Monday Mailbag: Alex Biega, Free Agent Defensemen, and the Matheson Incident
5 years ago
It’s amazing what a difference Pettersson has made. He’s factored in on nearly half the goals the team has scored. That’s kept the Canucks from being terrible so far, but I’d hesitate to call any team that’s relied so much on a single player “good”. I’ll admit, they’ve had an easier time scoring goals than I thought they would, but they also boast the league’s second-worst corsi. I still feel confident with my original prediction that they’d finish somewhere between 25th and 29th.
I think there a lot of factors at play that help pad Biega’s underlying numbers. He seldom gets in the lineup, receives favourable matchups, and is often utilized as a forward. It’s tough to know for sure how much effect those factors have; but my instinct is that they probably explain why he looks so good compared to the team’s other defenders. Still, his analytical profile is enough to convince me he probably deserves to be in the Canucks top six on most nights.
For some reason, playing a game for children at a high level is one of the highest-paying jobs in our society. Grown men are handed out contracts that equal the GDP of a small country to chase a rubber disc around a sheet of ice. Analyzing and expediting the process creates thousands of jobs. If you really deconstruct it, professional sports are built upon a foundation of stupidity. That’s why they’re fun. Ever read a book or watch a documentary? Of course not. That stuff is lame and boring. No one has read a book since the early ’90s. Why are you even reading this?
I believe the NHL should adopt the IIHF’s rules regarding checks to the head, which are more specific and go further than the NHL’s:
RULE 124 – CHECKING TO THE HEAD OR NECK
DEFINITION: There is no such thing as a clean check to the head.
A player who directs a hit of any sort, with any part of his body or
equipment, to the head or neck of an opposing player or drives or forces
the head of an opposing player into the protective glass or boards. This
rule supersedes all similar actions regarding hits to the head and neck
except those related to fighting.
i. A player who directs a hit to the head or neck of an opponent will be
assessed a minor and misconduct penalty.
ii. A player who directs a hit to the head or neck of an opponent may
also be assessed either a major and automatic game-misconduct
penalty or a match penalty.
iii. A penalty for checking to the head or neck will be assessed if one of
the following occurs when a player checks an opponent:
1. The player directs a hit with any part of his body or equipment to
the head or neck of an opponent;
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2. The player drives or forces the head of an opponent into the
protective glass or boards by using any part of his upper body;
3. The player extends and directs any part of his upper body to
make contact with the head or neck of an opponent;
4. The player extends his body upward or outward in order to reach
his opponent or uses any part of the upper body to make contact
with an opponent’s head or neck;
5. The player jumps (leaves his skates) to deliver a blow to the head
or neck of an opponent.
iv. If a skater skates with his head up, is in possession of the puck, and
is expecting a bodycheck, an opponent does not have the right to hit
him in the head or neck.
v. If the primary force of a blow is initially to the body area and then
contact slides up to the head or neck area, a penalty for checking to
the head or neck will not be assessed.
vi. A skater who delivers a bodycheck to an opponent who is skating
with the puck with his head down in the direction of the skater,
and does not use an upward motion or drive his body up into the
opponent, will not be penalized for checking to the head or neck.
vii. If a skater maintains his position in the normal course of game action
as an opponent runs into him, the ensuing contact will not be
considered checking to the head or neck unless conditions in Rules
124-iii or 124-iv are violated.
Something that the NHL gets wrong is that intent matters. When it comes to head injuries, I don’t think it does. If a player makes an opponent’s head the primary point of contact, that player should be ejected from the game and face a possible suspension. This should also apply to any interference play that targets the head, like what we saw between Matheson and Pettersson. The stricter rules have worked pretty well in international hockey, I don’t see why they can’t work in the NHL.
I would be open to broadening the definition of a check to the head to include any hit that effects the head, but it would be heavily dependent on the definition of “effecting the head”.
I don’t think Adam Gaudette would have been called up to sit in the press box, so my guess is he’ll draw in tomorrow. I’m sure Leipsic will get another chance soon either way. Travis Green’s already shown he’s willing to scratch veterans if they deserve it.
Hockey’s already fused with boxing so I don’t see why not.
After the team’s next loss. I’d imagine Travis Green will treat the sixth defenseman the way he’s treated the goaltending position and not mess with a winning lineup.
Assuming they all make it to free agency, I could see the Canucks making offers to basically all of the major players that will be on the market next year. I still think Tyler Myers makes the most sense, though. That being said, at thios stage I think it’s more likely they extend Alex Edler or make a trade than make a big play in free agency. Much like Pettersson was this season, Quinn Hughes will be the team’s most significant addition in 2019.
It stems from the fact that there’s no KHL/NHL transfer agreement. Kolstov is listed as a “defected” player, so the Canucks retain his NHL rights.
I’m a lot more concerned about the concussion than I am about anything else. I don’t think players stop trying because they’re scared no one will stick up for them anymore than I think players will stop laying the body because they’re scared someone will stick up for the player they hit. In fact, the problem with the play Matheson made, quite likely, was the absence of thought. If Matheson had been thinking, he probably doesn’t risk a penalty or a suspension just because Pettersson made him look silly.
