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Flyers’ trap protest has hockey world buzzing
Flames players couldn’t believe what they were witnessing

By Scott Cruickshank, Calgary Herald, November 11 2011

Lee Stempniak had been watching highlights of the previous night’s games.

Or, at least, he thought he was watching highlights.

But that, right there — is that a still photograph?

No. Because, as it turns out, Stempniak was being treated to video of “action” between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Philadelphia Flyers.

By now, most everyone has had a peek at Wednesday’s standoff between the Bolts, practitioners of an infuriatingly passive 1-3-1 forecheck, and the Flyers, who, setting up shop in their own zone, stubbornly refused to advance the puck.

“The game was on national television in the U.S. — so probably not the best way to sell the game,” said Stempniak, winger of the Calgary Flames. “Especially a team like Philly, a high-flying team . . . I’m sure that’s not what the fans were expecting when they showed up. I’ve never seen anything like it, but it seems like an isolated incident right now.”

Added Matt Stajan: “You don’t want to see that in a game. Obviously, a waste of two minutes. Fans pay a lot of money to see that. It was funny, but not good for the game, for sure.”

A bizarre scene, to say the least.

Brent Sutter got a kick out of it.

“I thought it was kind of funny,” said the Flames coach, chuckling. “You can look at it two ways. Neither team is wrong in what they’re doing — I can understand where Philly is coming from, I can understand where Tampa is coming from. But you don’t want to see it in a game either.

“When I first saw it . . . it was pretty funny. But you know what? Same thing happened last year and no one talked about it. So let’s move on.”

Sutter was then asked if he plans to implement that strategy next month when his team visits Tampa.

“Let’s move on,” he replied with a smirk.

Alex Tanguay, however, applauded the Flyers’ stance.

Nothing wrong with a protest. Nothing wrong with making a point.

“People want to see hockey, people pay to see a show,” said Tanguay. “People pay to see skating and skills. I guess it’s working for (the Lightning). But as far as I’m concerned, if I was a fan paying, I would much rather see a team that’s aggressive and skating than a team that’s waiting for . . . I’m not sure what.

“Those people in the stands, they’re the ones making our livelihood, making us what we are. We have to respect them.”

Trust Olli Jokinen to stand apart.

He declared that he is OK with the tactics, that he cannot find fault in the strategy of either side. In fact, according to Jokinen, it serves a snapshot of picture-perfect adherence to a game plan.

“At the end of the day, it’s about winning, about believing in your system, doing what the coach told you to do,” he said. “I think it’s a good example of why those teams are top teams in the Eastern Conference. Especially Tampa. They have all these high-skilled players, but they do what their coach tells them to do. That makes them a good team. Very impressive on their part. Can you blame Philly for having a game plan? No. Just smart coaching on both sides.

“Obviously, it was a hot topic this morning — guys were talking about it.”

None of the players, however, seemed too anxious to weigh in on potential solutions.

Maybe, like in basketball, there’s a place in hockey for illegal-defence restrictions?

“That’s not for me to say,” said Stajan. “I’m sure the NHL is going to be answering questions about that. If stuff like that keeps happening, they’re going to have to put in a rule, for sure.”

Said Tanguay: “It’s interesting. We’ll see what comes out. I’m not going to speculate. We all have our own opinions. We’ll see what the league decides to do.”

Dean
M.Ed (Coaching)
Ch.P.C. (Chartered Professional Coach)
Game Intelligence Training
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