Lack of respect league-wide, criticism of NHL offices
Mar 25, 2014 12:29:14 GMT -5
Post by blny on Mar 25, 2014 12:29:14 GMT -5
I realize first that this is not entirely Habs related. But, there are some who don't peruse far down the home page and I thought this would spark some good conversation.
Pens forward James Neal has steadily developed a reputation that surpasses his ability to score goals. He's a dirty hockey player. His most recent suspension was 5 games for kneeing Marchand in the head. Since returning from that, he's been fined $5000 for a cross check that was deemed dangerous enough for an in-game penalty but not enough for a suspension because the player wasn't hurt in the incident. He's a repeat offender, and been fined and warned several times on top of a few suspensions.
Recently, the Penguins PR staff attempted to create some good will be making Neal available to fans in an #AskNeal anything segment on Twitter. Use that hashtag with your question and it would be answered. Well, a lot of people took that opportunity to ask sarcastic questions (many of which are funny and make light of his careless play).
If you are a twitter user, enter that hash tag in a search and you'll see the greatest hits as it continues to trend. If you're not a twitter user, you can see an assembly of some witty remarks here:
blogs.canoe.ca/slam/sports/penguins-askneal-twitter-chat-turned-into-a-hilarious-disaster/
This link has a good blog entry about it and there is an embedded section where tweets with the hash tag keeps updating.
slaphappyhockey.ca/pens-james-neil-hashtag-backfires/
There's a part of that blog that really stuck with me though. It quotes former NHL referee Paul Stewart.
In a recent blog post called “James Neal: The Poster Child for What’s Wrong With NHL Discipline System“, former NHL referee Paul Stewart called out controvertial NHL Player Safety VP Brendan Shanahan’s weak stance on repeat offenders. He says : ”NHL Rule Book is a house of cards built on a foundation of sand”.
He adds:
Does Neal want to be known for the points he accumulates or as someone who can’t be trusted by his own team? More and more, people don’t think of Neal first and foremost as a goal-scorer. You know how I think of him?
I think of Neal as a player who has already been suspended three times in his career for dirty hits. That includes a five-game suspension earlier this season for a kneeing incident. Additionally, between his years in Dallas and Pittsburgh, he has previously been involved in least other three potentially suspendable incidents with his stick where he was fined and/or warned by the League.
I can't begin to say how refreshing it is that someone who spent a long time in the NHL as a player and then referee is calling a spade a spade. It would be fantastic if there could be a steady groundswell of support behind this.
Pens forward James Neal has steadily developed a reputation that surpasses his ability to score goals. He's a dirty hockey player. His most recent suspension was 5 games for kneeing Marchand in the head. Since returning from that, he's been fined $5000 for a cross check that was deemed dangerous enough for an in-game penalty but not enough for a suspension because the player wasn't hurt in the incident. He's a repeat offender, and been fined and warned several times on top of a few suspensions.
Recently, the Penguins PR staff attempted to create some good will be making Neal available to fans in an #AskNeal anything segment on Twitter. Use that hashtag with your question and it would be answered. Well, a lot of people took that opportunity to ask sarcastic questions (many of which are funny and make light of his careless play).
If you are a twitter user, enter that hash tag in a search and you'll see the greatest hits as it continues to trend. If you're not a twitter user, you can see an assembly of some witty remarks here:
blogs.canoe.ca/slam/sports/penguins-askneal-twitter-chat-turned-into-a-hilarious-disaster/
This link has a good blog entry about it and there is an embedded section where tweets with the hash tag keeps updating.
slaphappyhockey.ca/pens-james-neil-hashtag-backfires/
There's a part of that blog that really stuck with me though. It quotes former NHL referee Paul Stewart.
In a recent blog post called “James Neal: The Poster Child for What’s Wrong With NHL Discipline System“, former NHL referee Paul Stewart called out controvertial NHL Player Safety VP Brendan Shanahan’s weak stance on repeat offenders. He says : ”NHL Rule Book is a house of cards built on a foundation of sand”.
He adds:
Does Neal want to be known for the points he accumulates or as someone who can’t be trusted by his own team? More and more, people don’t think of Neal first and foremost as a goal-scorer. You know how I think of him?
I think of Neal as a player who has already been suspended three times in his career for dirty hits. That includes a five-game suspension earlier this season for a kneeing incident. Additionally, between his years in Dallas and Pittsburgh, he has previously been involved in least other three potentially suspendable incidents with his stick where he was fined and/or warned by the League.
I can't begin to say how refreshing it is that someone who spent a long time in the NHL as a player and then referee is calling a spade a spade. It would be fantastic if there could be a steady groundswell of support behind this.