Honestly. Football has taken all the hits out of the game and it's become dull. There has got to be a balance. I don't wana see head hits. But a clean body check has a place in hockey. If you can't hit then the competivness seem to lack. It just dosen't look or seem intense. And that's one of the factors to me the makes hockey so much more watchable.

The instigator rule is the root cause of all of it.

Players take too many liberties because they know there will be no repercussions on the ice.

Suspensions don't keep players like Tom Wilson and Brad Marchand from being dirty POS's, but Ryan Reaves just might.....

As for the ticky tacky nature of the calls. It is beyond ridiculous. The penalties should call themselves.
- MBFlyerfan

The league wants to limit fighting....that’s fine the NHL doesn’t need to go back to the days of the Bullies.....the fact that you can’t hold a guy on the other team accountable anymore is nonsense and it’s going to lead to star players getting hurt....what’s worse for your head? 2 guys punching each other for a few seconds or someone going full Scott Stevens on you?

Eklund: Does the NHL Need to Be More Physical? NHL Memo....What is the issue?
- Eklund

I just obtained a new NHL memo.

In order to simplify things, the NHL will paint a concave polygon in each end.

Inside the concave polygon: finishing checks allowed.

Outside the concave polygon: no finishing your checks, unless one skate is inside the scalene triangle.

I say do just the opposite. Go all in on the skill and speed thing. Telephone hearing for interference. In person hearing and minimum five game ban for repeat offenders.

Every team should be required to dress a Milan Lucic

The refs are ruining the game. What gets called for 1 player never gets called the other. Its just the inconsitancy. Its alot like the nfl rules on whats a catch...no one knows....bring back rules from years past and stop changing it.

Old people just want the blood-sport they've had for decades back where teams dedicated 25% of their roster to guys who headhunted and fought all game.

We are in the industrial revolution of skill in the NHL and it is way more entertaining to watch now than 10, 20 years ago.

We are about to start getting the early 2000s birth year kids drafted that were in advanced power-skating camps before they could walk. The NHL is going to be nutty in a few years.

Old people just want the blood-sport they've had for decades back where teams dedicated 25% of their roster to guys who headhunted and fought all game.

We are in the industrial revolution of skill in the NHL and it is way more entertaining to watch now than 10, 20 years ago.

We are about to start getting the early 2000s birth year kids drafted that were in advanced power-skating camps before they could walk. The NHL is going to be nutty in a few years.
- Blueshockey47

Simple rule change.
Delayed penalty.
Goalie pulled.
Extra attacker.
Oh f$%^%&^. The offending team touched the puck for a milli-second so the whistle blows.
Like nobody ever scores in this situation.
So how about the offending team doesn't just have to touch the puck, but they have to advance the puck past the red line. So there is a scramble around the net or a board battle and the offending team gets the puck. Big effen deal. You have to get it out of trouble and get it over the redline. Would lead to a few more scoring chances, turnovers, and ultimately more 6-on-5 goals.
Simple change. Never heard anyone ever talk about it.

Every team should be required to dress a Milan Lucic
- Glak18

If I dress a cement block , will that pass ?

Old people just want the blood-sport they've had for decades back where teams dedicated 25% of their roster to guys who headhunted and fought all game.

We are in the industrial revolution of skill in the NHL and it is way more entertaining to watch now than 10, 20 years ago.

We are about to start getting the early 2000s birth year kids drafted that were in advanced power-skating camps before they could walk. The NHL is going to be nutty in a few years.
- Blueshockey47

Young people think "physical" hockey means fights and blood...old people call "physical" hockey passion and playing to win, not to lose hockey.

If I dress a cement block , will that pass ?
- Alexzanki

Only if you put a carrot on it for a nose.

I have been reading hockey buzz for well over ten years now. Ok here is my rant.

« What say you? » ??? Please ditch this grade two silly syntax.

And it’s « Should the refs call´fewer’ penalties.... » not ´less’. Let’s use English please. Ok rant is over.

Within a few seconds of a pass? lol how (frank)ing stupid.

The game is great the way it is, this hand-wringing about tweaking rules and standards is perpetual, because tweakers gonna tweak.

post

There is a difference between interference and finishing your check.

There is a difference between a high/illegal hit and a clean hit.

Nothing wrong with playing the body and being physical, there is a lot wrong with obstruction, hooking, slashing, etc.

Take the hard caps off the shoulder pads and the elbow pads and it will change. You can protect players without resorting to lightweight armor.

I thought the NHL wanted more goals for American viewership?. Now that they have them, they are looking to take skill away and add more toughness?
- walshyleafsfan

Why does more toughness mean less skill? Ek is talking about follow through on checks, which is a momentum generator... which leads to more goals, they wear teams down.... which leads to more goals, the can cause odd man rushes.... which leads to more goals.

I'm actually starting to disluke the NHL.. I much preferred hockey in the good old days.. the way we still play the game in mens bear leagues. This wussy foot, hippy dippy poop we see out there today is a farce! The NHL has been sticking their nose in the rules and the way the game is played for a couple decades now and in my opinion, has tragically impacted the game for the worse! It's awful.. I would hate to be a player trying to figure out what's clean and what's dirty anymore.. breath on a guy and get two games these days.. it's pathetic!

I am all for increasing player safety and ridding the sport of dangerous and unnecessary violent hits. So the late, finish your check type of hits are very borderline. At what point is it too late? Ticky tack interference calls of picks and screens and faceoff/dump in plays I can go either way on. I think the NHL needs to be more consistent with however they call it.

Penalties the NHL needs to get rid of:
Automatic delay of game for puck over the glass. Return the judgment to the refs.
Player A steps on player B’s stick. Not a trip. Unless the ref deems intent or a lack of control by player B.
Player A’s stick is parallel, but barely touches player B. Don’t see this one as much anymore, but its not a hook or hold or obstruction. Again, judge the intent. Also, hooking the stick with your stick, not a penalty. And also don’t forget where your money is. Star players are why we had a crackdown on obstruction, and real obstruction should be called.
Player A checks player B’s stick and it breaks. This is the way sticks are made, go back to judging intent or a lack of control or dangerousness of the check. Also, if the stick check gets on the hands or wrists, that’s a slash, call it.
Icing, it is like an automatic call way too often. Let’s go back to allowing the refs to judge intent. Move the automatic icing call back to the defensive blueline. Let the refs use judgement on the long dump ins from between the blue and red lines. This will speed up the game in the sense of fewer faceoffs. I hate when an icing is called en a player is 2 strides away from the red line and dumps it in. The point of icing is to keep the game from being a clear the zone contest.

Where the NHL needs to be more consistent:
Crosschecking. Why are some guys allowed to hammer away at the hips and backs of other players in front of the net, but if a guy retaliates with a cross check, that gets called. Also, why is it not ok to stick check someone, but it is ok to hammer away crosschecks? Or ok to crosscheck into the boards from behind?
Diving. I’ve grown to understand the reason behind calling both a penalty and a dive in many cases, but not all. Also, sometimes a dive is called and its not very obvious. Other times the obvious ones are not called.
Head hits. Call them. All the time. Including punches to the head. I agree with Marchand in a sense back in the playoffs. Everyone was focused on his stupid licking, and not focused on the fact that he got punched in the head a few times. Sure his shenanigans were stupid, but the NHL needs to be consistent.
Department of player safety suspensions. Incredibly inconsistent. Fix it. There is a way to standardize it yet also be able to crack down on frequent offenders.

I get that the refs can’t call everything, especially every little thing. So can we allow them to ignore some ticky tack stuff and focus on actual player safety, dangerous plays (like hitting from behind), plays with clear intent to interfere, or slash or trip etc. Particularly on scoring plays. Or the egregious and most obvious ones. If it is behind the play or not affecting the play, it should only be called according to intent or dangerousness. Bring back ref judgement. They took it away on stuff that doesnt matter. Take away the judgement on what does matter. Manage them like you do any other employee to hold them accountable. A penalty on a well liked player is the same on an unliked player.

And keep this mindset throughout the playoffs. It shouldn’t turn into 1974 just because the cup is on the line. It really should be the same. And if you back off on the ticky tack during the regular season, there is no need to back off further during the playoffs.

The leagues so soft you don’t even need to watch the games, you can see everything, that was worth watching, in a 30 second highlight clip on sports news. They’ll show you all two hits too! I remember putting life off to watch the Flyers and Pens play, now I don’t even subscribe to the sports package. Maybe 1 out of 30 games is worth watching and I’d rather not gamble with those odds. I have to have nothing better to do when I decide to steal a full game off the Internet and watch it. It’s like watching basketball on ice asides from a handful of games. I do know I’ll be excited to watch Reeves play Wilson again! Finally a little emotion and drama, maybe!?

What kind of idiotic trade post was that about Kane and Buffalo?

Less soft yes

Hockey is a fast game and at least of all the more popular sports, the toughest to officiate. Having said that, I will take the imperfection of NHL officiating and either the past or present state of the level of toughness in the NHL any day over what the NFL has become. Between the behavior of the players, coaches, league, fans, media and tv networks and how the game is officiated the NFL has become a joke and has ruined the game of football. I haven't watched the Steelers regularly since about 2010 or so and maybe watched about five minutes of their games this season (flicking through the channels). The only sport I care about now is hockey and the only team I care about is the Penguins. The NHL needs to use the NFL as an example of what not to become.

Only if you put a carrot on it for a nose.
- Glak18

You are old and it makes you a terrible person