If you ask die-hard Canadian hockey fans to name the NHL’s biggest stars, they’ll almost certainly mention a real Maple Leaf or two. And most supporters go a step further and say that the Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs, Vancouver Canucks, Edmonton Oilers, Calgary Flames, Winnipeg Jets and Ottawa Senators have the best talent on the ice.
For Canadian fans, the best hockey in the world is played in their country and for them this sport is the greatest. Of course, there are also many hotly debated topics and controversies in this most important hockey league. Some of these disputes are as old as the NHL itself and still cause heated debates between media and fans.
Every season surprises with new and explosive stories. The following topics are dominating the headlines at the moment: Should fights be allowed in a game or should ice hockey be made a gentleman’s sport again, and what about the foul checks?
This article looks at ten current topics that are currently making the NHL so controversial and so entertaining at the same time.
Who actually are the GOATs?
The debate over the best NHL players of all time divides statistics fanatics and those who value emotions more than pure numbers. The incomparable Wayne Gretzky led the league’s record lists for a long time with 894 goals and 2,857 points and would still be the record holder for assists even without his many goals.
Then there’s Mario Lemieux, who posted the second-highest points per game rate in just 13 seasons despite battling injuries and cancer.
Boston fans swear that Bobby Orr revolutionized the game from the defensive line, while Detroit fans swear by Gordie Howe’s long career and dedication. Currently, Alex Ovechkin has already broken Gretzky’s scoring record, and Sidney Crosby’s name also keeps coming up in these heated debates.
And who are the worst players of all time?
You would think that the discussion about the worst players would be less controversial than that about the best cracks, but that’s far from the case. If you try to tell a die-hard fan that their favorite player was the worst at his position, you’re bound to hear a few adult comments. In fact, these debates bring fans together more often than they divide them. It takes a lot of research and analysis to figure out which player actually deserves this dubious honor, and sometimes the stats tell a story that contradicts our memories.
The arguments on the ice
Many a good brawl has made a game unforgettable, but for many supporters it is a blot on the sport that needs to be wiped out as quickly as possible. The Philadelphia Flyers once made a name for themselves as the most brutal team in the league, and other teams had to adapt to their style of play to avoid losing out on the ice. The Flyers’ fourth line became known as the “checking line,” staffed by players who not only tackled well but could also distribute well.
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtNumfky5LY
Illegal checks and attacks from behind
These topics have taken on a life of their own in recent years. The debate is not as broad as the brawl debate, as it is more about what counts as a late check – a foul – and whether a player intentionally fouled from behind. What makes matters worse is that the league itself can’t seem to find a uniform definition for an illegal check. You only have to look at a few of the many playoff games and you will quickly realize how big the gray area actually is and how differently the list of penalties is interpreted.
The USA against Canada and together against the rest of the world
Canadian hockey fans clearly view their sport with an “us versus them” mentality, and that attitude runs deeper than you might think. When Gary Bettman, the NHL’s longtime chairman, moved two Canadian teams south, Canadian fans accused him of disregarding the country’s interests. When he prevented teams from moving north in later years, they called for his dismissal.
The Winnipeg Jets’ return is generally viewed as damage control. For Canadian fans, the best hockey is played in their country and beating Russia or Sweden in a World Cup or the Olympics is great, but nothing is sweeter than a win against your US neighbors.
The bad decisions of the referees
If you ask a Leafs fan about the missed foul on Gretzky or a Canucks supporter about specific playoff moments, you will immediately be able to tell their answer by their facial expressions. The referee is the most hated person on the ice, no matter how big the rivalry is between the two teams. Wrong decisions and missed fouls have already led to fan riots, ended seasons and sparked decades-long “what if” debates.
But in some cases, these debates even bring fans together, such as the internally divided Buffalo Sabers supporters who reunited in anger over their loss in the 1999 Stanley Cup Final. Either way, fans never tire of debating where the referees went wrong and how things could have actually gone differently.
The rivalries within the NHL
The rivalries go far beyond simple taunts between different fan groups. The classic hostilities go back to the Original Six, the six teams that made up the NHL from 1942 to 1967 and which also included the Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs. Even if some of these founding teams have lost importance following the league’s restructuring and old rivalries are fading, new competitive situations continue to arise. For example, the New York Rangers and the New Jersey Devils have built up an unprecedented, sometimes unpleasant rivalry over the years, but the teams from Chicago and Vancouver also fought a number of playoff duels that became quite personal.
Social media has also changed the way this opposition is fought. Twitter and Facebook enable fans to engage with the opposing teams around the clock in order to subsequently provoke them, and even the team accounts are now getting involved.
Games that end in a draw
There are many sports in which a game ends in a draw and, depending on your perspective, this circumstance can be either a nuisance or a blessing for the team in question. In European football leagues, a draw means that the two teams share the points. Even with the best online casino games, such as Pai Gow and Blackjack, it can happen that the player and dealer get the stake back in the event of a tie. The same applies to ice hockey, but it is extremely controversial there. It is precisely these fair rules that are one of the reasons why players look for the so-called best online casinos that offer transparent conditions.
The abolition of the draw rule in favor of the penalty shootout in 2005 divided NHL fans into two opposing camps. The traditionalists are critical of the penalty shootout and what makes it even more difficult is that the losers of this decision-making process still get a point for the table. Those who are uncomfortable with a tie argue that this type of decision has produced some of the best moments in the NHL and that playoff games still end in sudden death in overtime.
“), i.text = “window._taboola = window._taboola || ();_taboola.push({mode:’alternating-thumbnails-a’, container:’taboola-below-article-thumbnails’, placement:’below-article’, target_type: ‘mix’});”, n.appendChild(l), n.appendChild(i), e(n, t) } Array.prototype.filter || (Array.prototype.filter = function(e, t) { if (“function” != typeof e) throw TypeError(); let n = (); for (let l = 0, i = this.length >>> 0; l < i; l += 1) if (l in this) { let r = this(l); e.call(t, r, l, this) && n.push(r) } return n }), window.insertAfter = e, window.getElementByXPath = t, window.injectWidgetByXpath = function e(l) { let i = t(l) ||. document.getElementById("tbdefault"); i && n(i) }, window.injectWidgetByMarker = function e
