I often think people don't appreciate the subtle differences that seperates hockey from some other sports. I labeled this sportmanship, which is true, but it has much more than that. It also has a team mentality.
Let me explain with some examples.
First of all, the NHL is going away for a little while right now. Sadness, but expected. It happened four years ago. That's right. The Winter Olympic Games. Now, I think this shows some real class on the part of the NHL because it gives back to the players and their home countries. The players get to play for their country. The country gets to root on their stars wearing their colors. The fans have to sit around for a little while longer for the season to come back as well as miss an All-Star Game that year, but it's well worth the reason.
I love the idea. It's not too bad financially for the league either. It can and does showcase the talent of the league in the mix of the world's elite.
Unfortunately, people in higher places don't agree with me. Commisoner Gary Bettman questioned the NHL's future involvement with the Olympic Games. No decisions have been reached, but I'd like to see this display continued.
Another example of sportmanship is the end of series handshake during the finals. This may be something many of you miss. Or expect. I don't presume to know.
There is a tradition of tremendous sportmanship where the players, after a series, shake hands with the opposing team. This would be an incredibly difficult thing to do for the losing team and I think it shows a great amount of sportsmanship.
Take a look at this NHL video from the 2009 Stanley Cup Finals. If you don't know who won the game, you'd never be able to tell based solely on looking at the players.
Now, this comes after a Game 7, the most possible in a finals. Pittsburgh (the team in white) won the game over the Red Wings at Detroit. This is a different look at the handshakes preceeded by the final minute of that game.
I'm not the only one who has an opinion about the whole handshake thing. ESPN's Terry Frei wrote an interesting critque: Yes, It's Tradition, but....
So, what else is there? Well, there's an incredible display by the New York Rangers that I like. It's a great sign of affection towards the fans at the end of every home win. They salute the fans by meeting at center ice and raising their sticks. Here's a video with a last minute fight for pleasure. (Please note, I did not view this clip with sound so I hope it's acceptable).
Fun times. I hate the Rangers by the way. Mostly because the only time my beloved Thrashers actually made it to the playoffs, the blueshirts swept them. Oh well. But I still like the salute to the Garden Faithful, a reference to Madison Square Garden which is the Rangers home arena.
Speaking of fights, that reminds me of another reason I think hockey has some tremendous sportmanship. Actually, more team focus. You can almost resassured that, regardless of the officials' call on the ice, if something happens that seems extreme, there will be retaliation. Especially if you mess with the goaltender. Now, I don't necessarily condone fighting (sorta), but it's a sure sign of team support.
Back to the team sports mentality. Unlike other sports, almost every single player plays every single night. The noteable exception is the back up goal tender, but other than that everyone plays a pretty equal amount of time.
This is different from baseball, football and basketball where the starters start and remain in the game for the duration. Baseball occasionally has someone pinch-hit or, often, a relief pitcher will come in, but it's still probably 7 of the original 9 starters still on the field. Football and basketball generally leave their starters in only pulling them due to injury or to give an exhausted player a breather.
Hockey, with its constant line changes, routinely has people in and out. This means the game result is a more true comparision to the combined team effort.
Let's look at the resent box score from the Thrashers versus the Lightning 2/2/10. I'm showing the player number, name, and total time on ice.
Tampa Bay
4 V. Lecavalier 16:07
5 M. Ohlund 19:30
6 K. Foster 12:36
8 M. Walker 13:49
9 S. Downie 19:14
11 J. Halpern 16:26
12 R. Malone 17:22
13 A. Tanguay 14:04
14 A. Meszaros 18:15
17 T. Fedoruk 6:52
19 S. Veilleux 14:14
26 M. St Louis 21:39
28 Z. Konopka 7:49
32 M. Smaby 17:14
39 M. Lundin 20:19
44 N. Thompson 13:35
77 V. Hedman 21:39
91 S. Stamkos 21:17
Atlanta
3 M. Popovic 10:58
4 Z. Bogosian 20:17
5 B. Valabik 13:14
6 R. Hainsey 18:50
9 E. Kane 14:02
10 B. Little 18:59
12 T. White 11:48
17 I. Kovalchuk 24:52
19 M. Reasoner 11:54
20 C. Armstrong 15:20
23 J. Slater 11:47
27 C. Thorburn 11:04
36 E. Boulton 6:51
39 T. Enstrom 25:47
47 R. Peverley 15:29
61 M. Afinogenov 14:27
77 P. Kubina 25:13
80 N. Antropov 22:32
These are just the skaters, not goaltenders.
The most time on ice for either team was Atlanta's Toby Enstrom at 25:47. That's still less than half the game. Just looking at these numbers, you can't tell who started which, again, proves it is more of a total team sport.
As a side note, the tender for the Lightning was Antero Niittymaki. The Thrashers are 0-16-0 lifetime against the tender. Never won. Ever. EVER.
I hate Niittymaki. He was once on the Flyers and now is in the division opponent Lightning.
Again, I hate Niittymaki.
So, that's my take on why the NHL and hockey in general is great on the basis of sportsmenship. Can it improve? Certainly. Is it still good though? Absolutely. But let's sum up my reasons.
1. Olympics
2. Handshake
3. Salute to Fans (ex. Rangers)
4. Fighting Retaliation
5. Time on Ice
Hope you enjoyed!
TTFN
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