MILAN LUCIC IS A GOON, A COWARD, AND A PATHETIC
EXCUSE OF A HOCKEY PLAYER
NEWSPAPER HEADLINES AROUND THE LEAGUE
* Milan Lucic not get suspended for his clobbering of Ryan Miller? Rubbish! - EDMONTON JOURNAL
* Lucic verdict lacks consistency - Montreal Gazette
* Inaction on Goalie Hit Is Criticized - New York Times
* Lucic has dates with destiny - TORONTO SUN
* Fraser: Shanahan missed the call and has sent wrong message - TSN
* Lucic goes on Boston radio, talks Miller hit: "The fans enjoyed it. - NBC Sports
Blogger comments:
If it was me and I was Enroth the next time Lucic would pop up in front of my crease I'd take my blocker and punch him straight in the nose with it. Then when Shanny wants to protect the Bruins I'd say watch the video his skate was in MY crease. I wouldn't worry about your goalie getting run. I'd worry about Seguin and his so-called hip problem he could have. Revenge is the only way the NHL will ever learn.
Everyone saying he's 'fair game' because he was out of his crease, I guess that means you'd be 'fair game' while crossing the street because you're off the sidewalk?
Have never disliked the Bruins or their organization but it's sad and unfortunate to see their fans on here trying to justify that hit. It's almost as though they're proud of it. I'm a huge Thomas fan and if I saw him nailed like that I'd be none to pleased.
Not a fan of either team but Lucic's justification is pathetic. I like the way he plays but seriously Tessie2010, calling it a simple collision is a stretch. No, Lucic didn't change direction into him. Instead he went straight towards him without hesitation, which implies intent. Nor were they both skating towards the puck at the time. Miller was stationary when he was hit. Still, the league needs to address the matter of goalies leaving their crease. Making them 'fair game' isn't the answer, unless you wish your goalie taken away on a stretcher every so often.
VANCOUVER CANUCKS CRITICAL OF SHANAHAN DECISION ON LUCIC
The Rule is 42.1
It's written in black and white and there's enough grey area regarding contacting a goaltender outside the crease to colour any debate in confusion. After Milan Lucic ran over Ryan Miller on Saturday and concussed the netminder in a race for the puck at the right faceoff circle — the Boston Bruins forward received a charging minor and wasn't suspended following a hearing Monday — NHL disciplinarian Brendan Shanahan concluded a rule regarding charging was the appropriate call. And he added that there was nothing egregious about the contact on the Buffalo Sabres stopper that would have warranted further supplemental discipline.
Regardless, you'd have a hard time convincing many that Lucic, an East Vancouver native, wasn't in the wrong because opinions are strong and the state of goalie protection is once again of obvious concern. It should be a hot topic of discussion when general managers meet Tuesday.
"I'm really surprised and even more confused," Canucks winger Alex Burrows said after the ruling. "I've been trying to figure it out and I don't know if goalies are in play now if they're out of their crease. This might set a precedent. Shanahan played the game and he probably knew that he [Lucic] had time to move and growing up you learn you can't really hit the goalies. I would have dove at the puck or have tried to get out of the way.
"I thought there would be repercussions. We're concerned. I thought we were trying to get those kind of hits out of this league and now it might be back to old-time hockey. The next thing you know, you might have a line brawl or a bench clearing."
As for Rule 42.1, it states: "A goalkeeper is not 'fair game' just because he is outside the goal crease. The appropriate penalty should be assessed in every case where an attacking player makes unnecessary contact with the goalkeeper. However, incidental contact will be permitted when the goalkeeper is in the act of playing the puck outside the goal crease, provided the attacking player has made a reasonable effort to avoid such unnecessary contact."
Now you understand the confusion. Daniel Sedin plays a finesse game and his physical involvement usually involves puck battles along the wall or fending off an aggressor. What he saw in the Lucic incident was a straight-line, full-head-of-steam approach by a winger with a reputation for physical play and not backing down from confrontations.
"He had all the time in the world to stop or change his angle," said the Canucks winger. "That should never happen and it wasn't fun to watch. They [goalies] are not used to getting hit and it's tough for them to get out of the way. They're going to be a target if you allow those kind of hits.
"Goalies have a tough time skating with all the pads they have on and you have to protect them or it's going to be ugly out there."
Pretty strong words. But you can only imagine how the Canucks would feel if Daniel Carcillo takes a similar approach to playing a loose puck Wednesday when the Chicago Blackhawks visit Rogers Arena. As much as Roberto Luongo tried to be diplomatic in his assessment of the Lucic contact, he wouldn't have wanted to switch places with Miller.
"It's a tough call," Luongo said before the Shanahan ruling. "I put myself in Ryan's shoes and if that happened to me, I wouldn't be too happy about it. If you have an opportunity to avoid a hit — especially with a goaltender in a vulnerable position — it's been like that. Things happen quickly and sometimes you don't have time to react.
"It's rare you see it happen but there's an understanding around the league that you need to be protected and once in a while this happens. It all depends on the punishment."
Miller played the remainder of the first period Saturday and was then replaced by Jhonas Enroth to start the third period. He allowed three goals on 10 shots in the second period and then called out Lucic for his actions.
"Lucic has 50 pounds on me and he runs me like that? It's unbelievable," said Miller. "That was gutless."
Henrik Sedin may have put it best. Lucic is taught to play tough and goalies aren't. So when they go bump in the night, the outcome is usually predictable.
"Miller played the puck and he [Lucic] had a couple of seconds to either stop or step around and he leaned into the hit, too. It wasn't fun to watch," said the Canucks captain. "Everyone knows goalies didn't grow up practising taking hits. That's not their job. It shouldn't have happened.
AND ANOTHER ARTICLE IN NATIONAL POST
Goalie fraternity critical of Lucic hit
Milan Lucic and Ryan Miller make a colossal mismatch. So when Boston’s hulking forward steamrolled Buffalo’s comparatively diminutive goaltender on Saturday night, it came as no great shock that Miller ended up down on his keester, concussed, while Lucic remained upright.
Lucic, who received a minor penalty on the play, did not get any extra punishment Monday after meeting NHL disciplinarian Brendan Shanahan, but that will do little to calm the nerves of NHL netminders whose faith in the power of the rulebook could be shaken.
“The unwritten rule is that you don’t touch the goalie,” former Washington Capitals goaltender Olaf Kolzig said. “I don’t have a problem if the player is just trying to bump a guy, or make it more difficult for the goalie to get back to the net, but to full out hit a guy and cause a concussion, I don’t think there’s any room for that.”
The rule is not unwritten. Rule 69 clearly dictates that a goalie is “not fair game,” no matter where they may roam on the ice surface. The check on trial occurred several strides from the crease, where Miller had arrived at a loose puck just before the fast-charging Lucic. Only incidental contact is permitted, and the onus remains on the skater to avoid unnecessary contact with the goaltender.
That is not what took place in Boston, with Lucic putting his shoulder into Miller.
Miller was understandably angered Saturday night, sticking around the locker room despite his injury, labelling Lucic “gutless” when faced by the post-game media.
“You should never run a goalie like that,” said Henrik Karlsson, backup goaltender with the Calgary Flames. “The goalies can’t protect themselves. I thought it was something we don’t need in the league.”
It can be debated back and forth whether or not the NHL should have handed Lucic a suspension for his infraction, but the impact Miller’s injury could play on the Sabres fortunes is hardly in doubt. The Vezina Trophy winner is an integral part of Buffalo’s hockey club, which many predict to contend for top spot in the Eastern Conference this season. He did not play in the Sabres’ game against Montreal on Monday night.
“Obviously the concussion subject has been well documented over the last couple years, not only in hockey, but a lot of sports [too],” Kolzig said. “It is something people are taking very seriously, and this is just another case.
“How would Lucic feel if one of the Buffalo players ran over Tim Thomas? Knowing how valuable Tim is to that team, I’m sure he’d [Lucic] have a different opinion.”
With the league taking a pass on suspending Lucic, and with the Sabres upset by both the hit and their reaction to it — no player stepped up to defend Miller — there could well be some retaliation when the teams meet again Nov. 23.
“It’s really hard to protect yourself from those kinds of hits as a goalie,” Karlsson said. “Especially in open ice … it’s pretty scary for a goalie to be run like that.”
UPDATE: The NHL showed today why their league is the least of the major sports leagues in terms of both media
attention and fan base, other than in Southern Ontario, when they failed to punish Milan (The Barber) Lucic for his
vicious hit on Ryan Miller. Apparently Lucic convinced Brendan Shanahan that he did not intend to hit the Buffalo
netminder, that it was an "accident". Funny, isn't that what the mob says when they order a hit, "he had an accident".
Me personally, if I was his coach, I would feel embarrassed to sit there defending a known goon, but not Claude
Julien...there he was earlier today, insisting that it was all a complete accident and misunderstanding.
Hockey is a joke. The only ones who enjoy the brutality of this sport are either guys who have never played sports in
their lives, not even school intramurals, and therefore don't understand how such violence affects the game, or,
ignorant people who are frustrated with having to take crap from everyone in their life - wives, bosses, etc - without
being able to do anything about it, whereas in hockey you can beat the sh*t out of someone just for looking at you
the wrong way.
Hockey is for brain-dead, cement-heads. Enjoy your barbaric sport while you can, it won't be long before the crowds
stop showing up (other than in brain-dead Toronto), and the league has no choice but to try and see what will
happen if they completely take violence out of hockey. That will be the day that guys like Lucic will go back to doing
the only other marketable skill they have - scrubbing toilets.
On Saturday night, November 12th, 2011, Milan Lucic charged into a defenseless goaltender - Buffalo's Ryan Miller -
and hit him so hard that Miller's mask came flying off at the
moment of impact. In fact, it is now being reported that Miller suffered a concussion. It would be nice to say that this
type of play is uncharacteristic of the Bruins forward, but unfortunately it is not.
The Serbian immigrant has been injuring and maming defenseless NHL players for years now. His preference is to
target finesse players and goaltenders, knowing that these guys will reluctantly drop the gloves so as to not be
labelled "wimps", but knowing that he has 50 pounds on them, not to mention a mean streak that if he wasn't a pro
hockey player would have him go on a murder rampage.
We here at the usbl do not condone this type of violence in hockey. Sadly, with bigoted dinosours still around like
Don Cherry, who continue to paint a pitcure of hockey as some sort of violence free-for-all, guys like Milan Lucic will
have a job in hockey for a few more years at least. However, with Brendan Shanahan now taking a much tougher
stance towards goons like Lucic, we do see the light at the end of the tunnel.
And to that end, we will patiently wait to hear from the League Office as far as how many games Lucic will be
suspended for his brutal hit on Ryan Miller. And in the words of Ryan Miller, "Lucic is a gutless piece of (expletetive)
".
Below is a brief pictorial on Lucic's coloured past "accomplishments":
All class this Lucic is - giving the middle-finger salute to 18,000 paying customers. Nice.
If they are going to let you fight in the NHL, then what's the big deal if Lucic sticks a finger in someone's eye. Kind of makes Mike Tyson's ear-bite seem like a kiss on the cheek.
Celebrating after decking yet another goaltender
Is it me, or does he look exactly like "Igor" from Frankenstein?
And of course the hit on Ryan Miller