do this, don’t do this. don’t do this, HOLY CRAP DID YOU SEE THAT HIT!!!
The hypocrisy doesn’t bother me as much as the general indifference that is given to hockey until a goalie fight. The columns that popped up because of the Emery-Holtby fight were borderline embarrassing. The consistent theme of “this is why hockey will never be mainstream” was laughable and shameful. Of the two-dozen articles I read from media outlets like the Washington Times and Post, New York Times, CBS Sports and even ESPN, there was no voice of reason.
The outcry was that there should be no mauling ever again like the one that Braden Holtby received. Oh, by the way has anyone talked to Holtby about this? The only comments from Holtby came from a radio appearance on 980 AM in D.C. with host Steve Czaban. If you clicked the link to listen to Holtby’s thoughts, there was no anger or even regret in his words or his tone. Did everyone forget that the Capitals were up 7-0 in Philadelphia’s barn? Do national writers that don’t pay attention to hockey know that fighting is actually a part of the sport?
Remember the grotesque accident that George Parros had as a result of his fight with Colton Orr? The immediate reaction was that fighting must be removed from the NHL immediately. Someone was going to be killed as a result of the fisticuffs. All of that talk disappeared until the goalie fight. The NHL conveniently leaked out some info that perhaps the issue of goalie fights is worth discussing. Hopefully that was just a public relations move to shut people up.
The rule changes that the NHL implemented this year so far were based on player safety, except for the shrinking goalie pads. Hybrid icing has been a monumental success and the swift and decisive hand of Brendan Shanahan now seems to be regulating hits and dirty play with some consistency. If the NHL decides to move forward by litigating goaltenders and their range of motion, it is a clear sign that the league is caving in the direction of the NHL. Then again, the NHL has shown complete incompetence when it comes to marketing their sport.
The league needs to realize that there is no such thing as bad publicity regardless of the reason. There isn’t a single hockey fan in the world that wants goalie fights eliminated. If two heavily armored, sumo-like goaltenders wrassling on the ice gets the NHL on the front page, then I say offer financial incentives to goalies to brawl. Player safety isn’t being compromised at all and if anything, Holtby’s flogging can serve as a cautionary tale for goaltenders that may not be ready to drop their gloves to throw fists.
So to offer up some take away points let me close with this: National and local writers that don’t regularly cover hockey-please stay away from commenting on the NHL. Sensationalist journalism might get you reads, but you sound like a homer that doesn’t understand the sport. For those that have suggested that the NHL will never be more than a sideshow niche sport because of the brawling, you are free to turn the channel.
Finally to the NHL, you have a delicious stew that you are standing over with the greatest sport in the world at its core. Some of the most marketable athletes in the world take center stage two to three nights a week. Player safety is very important, but stop tweaking the sport. Let’s focus on the stars and the game, and the “niche” sport will be just fine.