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"New" NHL beginning to look like "Old" NHL


Carmel Corn

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IMHO - it seems that there has been a steady decline in the enforcement of the infractions (ex. hooking, interference, etc.) being called. Early in the season, if you barely touched another player with the lumber, you got called. If you set a pick to protect your teammate, you were called.

 

Now it seems like the refs are letting a lot of this go. If this continues, this could work against the Sabres and allow slower/more physical teams to begin taking over again. The current roster is thriving in the new NHL, but if the old clutch & grab game returns (especially in the playoffs), the Sabres could struggle.

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IMHO - it seems that there has been a steady decline in the enforcement of the infractions (ex. hooking, interference, etc.) being called. Early in the season, if you barely touched another player with the lumber, you got called. If you set a pick to protect your teammate, you were called.

 

Now it seems like the refs are letting a lot of this go. If this continues, this could work against the Sabres and allow slower/more physical teams to begin taking over again. The current roster is thriving in the new NHL, but if the old clutch & grab game returns (especially in the playoffs), the Sabres could struggle.

The only thing that I noticed is that if the play does not directly lead to a turnover, the infracction is so far away from the play, or as long as it does not lead to a scoring chance, that they are starting to call those less. Which to me is the way it should be called.

 

Regardless of what your opinion is, the refs certainly weren't backing down from calls in the game last night. Those were some pretty weak calls, especially the interference call that went against Tampa...

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I watched the Flyers and Rangers last night and it was so sad. The flyers didn't even have ONE person in to pressure the puck. One players at the rangers blue line and 4 across at the Flyers blue line. I see good old bobby clarke is up to his old tricks of playing piss poor hockey. I can see now when the playoffs roll around the refs will go right back to the way the game once was. I have spoken with a lot of friends about the "new" NHL and several have said they don't like the amount of penaties being called per game. They use words like it slows down the game and its unfair to the physical style of play. Of course these people are mostly Devils and Flyer fans.

 

Anyone else notice that the devils and Broduer (sp) can't handle the new NHL without the trap? It proves my point that Broduer isn't as great as everyone thinks without his trap and super sized pads. Now lets hope the sabres kill him on Sunday night.

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Anyone else notice that the devils and Broduer (sp) can't handle the new NHL without the trap? It proves my point that Broduer isn't as great as everyone thinks without his trap and super sized pads. Now lets hope the sabres kill him on Sunday night.

Brodeur was one of the best goalies when it came to handling the puck in the corners. Now that he can't do it anymore, he has to rely more on his defensemen getting back to help him out. He used to be like a 6th skater the way he would stop the puck and then play it out to his defense on the blue line. It gave his team a jump on the opposition, especially when the other team was in the middle of a line change.

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Brodeur was one of the best goalies when it came to handling the puck in the corners. Now that he can't do it anymore, he has to rely more on his defensemen getting back to help him out. He used to be like a 6th skater the way he would stop the puck and then play it out to his defense on the blue line. It gave his team a jump on the opposition, especially when the other team was in the middle of a line change.

I wouldn't mind seeing the trapezoid go away....but only if they allow the goalies to be "hit" outside of the crease.

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Brodeur was one of the best goalies when it came to handling the puck in the corners.  Now that he can't do it anymore, he has to rely more on his defensemen getting back to help him out.  He used to be like a 6th skater the way he would stop the puck and then play it out to his defense on the blue line.  It gave his team a jump on the opposition, especially when the other team was in the middle of a line change.

Brodeur hates the trapezoid and he is on the competition committee. I'd be extremely surprised to see it next year.

 

That said, I like it. The goalies can still come out of the net, they just have to adjust how they do it. Other than Brodeur and Belfour and perhaps a handful of others, I don't think it has had a significant effect on the goalies but it does make it a bit easier to forecheck.

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I like the idea of being able to hit the goalies if they play the puck in the corner or behind the net, but it would never be allowed because the chance for injury is too high.

 

I would like to see more interference calls against goalies when they impede a player around the net. You see goalies all the time putting their stick out to slow down or trip a player. They get away with that too much.

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Anybody have any stats on scoring as the season has progressed? Has it continued to go up, remained the same, gone down?

 

What about fighting? It seems to be way down. Which is good for the game. But that's another thread! Thuggery and goonism also seem to be way down.

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IMHO - it seems that there has been a steady decline in the enforcement of the infractions (ex. hooking, interference, etc.) being called. Early in the season, if you barely touched another player with the lumber, you got called. If you set a pick to protect your teammate, you were called.

 

Now it seems like the refs are letting a lot of this go. If this continues, this could work against the Sabres and allow slower/more physical teams to begin taking over again. The current roster is thriving in the new NHL, but if the old clutch & grab game returns (especially in the playoffs), the Sabres could struggle.

This has actually come up a few times throughtout the year. I'm not worried yet. The head of officiating has made it a habit to send out memos to the refs to call games tighter. He even sent out a DVD a few weeks ago about what should be a penalty. I don't think he wants to let anything slip.

 

In response to the post about Devils fans...read the letters to the editor in the hockey news. Almost every single one complaining about the new NHL is from NJ.

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This has actually come up a few times throughtout the year.  I'm not worried yet.  The head of officiating has made it a habit to send out memos to the refs to call games tighter.  He even sent out a DVD a few weeks ago about what should be a penalty.  I don't think he wants to let anything slip.

 

In response to the post about Devils fans...read the letters to the editor in the hockey news.  Almost every single one complaining about the new NHL is from NJ.

I'm with you on this one Hopeless. I don't think the league wants to recede too far back to the "good old days" where a group of coaches and GM's reviewing last season's SCF's noted that on one play Calgary could have been called for holding or interference at least 4 times in one 30 second segment. Apparently there was general indignation about how a team could hook and grab so much in the league's showcase event; but someone in the room pointed out, correctly I might add, that if the refs call the 1st one the next 3 or 4 don't happen.

 

I think a lot of the perceived slackening of enforcement is a combination of players understanding what is and isn't legal and referees having differing interpretations of what is and isn't a penalty. I haven't paid close enough attention to figure out which refs are tight interpreters and who are loose interpreters, but I'd say the majority still are calling a pretty tight game. Also, and this is real important, I've only seen about 3 occasions where a ref let something go at the end of the game that he had been calling earlier. Each of those examples were for a single infraction, not the multitude of "swallowed whistles" that the league had become famous for.

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Guest B. Low

I'm not too worried that we'll slide back to the Old NHL. Most of the big-market teams that were good before the lockout (Philly, Detroit, Dallas, Toronto) are still good and will make the playoffs and two big-market teams that were so-so (Rangers and L.A.) are thriving under the new system. Don't see why they'd want to mess with that. What, to make New Jersey happy? They've got bigger problems then the trapezoid.

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I'm not too worried that we'll slide back to the Old NHL. Most of the big-market teams that were good before the lockout (Philly, Detroit, Dallas, Toronto) are still good and will make the playoffs and two big-market teams that were so-so (Rangers and L.A.) are thriving under the new system. Don't see why they'd want to mess with that. What, to make New Jersey happy? They've got bigger problems then the trapezoid.

Never thought of it that way. As for NJ, I agree they have had some problems, but they've won 2 in a row since Elias returned. Let's hope the Sabres don't look past them!

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