Ice Hockey
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Old school hockey is an increasingly faded memory. But there are those who are not at all happy with this change: like the coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Wednesday 31 October 2018 6 minutes reading time
The days when the superstars of the NHL teams had their guardian angels in the enforcer now are far away. Once upon a time, those who were on the ice knew perfectly well that if they decided to load one of the opponents' flagship players, a few minutes later they would pay a salary bill, with a vis-Ã -vis meeting with the enforcer on duty.
Today hockey is deeply changed, more focused on speed and technique than hardness and malice, more traditional aspects of the game. The tendency of the teams is to invest on more technical and productive lines, instead of using seats in the lineup for the players specialized in the role of body guard.
The NHL, on the other hand, is giving a crackdown to the spectacular, dangerous, open ice hit and fights, with more and more specimens suspensions and (let's face it) sometimes excessive. In a nutshell, Old Time Hockey, with all its contradictions, is now on its way to the sunset.
Not everyone is happy with this new hockey and the modern NHL.
Among these there is also John Tortorella, now head coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets who, in a recent interview has vented all his grudge against what, he said, has become literally a "festival of hugs." "The game is changed and for old dinosaurs like me it is absolutely frustrating to see the players talking and joking with each other during the face-offs ... maybe the players meet too often during the meetings of the NHL Player Association ... "
According to Tortorella, what is missing on the track is simply hatred: during the game the opponents must be nothing but enemies and the goal must be to beat them and humiliate them ... after the game there will always be time to drink a beer and exchange two laughs, but during the meeting there should be no room for anything but sporting hatred. "Sometimes I even have to ask my players to pretend ... at least pretend to hate their opponents! the old school ... and see my boys talking to their opponents during the game, literally, it makes me sick ".
Torts also complains about the absence of rivalry between clubs worthy of being defined as such. There are no more fights that involve entire lines, such as those between Detroit Red Wings and Colorado Avalanche in the 90s or that between its Vancouver Canucks and the Calgary Flames of 2014.
To be honest, the coach of Columbus seems more a personal outburst dictated by the "lightness" with which he is playing his team, last in the statistics regarding the hits and minutes of penalty.
The words of Tortorella, however, re-open the debate on what should be the true dimension of the NHL.
On the one hand his point of view can be understandable and shareable - especially for those who lived and was fascinated by thugs like Marty McSorley, Tie Domi and Bob Probert - and there is no denying that the presence of the goons was for decades the very first tool for protecting superstars. But there is another aspect of the question that can not be ignored. In recent years, medical studies have shown the very serious consequences that the excessively "male" game, the head charges and the fight, cause in the long run on the players; we are talking about an 80% increase in the probability of contracting Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and senile dementia.
It is therefore natural that the League in recent years is trying to protect with all their strength players, the real protagonists of the NHL show, reducing and disincentivating the most physical and "bad" aspects of the game, typical of the nostalgic Old School Hockey.
Ultimately, the usual question remains: what matters most? The traditions of Hockey Old School or the safety of the players?
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