Bleacher Report - Articles by Ian Verhey

A Lesson In Science For The NHL: If The Glove Is In, The Puck Is Too

Ian Verhey — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 15:02:20 -0500

I was watching a recent hockey game between the Detroit Red Wings and the Nashville Predators when I saw something that kills me every time it happens.

A player shot the puck and the goalie caught the puck in his glove, but he caught it when his glove was in the net. The ref immediately waved no goal, which was a good call, but when it was reviewed, the call was not overturned. This was wrong.

Supposedly, there was no conclusive evidence to say that the puck was in the net.

I don't give a damn if you can't see the actual puck itself. If the back of the glove is in the net, it is a goal.

A glove is contoured to direct the object to the furthest point back, and in the process allow it to slow down over a greater distance and amount of time than if it were to hit something, like a board. There is no magic force field at the front of the glove keeping the puck at the front of the glove.

Everyone knows this.

It would make sense, then, that when you can see the back of a glove in the net, as well as seeing where the puck is going and where the glove moves when the puck goes in it (just as conclusively as in this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U50E9rpNecU), this would be a goal.

I've seen this several times over the course of the past few years, and every time it drives me crazy. Just because you don't see the puck itself does not mean you don't know where it is. Bring me to Toronto, pull up all the videos of glove "saves" like this one, and I will show you, without a doubt, where the puck is. I can scientifically prove it too, if you'd like.

In this situation, the game wasn't on the line, so it wasn't that big of a deal. This rule needs to change before a game is on the line. I'm sure the NHL doesn't want a fiasco worse than the crease debacle in the 1999 Finals.

You've got video replay with the intention of sorting these things out. The problem is, there's no point in having video replay if you don't have a damn clue what you're doing.

Memo to the Red Wings: Just Let the Trade Deadline Pass

Ian Verhey — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 10:27:25 -0500

This is a critical time of year for every team still in contention for Lord Stanley's Cup. It is time to decide if your team needs to be tweaked in order to win the championship or if your team can win the Cup without making any changes. That time is the trade deadline, which falls on March 4 this year.

Many teams are probably already on the phone, looking to make that perfect deal to bolster their roster for a deep playoff run. Other teams may be waiting for a call, waiting to see if a deal they cannot resist pops up. Either way, every team, player, and fan is excited to see how their team will prepare for the playoffs.

There is one man that is in the spotlight above many others right now, and that is Ken Holland, the GM of the reigning Stanley Cup champion Red Wings. He has made some big deadline deals in the past, and with the Red Wings being a major competitor for the past 15 years, everyone wants to know what move he is going to make this year.

Will he pick up a veteran to help out during the playoffs? Will he acquire another Hall of Famer, like the never-aging Chris Chelios?

Mr. Holland's best choice for this year is to make no move at all.

Detroit has far too much talent, especially in young stars, to make a deal for the short term. Those young stars, like Darren Helm and Ville Leino, are going to be far too valuable in the future to trade away now.

The Wings already have Datsyuk, Zetterberg, and Hossa, three of the best forwards in the league. They also have Nick Lidstrom, the best defenseman in the world. Though Osgood has sputtered of late, Conklin has come on in dominating fashion.

Besides these players, the Red Wings have many other fantastic players that will make a difference in the playoffs, such as Dan Cleary, Tomas Holmstrom, Johan Franzen, Valterri Filppula, Jiri Hudler, Brian Rafalski, and Brad Stuart.

There is not a single team in the league that can match Detroit's depth, young stars, and veteran leadership.

Many teams would love to have any of these players, which is why Ken Holland's best move is to make no move.

This year's Detroit Red Wings team is a powerhouse waiting to explode in the playoffs. The Wings won it last year, and this year's team is even better.

This team does not need to focus on the trade deadline. They need to focus on staying healthy. If they stay healthy, they have a better chance than anyone else at taking the Cup home again.

Tootoo Intentionally Steps on Draper, and I'm Not Suprised

Ian Verhey — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 08:20:11 -0400

While watching game four of the Nashville Predators-Detroit Redwings series Wednesday night, there was a moment where I sat in awe at what had just happened.

I could not believe what I had just seen, and I could not believe that there was no call on the play.

That moment was when Jordin Tootoo intentionally stepped on Kris Draper's back while Draper lay on the ice.

Tootoo had just gotten hit, and as usual he let his temper get the best of him. He saw the puck on the other side of Draper, and, unlike most players, Tootoo chose not to go around or over Draper, but to step right on his back to get to the puck.

I was amazed at what had happened, but the announcers did not say anything, and the referees did not make any call. Draper did not even seem phased by it. I didn't think you could intentionally step on someone, but nobody said anything about it.

At least not until Draper saw a tape of what happened.

After the game, Draper came out and said Tootoo intentionally stepped on his back. He didn't realize on the ice what had happened, but after the game it was brought to his attention. I found this article about what Draper had to say.

In the article, Tootoo said he would never do something like that because he is a "stand-up guy."

I say bullshit.

Tootoo is anything but a "stand-up guy" on the ice. He is constantly taking runs at people, checking illegally, and he even finds time for a sucker punch now and again.

It did not surprise me at all to see Tootoo intentionally step on someone, but it did surprise me that nothing was done about it.

Earlier this year Chris Pronger got an eight-game suspension for intentionally stepping on someone, but I guess the same rules don't apply to Jordin Tootoo.

Since the NHL is obviously going to let this crap slide, it's time for McCarty to step up and end the bullshit.

Now that this incident with Draper has been called out, Tootoo will have to try even harder than before to stay away from Darren McCarty. We all remember what happened last time someone took a cheap shot at Kris Draper.

Tootoo has been trying hard in this series to stay away from McCarty, running to the bench whenever both are on the ice together. I'm really hoping Tootoo finally stops running to receive the beating that he is due.

A lot of people claim that Jordin Tootoo is the kind of player that you only like when he's on your team. I can confidently say that I would still hate him if he played for my team.

I like players who play hockey without intentionally trying to injure other players.

NHL's Top 5 Cheap Shot Artists

Ian Verhey — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 09:02:30 -0400

Now that we are into the second season, where the stakes are raised, playing the game brings out the best in some players and the worst in others.

Those others are the NHL's cheap shot artists, the players who snap in a stressful situation, taking out their anger on another player, sometimes with the intent to injure.

This list features the best (or worst) of those players who are currently in the NHL. Each player's name provides a link to a Youtube video showing them in action.

1. Chris Simon, Minnesota Wild

Simon is an obvious choice for number one, given his unprecedented amount of time spent away from the game due to suspensions.

He has several well-known cheap shots, the most famous of which is the two-handed slash to Ryan Hollweg's face. Simon got hit pretty hard right before that but the hit in no way warranted a slash to the face.

With his history of cheap shots, its amazing Simon is still allowed to play the game.

2. Todd Bertuzzi, Anaheim Ducks

It only takes the mention of one name to know why Bertuzzi belongs on this list.

Steve Moore.

Bertuzzi's sucker punch from behind ruined Steve Moore's career in the NHL, landing him a suspension of record length at the time.

Besides that punch, Bertuzzi is an enforcer who isn't afraid of dishing out dirty hits.

3. Chris Pronger, Anaheim Ducks

Based on length of suspensions, Pronger looks like an amateur when compared to Simon. His number of suspensions, though, gives him the number three spot on this list.

Over the last two years, Pronger has had several small suspensions for dirty hits he has given out, most notably are the elbows he put to the heads of Tomas Holmstrom and Dean McAmmond during last year’s playoff run.

This year he added an eight game suspension to his resume after stomping on Vancouver's Ryan Kessler. This kind of incident shows Pronger's lack of self control.

4. Jordin Tootoo, Nashville Predators

Though Tootoo is known across the league for his fighting and hitting abilities, he often takes things too far.

One instance of this was his sucker punch to the face of Stephane Robidas. Tootoo had just cleanly hit Madano, but when he turned around and saw Robidas coming to Madano's aid, he punched Robidas in the face with his glove on.

Though Robidas initiated the scuffle by going toward Tootoo, there is no reason for anyone to get punched in the face in that manner.

5. Jarkko Ruuto, Pittsburgh Penguins

Ruuto's dirty hits put him in the running for this list, but his run at Atlanta Thrasher star Ilya Kovalchuk away from the play secured his position.

The play had stopped, but Ruuto took a run at Kovalchuk leading with his knee. This knee-on-knee contact forced Kovalchuk out of the game.

Though this list features the best of the worst, there are plenty of other players in the league also deserving mention. I look forward to seeing your comments about these players, other players, and your opinions on my rankings.

Grand Rapids Griffins: Lower Prices to Make More Money

Ian Verhey — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 06:04:53 -0400

With only two games left and a secured spot on the local golf courses, it's time for the Griffins organization to start looking toward next season.

Once again, attendance this year was pretty disappointing, with just a couple of exceptions. The reason for low attendance in the past few years: high prices.

In the Griffins' first season, 39 of the 41 home games were sold out. Since then, ticket sales have declined while prices for tickets and concessions have gone up. These past few years, good attendance numbers on a weeknight mean there is a four-digit number for attendance.

This past season there were a few exceptions, though, when there were a good number of fans at the games. These exceptions were caused by three things: cheap tickets, cheap concessions, and Darren McCarty.

McCarty won't be coming back to play a full season in Grand Rapids, meaning that the organization needs to focus on those other two ways to increase ticket sales.

In March, Wednesday night tickets were sold for $10 lower bowl and $5 upper bowl. Attendance at these games was much higher than at any other weeknight games.

Another major draw was dollar dog and dollar beer night. For a couple of hours on select nights, beer and hot dogs were much cheaper than usual, and this was enough to persuade some people to come to the games.

The organization should learn that if they want more fans, they need to lower ticket and concession prices.

Currently, tickets are fairly high-priced and concessions prices are ridiculous. On a normal night, a beer costs around $6 and a hot dog around $4.

With these prices, it's amazing they sell anything.

I used to buy a medium pop and a cup of French fries with a $5 bill and get change back. Now I wait for a cheap ticket night and don't buy anything. I can't afford anything more than that.

I'm not saying I have the definite answer to this problem, but here are my suggestions.

First, ticket prices need to be lowered. $15 for the first three rows, $10 for the rest of the lower bowl, $5 for the upper bowl, and $2 for the top three rows all the way around the arena.

These tickets would be very affordable, driving more people to come to the games.

Second, lower concession prices. Just cut every price in half. I can guarantee that with more people coming to the arena (because of lower ticket prices) and lower concession prices, people will buy more food and drinks. This would more than make up for the lower prices.

It seems obvious that a mediocre team with high-priced tickets and concessions should lower prices for better results, but it hasn't happened yet. Hopefully for the sake of the fans and the team, some action is taken soon.

I bet that if nothing else, the players would appreciate having more fans in the seats.