Time for the NHL to Embarass the Divers

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s/t Pro hockey talk... I really like the idea of exposing and publically humiliating the divers in the NHL. I am all in on that idea. In fact, let's have a wall of shame and expose the frauds weekly that cheapen the game of hockey.


I have a great idea. Let's have an end of the season dishonor award for the frauds that get caught diving and embellishing the most. I would suppose the players union won't let this happen, but if you don't want to get called out and publically humiliated, stop flopping and diving all over the ice. It's really that simple.

Dan Rosen - NHL.com -- The players in the session, including Ottawa Senators center Jason Spezza, Vancouver Canucks defenseman Kevin Bieksa and Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman John-Michael Liles, led an impassioned discussion on enforcing the diving/embellishment rule (Rule 64.1), [Colin] Campbell told NHL.com. He said the players want to distribute a list of divers around the League so it can be posted in all 30 dressing rooms and be delivered to the on-ice officials.

“They want to get [the list] out there,” Campbell said. “They want the player to be caught, whether it’s on the ice by the referee or by us on video. They are all tired of diving. The object is to make them stop eventually and, by doing that, they can get it out there around the League, embarrass them. The referees will know it, too, so the divers don’t get the benefit of the doubt.”

According to Elliott Freedman of SportsNet.ca the NHL seems to be moving away from exposing the divers and frauds. Again, diving to draw a penalty is cheating and poor sportsmanship.

The first example the NHL showed in its diving video was Tomas Plekanec’s head-snap in the Eastern Conference Final. The league wasn’t so sure about publicly naming those warned or fined, but the players pressed for it. Montreal’s centre is going to be closely watched at the start of the season

Related articles

• Enforcing the NHL's New Diving Rule

Did they not see the game? Canucks and their adoring media practice revisionist history…

The most unlikable team is back in the news again whining about the Chicago Blackhawks; their fans can't figure out why we can’t stand their whinny team. There is just so much ammo and so little time. I will make an attempt...

Ed Willes, The Province --- The play in question occurred 13½ minutes into the first period in an affair that had already taken on an edge. Jannik Hansen scored on the game’s first shift. Daniel finished a hit on Keith that was high. Just prior to Keith’s retaliation, Alex Edler flattened Hawks forward Andrew Shaw.

An aerial pass was then sent over Daniel’s head and as he moved to chase the puck, Keith delivered an elbow to the point of his chin. Sedin went down, didn’t appear to lose consciousness, tried to play a shift on the ensuing power play, then called it a night.

Those, at least, are the facts of the case, your honour, and they will be reviewed in great detail in forthcoming days. But, for once, the Canucks didn’t wait for the officiating crew and/or Brendan Shanahan to mete out justice. For once, the Canucks took matters into their own hands.

Frist off, I am not condoning either hit; they’re both equally bad in my opinion. Both are dirty hits and need to be removed from the game of hockey. My solution is, don’t hit someone with a dirty hit and then scream and bawl when you’re taken out by the same player you hit with a dirty hit.

First during last night game, if we need to review at all, there were "two" questionable hits. The only one that seems to be getting any play is the Keith hit on Sedin.

First it’s Daniel Sedin that hit Duncan Keith with a high dirty hit in the head. That is unacceptable as well. Keith not to be outdone returned the favor with a very questionable dirty high hit in the head to Daniel Sedin. For me, all you have to do is watch Alex Burroughs knee Duncan Keith in the groin that should be worthy of a game suspension as well…

Now we have media, fans the hockey pundits eviscerating Duncan Keith will giving the Daniel Sedin a free pass. They shouldn’t. That being said, you can’t have it both ways Canucks apologists. If a player hits someone with a dirty, high hit and then is a victim of the same hit later, that player doesn’t hold a moral high ground. I believe that both players are equally culpable in this situation and they should both be fined the NHL max and given a reprimand from the NHL.