Jay Greenberg: Here is the Dirt on a Game Gone Clean

Good article Jay on the culture of the game. One thing though, Seguin will not be a UFA at the end of the season. He already has a new deal.

Yeah, I stopped reading at that point. Lazy journalism at its worst.

Yeah, I stopped reading at that point. Lazy journalism at its worst.
- Quetzalcoatl

Jay is a Hall of Fame hockey writer.

Jay is a Hall of Fame hockey writer.
- MJL

Yeah but he forgot Seguin had extended, so the journalism experts who clearly have never made any error of any sort in their own jobs, get to flex their internet muscles.

Yeah, I stopped reading at that point. Lazy journalism at its worst.
- Quetzalcoatl

Good to know he's the only writer on this site to ever make a mistake.

Cranky old man. Ha ha. I’m right there with you. I don’t know if it’s mostly because I’m a Flyers fan that the game is not as much fun as it used to be, but you can’t deny the skill level is far better now.

Love your writing, Jay! I’ve bled orange and black for many years, but I’m not being biased when I say the game is just awful. I think we reached the top, or near the top of the bell curve. Look how many empty seats are in the stands. Sure, companies may have bought the seats for their clients, but the interest is waning. Ticket prices on the secondary market are at an all time low. The owners will get their share of the 650miliion from the Seattle franchise, and just cashed in from ‘Vegas, but in a few years, all that money will be gone. Then what? John Tortorella was right when he said “there is no hate in the game”. I couldn’t agree more. Years ago, we hardcore hockey fans would give up the evening to vicariously take out our daily frustrations of life on a rival team. Today, the environment is as sterile as a hospital operating room. As Jay stated, the younger fans don’t know what they’re missing! To say I’m disappointed is an understatement. I guess I could sum up the NHL today in one word, would be “MEH”. Sad state of affairs.....

The game has been unwatchable for a couple of seasons. No hatred, no passion. They've neutered the game to the point where it resembles the all-star game. Thankfully I can still watch old games with Leafs TV and youtube. I can't get through a period now.

EVERYTHING about the game experience has changed, not just the game, I Was at the Bruins-Ducks game a few weeks ago, that used to be a great, hard hitting, nasty game to see, but worse than the game itself is the fan base that is there is just waiting for a whistle. Then it's time to see if they can dance and get on the jumbo tron, honestly it's just stunning to see how many people "JUMP" out of their seats to start dancing. it's the only time they get excited all game.

EVERYTHING about the game experience has changed, not just the game, I Was at the Bruins-Ducks game a few weeks ago, that used to be a great, hard hitting, nasty game to see, but worse than the game itself is the fan base that is there is just waiting for a whistle. Then it's time to see if they can dance and get on the jumbo tron, honestly it's just stunning to see how many people "JUMP" out of their seats to start dancing. it's the only time they get excited all game.
- BruinBlood

The fastest way to create some interest in the game is to create some rivalries. As a Boston fan there just isn't that same feeling when I see Philly or Montreal on the calendar as there used to be.
If the league unbalanced the schedule and made teams face each other much more often things would carry over. There would be genuine feelings, not the game faces we see now.

Many years ago the Bruins went to a paid cable channel for home games. There was a back-to-back weekend against Buffalo and game one was intense. I drove almost an hour to be able to see game 2. No chance I'd do that today, not even close. Hell, I even remember hating Paul Stewart, we just KNEW he gave the other teams the first power play! Now the refs don't even have names on their sweaters.

Great piece Jay. The game has changed and not all of it for the better. Tortorella hit the nail on the head when he complained that no one hates anyone anymore.

I don’t miss the staged fights between 4th line goons, glad that crap is gone, but where is the passion? Where is the do whatever you need to win mentality that was personified by guys like Bobby Clarke, Mark Messier and Peter Forsberg?

The game has become much too sterile. Long stretches of play it the safe way hockey with the occasional bursts of breathtaking skill. The lack of hitting, not cheap shots, but good hard, clean checking is robbing the game of one of the pillars it was built on. Replacing the old school pads with armor worn by today’s player was the start of this sadly inevitable trend. Regrettably I don’t think the hitting will ever return.

The instigator rule is another example of how the road to hell is paved with good intentions. By eliminating any way for the players to police the game, the powers that be left the players with no choice but to respond with stickwork and cheap hits.

No one wants to see the return of the one dimensional goons, but I miss guys like Paul Holmgren, Terry O’Reilly, Wendel Clark, Rick Tocchet and their like. These guys were good players but they could mix it up with the best of them and left it all on the ice.

But it’s not just the ability to fight that makes a player a warrior. Are there still guys out there like Bobby Baun, Barry Ashbee, Dave Poulin, Derian Hatcher and Kimmo Timonen? These men would play through crippling injury and would fight through agonizing pain to stay in the lineup.

It’s why even though he is struggling mightily this season,I will miss Wayne Simmonds when he is no longer a Flyer. He fought through multiple injuries last season and played through crippling pain. It’s why I love Ivan Provorov who fought through a playoff series with only one functioning arm. A kid like Provorov gives me hope for the future of the game. Sadly, I don’t think there many like them these days.

The NHL can trot out all the gimmicks and mascots and outdoor extravaganzas they want, but if they end up removing the hitting, the physicality and the warriors from the game, something precious will have been lost.

Lol I want to see the return of one dimensional goons.

Great piece Jay. The game has changed and not all of it for the better. Tortorella hit the nail on the head when he complained that no one hates anyone anymore.
....

The NHL can trot out all the gimmicks and mascots and outdoor extravaganzas they want, but if they end up removing the hitting, the physicality and the warriors from the game, something precious will have been lost.
- BiggE

This says it all!!!!!

I inexcusably missed Seguin's re-signing, apologize and hope to gain back your trust.Also regret for taking so long to read the comments and be sickened to discover such a grievous error.

I don't know who you are reading who never admits a mistake. It is not me.

Fact checking is useful...for things that impact you.
Not being able to deal with this type of mistake on a hockey blog is approaching a diagnosis of a mental disorder.
Psychotriviaphile?