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May. 20th, 2006 05:28 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
THN - December 19, 2004
It was a one-sided game in the mid-1990s between the Northeast Division-rival Buffalo Sabres and Montreal Canadiens. Pat LaFontaine was at his freewheeling best and the Sabres were running up the score. As the Habs' frustrations mounted, so did the frustration inside rugged Montreal blueliner Lyle Odelein.
His rage burned for an outlet.
Odelein's solution to the problem was obvious, at least to him: it was time to tango. He figured the Sabres owed him that much. Problem was, Buffalo coach Ted Nolan believed otherwise.
Shift after shift, Odelein would get on the ice only to find Rob Ray and Brad May and Matthew Barnaby stapled to the Buffalo bench. Both teams knew there was no way Odelein would go after any of the Sabres' more skilled or less physical players; that would be an unthinkable violation of the NHL's unwritten code of honor. So what's an angered stand-up scrapper to do?
"I skated by the bench and I told Teddy, 'OK, Teddy, throw out your boys,' " Odelein recalls. "And he basically told me go 'ef' myself. So I said, 'All right Teddy'. And that's why I shot the puck at their bench."
Sent the Sabres ducking for cover, Odelein did.
"Stuff like that really bothers, I guess, guys like myself," says Odelein of Nolan's gamesmanship. "We played these guys all the time and I wasn't allowed to fight them that night."
Odelein believed denying a losing team's tough guy the chance to take out his frustrations against a player of his own ilk, in a game long since decided, was itself a violation of hockey's code on Nolan's part.
Not so, according to the coach.
"He wanted it for a long time... Obviously he got disappointed because we didn't accommodate," Nolan says. "I've always loved aggressive hockey, but I don't like stupid hockey. At that point there was no point in continuing, so just wait until next game, he can do it then.
"If people want to get even, my theory is you get even at the beginning of the game when the game is in reach, not when it's out of reach. That's when people start doing some stupid things. I always took the reverse action to that. When it was over, it was over. We'll get them next time."
To give him credit, and Nolan does, Odelein did not aim, load and fire into the bench with a full-bore slapshot that would spell out his "Ef you back, Teddy" message in bold block capital letters (and would have earned him a suspension, too). The Sabres knew what he was doing, but every last one of the 18,000 paying customers didn't have to. Nolan says Odelein shot the puck "in a sneaky good way."
So what are we to conclude from this about hockey's vaunted code, given that a decade after the puck-in-bench shot the two principals still disagree on its meaning?
First, that the code is a multi-layered, constantly evolving animal that changes with the times. Unwritten rules might stay the same over the years – say, the prohibition against skating on the wrong side of the center red line in warmups – but the full-scale brawl that would have erupted over such an offense in the 1970s or 1980s is unlikely to happen today.
Second, notwithstanding the difficulties that arise from the above, that it's high time someone writes the darn thing down so rookies can understand what's expected.
Third, it's true what they say: hockey players have long memories.
>>>>In the Dressing Room<<<<
Do not step on the large carpeted team logo on the dressing room floor. (They get especially touchy about this in Tampa Bay.)
Never let your sweater touch the floor.
Pick up after yourself and hang up your own equipment after undressing. If your gear is left in a smelly pile on the floor, the equipment trainers are in line for a hefty year-end tip.
If you want to prove to your teammates how focused you are, refuse to talk to the media on the day of the game. But understand this will not win you any friends with the media, or in most cities, with the team's public-relations man. (In a select few cities, it will make you a favorite of the team's P.R. man.)
Develop a routine for putting on equipment and stick to it.
Don't touch anything belonging to a goalie.
Goalies always lead the team out onto the ice.
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Long, long ago in the days when reporters were allowed in dressing rooms before games, Washington beat writer and The Hockey News correspondent Dave Fay walked past goalie Bob Mason's stall as the players were about to go on the ice for warmups. Fay accidentally knocked over Mason's goal stick. Mason flipped. As Fay recalls it, Mason was fully dressed in his gear, including his mask, but he insisted on stripping down to his jock and starting over because his routine had been disrupted.
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>>>>On the Ice<<<<
Rookies pick up pucks after practice.
During warmups, do not fire high hard ones on your goalie. In the words of Red Deer Rebels defenseman Dion Phaneuf, "you're trying to warm up your goalie, not score on him." This also applies for practice – unless your goalie's name is Dominik Hasek and he has instructed you to shoot at his head.
Do not chase a stray puck into the other team's zone.
Do not cross center ice unless your intention is to provoke a brawl.
Do not shoot a puck into the other team's net at the end of warmups unless you love playing mind games.
At the end of warmups, turn around your team's net and push it against the boards to prevent the above from happening.
Use the pre-game skate to check out the celebs and other pretty people in the stands, since the coach will not be happy to catch you doing this during the game.
Do not wear your helmet during warmups if: a) you want to impress the pretty people with your nicely coiffed hair so you can hook up with them after the game; and, b) you don't mind taking a flying puck off the noggin.
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Darren McCarty always wants to be the last guy off the ice after warmups. Ditto for Sandy McCarthy. That led to a problem when McCarty's Red Wings played McCarthy's Flames a few years ago in Detroit. Then McCarty got creative.
"He was standing there and I was standing there just looking at each other and no one was going anywhere," McCarty says. "So I threw out rock-paper-scissors. Usually you do 2-out-of-3, but we only had time to do one and he won so I stepped off first. But I figure superstition-wise I was still the last one off on my team, so it didn't matter."
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>>>>During the Game<<<<
Do not allow opposing players to get away with poking at your goalie after he has frozen the puck or after the whistle has gone. Show your displeasure through the use of a cross-check, slash, facewash, headlock, or, for particularly egregious offenses, a punch to the head. For minor offenses, use your most colorful language to threaten all of the above the next time he tries that stunt again.
Ditto if an opposing player deliberately sprays ice shavings in your goalie's face.
The forward racing to beat a potential icing call (in leagues with touch-up icing) must reach for the puck, not the defenseman he's chasing.
If a goalie breaks his stick, a defenseman gives him his. If a defenseman breaks his stick, a forward gives him his. (If a forward breaks his stick, he high-tails it to the bench.)
Do not hit players below the waist.
Do not fake injuries.
Do not dive.
Do not hit Mario Lemieux unless your name is Darius Kasparaitis.
Do not hit Mark Messier, especially if your name is Martin Strbak.
If you fall or get pushed into the other team's goal area, do not linger there unnecessarily unless your name is Ville Nieminen.
Goalies: do not attempt to shoot the puck at an empty net at the other end unless your team is up by at least two goals.
Do not stare at one of your teammates or repeatedly shake your head after giving up a goal, trying to convince everyone in the building it wasn't your fault.
Scorers: never point to yourself after scoring a goal, even in cases where the referee may not have seen you touch the puck. People may be led to believe you're a selfish player even if it's not true – right, Gilbert Dionne?
Do not do your top-shelf, backyard-boogie goal celebration during a rout.
If a teammate has two goals and you're skating with him alone on an empty net, give him the puck, as Darryl Sittler did for Lanny McDonald 25 years ago. It's the kind of thing that will earn you lifelong admiration from teammates, foes and star-struck 10-year-olds.
Captains: for ceremonial faceoffs, home team wins the draw.
Coaches: if a player has two goals in a game, give him every chance to get the hat trick with ample ice time late in the third period if the game is out of reach – except if that player is ordinarily a big goal-scorer.
Do not put out your No. 1 power play unit late in a game that your team is winning by two goals or more.
Do not put out your enforcers in the same situation.
Don't get into yapping contests with players on the other team.
Scouts: stay until the end of the game only if it's a close contest, so you can see who comes up big in crunch time. Otherwise, beat the traffic. As Toronto scout George Armstrong jokes to friends, "I'm only half-time, so I only have to watch half the game."
Organists: do not play Three Blind Mice.
Media types: do not cheer in the press box.
>>>>The Fighter's Code<<<<
Tough guys must never challenge non-tough guys to fights.
Non-superstar, non-tough guys should keep their mouths shut and sticks down if they expect fighters to respect the above.
Would-be tough guys should not wear visors.
Do not make a challenge at the end of an opponent's shift, unless you are also at the end of your shift. If an opponent tells you he will go on the next shift, respect it.
If an opposing tough guy says he has a sore hand or sore shoulder and can't go on a particular night, respect it.
If you beat a guy up, don't show him up.
If a foe wants a rematch (with plenty of time left in the game) and obliging him won't hurt your own team's momentum, oblige him.
Never hit a guy when he's down.
No pulling hair, biting or spitting.
No sucker punching.
Never jump an opponent.
Don't try to act your toughest when the linesmen are between you and an opponent.
At the right time and place, veteran tough guys must give up-and-comers a chance to fight them. It's the only way the kid can establish himself.
Young tough guys, respect your elders.
>>>>After the Game<<<<
Do not make a beeline for the stats sheet. Your teammates will notice. They will also notice if you never look at all and they'll think better of you for it.
The team captain has the authority (and would be well-advised) to ban the stats sheet from the dressing room altogether.
No music after a loss.
No disclosing injuries, especially in the playoffs.
If you lose, do either one of two things depending on the team you play for: either stay in your stall until the media comes in and answer questions like a man, or run to the showers and hide for as long as you can. It won't take long to figure out which kind of team you play for.
>>>>On the Road<<<<
What happens on the road stays on the road.
Goalies get their own rooms.
Coaches sit in the front of the bus, followed by rookies. Veterans sit at the back.
In the minors, rookies clean the bus. "If some guys don't like some young guys," says John Slaney, a veteran blueliner for the American League's Philadelphia Phantoms, "you can make the bus pretty dirty."
Rookies not cleaning the bus unload the equipment bags.
For the sake of the veterans sitting nearby, no "leaving a deuce" on the bus.
Rookies sit in middle seats during flights.
At the hotel, older roomie gets the clicker.
GMs and coaches: if you need to unwind after a game, use your judgment and stay out of a bar where players are likely to be. If you see them, take the high road and leave. "If I'm going out one night on the road and I see some players in there," says one executive, "I'm not going to stay just to bust their balls."
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Ex-Penguins goaltender Nick Ricci couldn't walk past a trash can before going onto the ice. His reasoning? "If you walk by trash, you'll play like garbage."
When Ricci first was recalled from the minors in 1979, he asked equipment man John Doolan to move all the trash cans. After a while, it became clear that all the superstition in the world wasn't going to help Ricci.
"He wasn't doing anything," Doolan recalled, "so I finally said, 'Hey, enough of this,' and moved the trash cans back to where they were."
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>>>>Around the Rink<<<<
If you're on a winning streak, do not change your t-shirt, underwear, driving route to the rink, pre-game meal, etc.
Do not touch the Stanley Cup until you've won it.
Do not criticize opposing teams or key players through the media, especially during the playoffs; it will wind up on their bulletin board.
If a reporter carves a guy in the paper, the writer must show up in the dressing room the next day.
GMs: once you agree on a deal, don't renege.
If you're involved in trade talks and plan to move a significant player you're acquiring on to another team, tell the other GM. If you don't and the player winds up back in the original GM's division, you may have lost a future trading partner.
Scouts: do not anonymously rip the home team to the local press. If the home team finds out, you'll have a tough time getting back in the building.
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Former Tampa winger Ben Clymer spent his day with the Stanley Cup in August in his hometown of Bloomington, Minn. Unannounced, Clymer brought it onto the ice at his old high school arena, where Clymer's agent, Brian Lawton, was skating with a group of clients that included Mark Parrish of the New York Islanders and Jeff Halpern of the Washington Capitals. As some players milled around the Cup and posed for pictures, Parrish and Halpern skated to the far end of the rink to shoot pucks at an empty net as if they were the only people in the building.
"I don't want to be seen anywhere near that thing!" Halpern yelled at Clymer. He didn't turn around again until Clymer and the Cup were long gone.
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