Milan Lucic: Disrespecting History

One of the things I love most about the Stanley Cup playoffs is the time-honoured tradition of the post-series handshake line. There is no actual rule that states this must happen. But history demands it. It is a right of passage for Stanley Cup warriors. You pay your respects to your opponent at the conclusion of each battle.

Milan Lucic disrespected history on Wednesday night when he uttered death threats to Dale Weise and other unpleasantries to Alexei Emelin.

Now I know they just ended a bitter and emotional battle where tensions overheated regularly. And this is one of the greatest rivalries ever. It is tough to turn off the passion that was just employed over the course of more than a week. I also am happily surprised we have never really seen chaos erupt during the handshake. It is not an easy thing for the losing side.

But to other death threats and be a bully at that moment in time is not only classless but dishonours the great game of hockey. Do you really think Sugar Jim Henry is threatening to kill Rocket Richard in this most famous photograph:

No. They pay respect to each other. The pay respect to the game. But if there is one thing we have learned about Milan Lucic in recent months is that he does not respect the game. Boston's bully resorts to groin spearing, death glares and verbal threats only to hide behind the honourable giant Zdeno Chara.

Don't get me wrong - Milan Lucic can be a hell of a player when he's not 'roid raging. But he also has lost a lot of respect in the hockey world. He is best advised to change his ways soon because the hockey gods are taking note.

Players Police Themselves? NHL Can't Go Back, So They Better Step Up

 
The NHL's failure to suspend Milan Lucic for deliberately running down Buffalo Sabres goalie Ryan Miller has led to no shortage of cries for letting the players police themselves.

Here's what Hall of Famer Mark Howe had to say about it on the weekend:

"I like the game a little better in our era, mostly because the players policed the game. I think there's so much onus put on the officials right now ... I don't mind the fighting in the game, I know they're trying to take a lot of it out.

"The game in the old days got rid of the pretenders and the guys who do the whacking and the hacking, guys that are chirping back. That stuff got eliminated years ago. If somebody was taking a shot at your best player, somebody got rid of that right away.

"The reason I think there's a lot more injuries now? Guys are bigger, stronger, better fit overall. But you can just take runs at people left and right and they're coming at full speed. And in the old days, you eliminated that from the game."

This is what many opponents of the instigator rule have been saying for years. It's all about accountability. All players would be held accountable for their own actions on the ice by their peers.

But as the NHL has taken that out of the game more and more, we are seeing more pests, more injuries to star players and more frustrating discrepancies in justice from incident to incident. The NHL fails to set a standard. At least in the old days the standard was simple: Do something wrong, and you can expect to answer the bell.

In the same link as above CBC's eloquent Elliotte Friedman theorizes:

"What if the reason we're seeing so many dangerous on-ice plays is that we've forgotten how to deal with the bully in the schoolyard? You can run to the principal all you want. Eventually, you've got to stand up for yourself."

Of course, old school, vigilante justice can not always the answer either. Here's what that looks like when it goes to far:



Line brawls, jumping superstars and denting goalie masks with bare fists. As entertaining as that video clip might have been for us older fans, do we really want to see that come back on a regular basis?

Not doing anything is no good either. Montreal never challenged Zdeno Chara after the Pacioretty/stanchion incident. The Canucks may have lost the Stanley Cup in part because they did not get as dirty as the Bruins, and the referees did not properly reward them. And now Lucic gets away with running one of the top goalies in the league. Those teams left it up to the NHL to police it. They did not. And Jeremy Jacob's Boston Bruins keep taking advantage.

Somewhere there has to be a balance. The answer is the NHL has to eliminate pests. I've been on this tangent for a long while now. The league has gone after goons, which is fine, but they have continued to allow the pests to ruin the game. Eliminate the pests, and you eliminate a lot of the reasons for fighting in hockey to begin with. Then the stars can shine.

But the NHL instead has set the standard now where you can run and concuss other teams goaltenders and only get a two minute penalty. But if you dare do anything about it, like everyone is saying the Sabres should have done, it will be you who gets into real trouble.

Milan Lucic: Team Canada 2010?

This is Milan Lucic. As captain of Team Canada in 2007 he is hoisting the "Super Series" trophy after annihilating the Team Russia.

Lucic has been in the news a bit lately. First for doing what he is known best for - hitting hard. He put Mike Van Ryn through the glass. Then he did something he may also become known for - he scored a hat trick. For both of these reasons Lucic has become a fan favorite in Boston, similar in both style of play and level of adoration as Terry O'Reilly, and maybe one day Cam Neely.

Born in Vancouver to Serbian immigrants, Lucic starred with the WHL's Vancouver Giants, bringing the Memorial Cup to the BC's Lower Mainland before making it to the NHL. On Tuesday night he played his first game in his hometown.

You might hear Milan Lucic's name a lot more in the news in the months ahead. I think he's got a chance to vie for a spot for Team Canada at the 2010 Olympics.

With a good offensive season Lucic should play himself into consideration for the Canadian Olympic team. He is playing with Marc Savard on the top line at the moment, though he is only on the second unit PP. He has a devastating shot.

Lucic is an imposing and at times mean hitter, intense and hard driving, a perfect candidate for a true 4th line role should Canada adopt such a strategy. Perhaps a line with Mike Richards and Brendan Morrow could create energy and havoc.

Like Richards and Morrow currently are, I believe Lucic will become the complete package. He shows great poise with the puck, and has good speed, though he looks clumsy out of the blocks. Shane Doan will definitely be penciled in for this roster spot, but with some work on his skating, continued improvement on his defensive assignments, and a few more goals this season, I think we will definitely be debating whether Milan Lucic should be playing in his hometown for the 2010 Olympic Games.

It will be interesting to see Steve Yzerman's take on a player like Lucic. Previous manager Wayne Gretzky fully appreciates what a player like Lucic can do. Back in the Canada Cup tournaments of 1987 and 1991, Gretzky was surrounded by Lucic comparables like Rick Tocchet, Kevin Dineen and Brent Sutter. Losing his spot on the team to make room for such essential players was none other than Steve Yzerman.