niagara66 Posted February 25, 2007 Report Share Posted February 25, 2007 IMO the league HQ doesn't want players policing themselves. They demand (see instigator rule) that players sit back and wait for the league "authorities" to somehow protect them through the threat of fines and suspensions after the fact. For the league HQ any fighting is to be of the staged goon vs goon type which is simply meaningless "violence entertainment" and something to be removed from the "product". For Lindy, and any hockey fan (as opposed to "product" consumer) the fighting on Thursday night had profound meaning and was entirely appropriate given the circumstances. What's more...it WORKED and I think Lindy knew it would! THAT's why Lindy got fined IMO. He stuck his neck way out against the league (after weeks of patiently watching his players get drilled) and made HQ look bad in the process. He let his players defend themselves like men and his guys love him for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gurtler'sYuroTrain Posted February 25, 2007 Report Share Posted February 25, 2007 It may have something to do with Ruff's own admission that he told that line to "run them," which the league probably interpreted as "go fight everyone." I think it's ridiculous to fine a coach for putting certain players on the ice. The league cannot and should not be in the business of telling a head coach which players he puts on a line, and when to play said line. But when you figure Bettman is the guy who rushed onto the ice in Game 6 before replay could adequately review Hull's goal, and Campbell did nothing about the Philly "goal" that went through the side of the net, is there any wonder why Ruff got fined? If we were an "Original 6" team (or "big market") you bet Corky would have been suspended and Ruff wouldn't have been fined. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niagara66 Posted February 26, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 26, 2007 It may have something to do with Ruff's own admission that he told that line to "run them," Agreed. That's kinda the point. After seeing Danny run by Ovechkin, several other minor incidents, a string of injuries and, finally, Drury motionless in a pool of blood, all with no league action (no penalty on Neil), IMO Ruff in essence said "By God this stops NOW!" And it did. IMO that he took matters into his own hands and FINALLY allowed the Sabres to defend themselves issued a loud and clear vote of no confidence in the leagues ability to prevent cheap shots. Ruff made the league office look bad, so they fined him. IMO these cheap shot types have the same mentality as a schoolyard bully, the only thing that that will deter a bully is an ass-kicking, not detention. Hell, even Ralphie on Christmas Story knows that fundamental truth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Claude Balls Posted February 26, 2007 Report Share Posted February 26, 2007 It may have something to do with Ruff's own admission that he told that line to "run them," which Why then wasn't Spit Murray fined for yelling back to Ruff "I'll f*cking run anyone I want to" after Lindy told him "you don't #%^$#!ing run our captain". I can't quite remember, but didn't this take place before the brawl started? If so, then Murray initiated the whole "run em" crap. This was all caught on the live audio (thank you Rob Ray). Murray is admitting he'll put Neil on the ice to run whoever he doesn't like on the other team. He basically admitted it was pre-meditated that Neil was going to run Drury. Total BS that Lindy is made to be the NHLs scapegoat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drnkirishone Posted February 26, 2007 Report Share Posted February 26, 2007 Because Lindy told a reporter what he said and Murray didn't. Personally I think it's money well spent by Lindy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supersabre Posted February 26, 2007 Report Share Posted February 26, 2007 About time a new Marshall came to town in the form of Lindy Ruff. If the spineless league HQ is going to do nothing to protect its star players from cheap shot artists like Neil then hockey clubs are going to be doing more of this until Bettman and his ilk start enforcing the rules that are already in place. As for Neil he should have been immediately ejected from the game with a fine and suspension to follow later on. Thanks Lindy for doing something when Bettman continues to do nothing except sit on his Jackass. :thumbsup: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apuszczalowski Posted February 26, 2007 Report Share Posted February 26, 2007 About time a new Marshall came to town in the form of Lindy Ruff. If the spineless league HQ is going to do nothing to protect its star players from cheap shot artists like Neil then hockey clubs are going to be doing more of this until Bettman and his ilk start enforcing the rules that are already in place. As for Neil he should have been immediately ejected from the game with a fine and suspension to follow later on. Thanks Lindy for doing something when Bettman continues to do nothing except sit on his Jackass. :thumbsup: They are protecting their star players. Do that to Ovechkin or Crosby and you'll be lucky if you ever have a job in the NHL again. Drury is not a star to them, and outside of Buffalo, not many would consider him a star. Its all about who you play for and the draw you have to a national audience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supersabre Posted February 26, 2007 Report Share Posted February 26, 2007 They are protecting their star players. Do that to Ovechkin or Crosby and you'll be lucky if you ever have a job in the NHL again. Drury is not a star to them, and outside of Buffalo, not many would consider him a star. Its all about who you play for and the draw you have to a national audience. Agreed. To me though, Drury has become as much of a star as Ovechin or Crosby. But as you pointed out to the league Drury is not a star. But thanks to the Sens they have unknowingly turned Drury and the rest of the Sabres into stars in the league. I hope that this serves notice to the league that this will continue to happen as long as they (the league) try to define who the stars are in the NHL and who are not according to the NHL's definition of star. I am just glad to see that the Sabre enforcers stepped up and took care of business. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.