January 10, 2008
Gentlemanly and disturbing
I've been ranting about this high above in Nationwide Arena the last many seasons. It used to annoy my esteemed colleague, Michael Arace. Eventually, it amused him. Now he's a big-time columnist, so he doesn't have to hear it as much. Poor Tom Reed.
The Blue Jackets are a very good group of guys. I wouldn't say that if it weren't true. They are, without exception, good guys to deal with, even after brutal losses when nobody would want a microphone stuffed in their face.
On the ice, they're way too nice, too, and this is unfortunate.
The most recent come-out-of-my-chair moment happened during the St. Louis game on Tuesday, when Nikolai Zherdev was run over by Blues forward David Backes. I wasn't at the game; Tom Reed covered. But, in this case, that's irrelevant. The hit wasn't absolutely filthy. If fact, it was legal. No penalty was called. But that, too, is irrelevant.
On a real NHL club, Backes would have paid. He would paid quickly and dearly. He would have been targeted -- right or wrong -- the rest of the game. The message has to be simple: "Zherdev is one of our guys ... don't touch."
Zherdev deserves this much, especially after the turn-around he's had this season. When he gets drilled and nobody responds, it sends a very bad message, both in the room and around the league.
If a real NHL club couldn't get to Backes, Paul Kariya would have been leveled. Or Andy MacDonald. Or Brad Boyes. Or Keith Tkachuk. Somebody would have paid.
Instead, nobody did.
Unfortunately, this has been going on for years. I thought it would end this season after a year of getting toughened up by Hitchcock, but you can't change a mind-set without changing the roster sometimes.
The situation extends far beyond the Zherdev incident Tuesday. I can't tell you how many times in the last four or five season the Blue Jackets have had big-time hits lined up at open ice and not lowered the boom.
OK, here goes. I'll name names.
Manny Malhotra does it all the time. Guy coming through the zone with his head down, or along the boards where he's prone to getting a shoulder dropped into his sternum, and Malhotra pulls up and bumps him. No reason for that, especially from a fourth-line grinder making second-line money.
Jason Chimera is 6-2, 206. He can reach 35 miles per hour skating and he's one of the best fighters on the team. On Saturday in San Jose, he had a Sharks player lined up in the neutral zone early in a fiercly competitive game. He could have sent said player into the stratosphere. Instead, he pulled up, bumped him, and went off for a line change. My eyes bugged out. An off-ice official in San Jose came over during intermission and asked if Chimera was hurt.
When's the last time Nash absolutely leveled somebody? He's a power forward, right?
Dan Fritsche?
Rostislav Klesla?
There are a few guys who will drop bombs. Jared Boll, obviously. Michael Peca hits hard when he can. So does Curtis Glencross. So do Adam Foote and Ole-Kristian Tollefsen, but it's harder -- more risky -- for defensemen. Fredrik Norrena would have shed his equipment and had a go with David Backes, I'm sure of it.
I asked coach Ken Hitchcock about this Wednesday. He chewed on it for a second, then said: "I haven't been happy with our competitive level."
Not a bad quote. Not a dead-on yes or a dead-on no, but take it as you will.
Think about this: The Nashville Predators have had lots of 6-1 losses through the years, and I'm sure the players remember most of them, too. But the opponents remember them, too, because it wasn't an easy 6-1 win. They paid a price. A lot of their players probably didn't want to take the ice in the third period. The Predators, when they go down ugly, have a tendency to blow up a game. I have no problem with this, either. Like it or not, Blue Jackets fans, it's a big part of the reason the Predators have been a very good team the last few seasons.
The Blues had a really good night at the rink the other night. Beat the living hell out of the Blue Jackets, scored six goals. "Man, did you see Backes' hit on Zherdev?" And they walked away smiling. No price to pay.
I know that at this very second our good friend Linda K. is typing J-O-D ... I say, go for it, Linda. You're a very educated hockey fan, so bang that drum as you will. (You're a shoo-in for an end-of-season Puck-rakers award, by the way!)
All I know is that Shelley is always "open for business," as they say. It can't be just your fighter who stands up in games like this, because they're too easy for other teams to dodge.
It has to be everybody, or at least 8 to 10 willing guys, and, hopefully, at least two or three who are pominent in your lineup. If Zenon Konopka were a tad bit healthier, he'd be in a Blue Jackets sweater for good. He has no "off" switch.
The Blue Jackets have been called "soft" through the years. Unfortunately, it's a tag they have yet to shake.
-- Aaron Portzline
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