Interesting comments from Oilers coach Pat Quinn basically saying he'd rather hav the old brawling days (or at least the viligilante (sp?)) days after a cheap shot on Souray. I agree. There are too many bad hits and stick work that would have never occurred years ago if say Nystrom, Gillies or Howatt could come off the bench..

Hunter's hit on Turgeon. Turning point downward in New York Islanders history. Team and organization hasn't been the same since.

Could put Tucker's hit on Peca in there too.

Totally agree....remember that KJ was knocked out as well.

I truly hope that if God Forbid JT is cheapshot that the entire bench comes off and damn any suspensions that may occur. We aren't making the playoffs anyway who cares if Comeau is suspended 10 games for coming off the bench or Jackman or whoever.

Comes back to toughness again and again. We haven't been consistently tough through the years. You can (or I can) count on one hand guys that stuck out as notably tough on the ice and make opposing teams think twice. I'm not even talking about enforcers here. I'm talking about your Webbs, Kasparaitises, Pilons. Those kinds of guys. Make no mistake, I want a bruiser boxer on skates too. I almost could care less how he plays so long as when he drops the gloves, he's a lock for dropping the other player as well. Say what you want about the game changing blah blah, but I think there's still a real need for that kind of capability on our team. JMO.

funny but i dont remember Pat Quinn having a problem when his players administered those hits. fat Quinn is a hypocrite

I don't think it comes down only to toughness (though a tougher team is more preferable). There is a change in the way the league administers punishment. Some players seem to hunt out injuries and because the league does not punish consistently, players are taught they may as well take the chance with their questionable hits because depending on the team and depending on the player, he may see a long, short, or no suspension. Take the most recent example: Phaneuf's hit on KO (what an ironic nickname for him that game). Phaneuf left his feet and hit high (some of that due to his size versus Kyle's), but since the league doesn't draw the line at where the head actually is on a player's body, and since Phaneuf is a big star, the hit goes unpunished. Phaneuf learns that he doesn't have to pay for his clobbering hits, the guy who goes after him (after being held by two players and two refs) will see a suspension for chasing down a star. It happened with Crosby last year. That little whiny baby while his teammate was in a scuffle with a player on Hotlanta went 3rd man in and punched the guy in the balls repeatedly. The obvious point is that Crosby went there because a man's sack is him favorite place, but the refs never called Crosby for 3rd man in nor did the league discipline him for it. What does Crosby learn? Do what ever you want when you're a star in this league. I, too, miss the days where if you messed with a team's star, you were punished forcefully.

I'm not saying that Pat Quinn isn't necessarily a hypocrite, but his observation is commendable.

Agreed....I would like the league to make one change to their rules. Instead of a player "will receive 10 games for coming off the bench", change it to "up to 10 games". That way, there can be some judgement. For example, if I were the Rangers bench, I would have been out on the ice the second Simon used his stick to wack whats-his-face.........In the old days they would have been and I can send 2 dozen YouTube links showing teams doing exactly that. Not brawling for the sake of brawling but protecting a teammate.

Don't get me wrong, Quinn is a dickweed, but I thought he had a point here.

If I was on the islanders bench, and you came off the rangers bench when
Simon slashed at Hollpig's chest (while the stick grazed up and clipped Hollpig on
the underside of the chin ONLY for Hollpig to stay down like he was shot and
then even joked about doing so the next day in practice)
...why, I'd come off the bench and come after you.

Hopefully we'd both ONLY get 10 games.

:lol: :banana:

I say clear the benches when it comes to incidents like that. I'd have jumped to Simon's defense from a Ranger beating as well. I'd jump off the bench if the situation was reversed, or I watched a defenseman leave his feet to clobber a player a foot shorter than him. I love watching the brawls of the 70s and 80s.

The old days are dead and gone. Waiting for the league to exercise sound "judgement" is not my idea of a good time. Screw the suspensions, etc. Handle the business on-ice and let the suspensions fall where they may. I won't begrudge an Islander for sticking up for his 'mates. Crosby or whomever be darned. If the league wants to play favorites, let them. They always will. The Isles will NEVER benefit by ANY decision this league makes. Might as well take care of it on-site, right away and deal with the consequences. :rant:

speaking of protecting ones teammates...is morency's suspenion up? Wouldn't the Islanders in good faith, and to really support team toughness, call up mr. morency for a few games in the nhl. To reward morency...Just wondering.

The Islanders have plenty of AHL quality talent that get NHL ice time, I don't see the value in adding more.

The old days were the days of dealing with situations on ice. Now a team can't because Rectum Campbell doles out suspensions by whim.

I watched the hit that took Souray out and I think it was dirty. Not because Iginla is a dirty player, but it was a dirty hit. Iginla had Souray on the ice and didn't have to give him the extra head-first push into the boards at the end. Just because he isn't a dirty player, doesn't mean he can't inadvertently throw a dirty hit. At least Iginla stood up for himself in a fight, unlike his pussy teammate.