CALGARY COLUMNIST CHALLENGES PHANEUF
Tells the Hitman to stand up for once
9:00 am - Yesterday, I wrote a column for FanHouse suggesting Dion Phaneuf play in tonight’s game between the Islanders and Flames in Saskatoon. (He’s not, of course). Today, Calgary Herald columnist George Johnson – with about 30 years experience and credibility on me – takes the issue several steps further. It’s a must-read. Comments.
32 Responses to CALGARY COLUMNIST CHALLENGES PHANEUF
Tells the Hitman to stand up for once
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Isle in Dixie says:
Spot on.
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Thomas32 says:
Good article! At least one of their own realizes that he’s a coward!!!
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Should be an interesting game tonight!! Looks like Gordon has ALOT of toughness in the lineup tonight. Jackman , Reich , Haley , Martin , AND Recker!! WOW!! : )
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Blizzard says: Thanks for the link CB. Yes great read. Agree 100 percent. In this incidents aftermath I have come to realize a few things. Hockey and specifically The NY Islanders elicit a lot of emotion for me.
Not to mention KO is my favorite current player which stokes my fury even more. Even in light of this I try to look at this incident objectively. I ask myself how would I feel if an Islander had thrown that hit?
To be candid, I would have cheered it. Its part of hockey. Its a statement. Im not gonna lie. when Simon lumberjacked Hollwieg in the head I was like yeah, the dirty bastard deserved it…but afterword calling him out and dropping the gloves would have been a better response from Simon. The emotional nature of hockey for its fans is palpable.
However Phaneuf not standing up is gutless. I believe in Karma. He will get his beating sooner or later. And I will be cheering it.
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greg says:
Well put. The key thing is for the Islanders to make a physical statement tonight (and anytime this happens during the season – clean hit or not one of their best players was laid out by the opposition). The roster, as currently constructed, may prohibit a ‘physical response’. Nobody on the roster who makes an opponent think twice about running a player.
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UIF says:
I’m not sure why everyone is faulting Okposo for not “keeping his head up”…from the video I saw yesterday, it was pretty clear to me that he was off balance after being pushed from behind right toward the hit. In fact, I don’t even think it was a dirty hit, I just think “keep your head up” is an automatic response to a big hit in the hockey world that simply doesn’t apply here. Unless Okposo was able to defy physics and somehow stop his momentum after being shoved into Phaneuf, it really doesn’t matter where his head was. It was an unfortunate chain of events, but one I don’t think KO should be faulted for at all. Further, it seems every time one of our Isles are smoked, it’s the victim’s fault. KO “should have had his head up.” Last year on the Mottau hit, Frans “put himself in that position.” In both cases, I don’t think the reasoning is accurate.
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enforcer needed! says:
excellent article. Snow – get an enforcer we certaintly need it. Look at Burke and learn. A tougher team is a better team!
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Sec 215 says:
Good comment UIF, blaming KO for not keeping his head up is bull. He was checked from behind.
Classy act by the flames though-showing the video of the hit 5 times on their homepage (check it out). Talk about adding insult to injury!
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Vlad from Brooklyn says:
The article is pretty good, but I couldn’t care less about Phaneuf being a coward – he’ll get his panishment sooner or later. The main topic should be Kyle’s health and his ability to recover and play in NHL. I hope he will pass thru this without any health issues and still will be our #1 guy on the team. Get well soon Okie!
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Im tired of this being played as if Kyle was skating around the ice with his head down- because of that pesky fact that he wasnt! Aside from that this is a good article though- George Johnson seems cut from the same cloth as many of the more rational commenters here in NY regarding this incident.
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KO21 says:
I hope to God, this injury doesnt hinder Kyle…The Isles saying its a “minor” concussion, doesn’t sound right, because all brain injuries are serious…
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That pussy isn’t playing tonight. What a Coward. Brent turn in your Islander alumni card. I used to love you as a Player. You also have become a Pussy…. Duane is the only Islander Sutter now….
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New York Islander Fan Central says:
How can an article be excellent or spot on when Mr Johnson writes ” Okposo must know he shouldn’t have been ducking down, checking the ice for dimes or making sure his laces were properly tied between whistles near his own blueline ”
This misinformation after days of everyone seeing what happened is now spot-on journalism?
He was pushed, bumped, hit from behind or whatever but he was not ducking down on his own.
Poor journalism 101.
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Mario says:
Great article, but there is one problem. He never mentions that it was a dirty hit. Dion, your a PU**Y, and march cant come soon enough.
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Travelchic59 says:
Anyone who blames Kyle for his head being down is an a**. Have they not seen the video??? He was checked from behind and momentum caused his head to go down. He had no control of his head at that point and did not see Phaneuf.
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StevieL says:
Great writer who is spot on! Fun read! I don’t know that I have ever seen the word, “assiduously” in a sports column before! Running for the dictionary!!
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Joe in Massapequa says:
Great article and very fair. Dion, too you will be watching from afar while you see the bloodbath your team will be a part of tonight. They can thank you after the game from their ice baths you p*ssy! LETS GO ISLANDERS!! I don’t think I have ever been this pumped up for a preseason game. How about in March, we all head to Republic Airport and give him and the rest of the Flamers a very Long Island welcome when they get off the plane!
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rich says:
Open ice hits are a part of the game. I can accept them even against the Isles. The fact is you have to be aware coming across the neutral zone. HOWEVER…the fact that he was pushed from behind and made even more vulnerable is what bothers me. And anyone who says he didn’t leave his feet i feel really didn’t look at it. Physics tells me that Dion’s body would not have responded the way it did if he kept his skates on the ice!
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Sneekypete says:
That is a great article and spot on. The hit may or may not have been dirty. Could he or couldnt he slow up is another question.
The only thing I want is for a girl like Dion to take whats coming for his actions. -
I think I saw a yellow stripe down Phaneuf’s back. I never really knew he was such a wuss until that incident.
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thepolishprince says:
BRAVO! You want to play tough then follow through. I’ll use the same description for Phaneuf that Mad Mike used for Travis Green years ago “gutless puke”.
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i want pay back on this dude bad. the writer’s points were right on in this article…
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I love it when hometown writers get on their team’s stars. It’s objective. Johnson did screw up by painting Okposo as out there oblivious and picking daisies before he got planted, as you guys all pointed out. Overall, though, it was a very well thought out and constructed column.
Marty Biron made a good point when he said he thought he saw Phaneuf leave his skates. If true, and I can’t really tell from watching the video, that’s a major no-no.
None of this has been touched on yet so allow me to do it. I think this hit will galvanize the Islanders as a unit (Or, it better!). We all know they will be up against it every night on the ice from a talent standpoint, but if this team develops a tough-as-nails “brotherhood,” as we all hope, they will make us proud regardless of the lack of Ws as the season progresses.
I’m an advocate of old-time hockey. If I’m Gordon I supplement my lineup tonight with Ogie Oglethorpe, “Dr. Hook” Tim McCracken, Clarence “Screaming Buffalo” Swamptown and anyone else you can name and I take some scalps out there. You show Calgary and anyone else watching that if your “star” wants to hit and run, then someone else will pay for it.
Morency deserves a roster spot simply for doing what needed to be done.
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19 ISLE in NJ 22 says:
Without Dion in the lineup tonight for the Flames … it’s pointless to even take try and exact some sort of revenge… What? We’re going to have Martin or Morency take out one of their young upcoming players? That makes us look even worse … and plays right into Colon … uh I mean Colin Campbell’s hands.
I say kick their butts on the score board and during the regular season when Dion is playing … there will be plent of opportunity to lay some huge hits on his pansy arse.
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I agree… Dion Phaneuf is a yella back. A guy his size that plays hard has to back it up. I remember one of my first ever Islander hockey memories as a kid was watching Garry Howatt chase down Philly’s Schultz and pummelling the Hammer while taking a few haymakers of his own. That actually was one of the defining moments that reinforced my loyalties to the Isles. I bet ya Garry would of broke through the officials and served up Dion a 5-knuckle sandwich, while Dion cowered in the fetal position.
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Waiting On the Isles says:
is there anyway to catch tonights game? is it on the web?
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Islebethere4u says:
Thanks CB for the link and kudos to the Calgary reporter for calling out his own guy. He must know what others are only suspecting now. That Phanueuf is simply a dirty player. IF you watch all the utube Phaneuf hits there there is a disturbing trend that the NHL is turning a blind eye to. Nearly every time Pheneuf delivers a so-called big hit on “unsuspecting ” opposing forwards that results in an (lets call a spade a spade, a head area injury) upper body injury, he has not only all too often left his side of the ice to hit someone but has launched himself at his target nearly always finishing the hit in the air and falling to the ice out of control finishing with with an elbow or forearm. That to me is not a player under control. Big hits are part of the game, but injuring 2-3 players with concussions every year is another. (maybe more because we all know that many minor concussions go undiagnosed in sports) So its sad to see the NHL launch “concussion awareness” at this time. Ironic isn’t it.sorry for the rant cb.
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Oh and Okposo wasn’t skating with his head down, he was pushed from behind and thus was off balance just before the so-called big hit.Watch the replay if you don’t think so.
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Tony says:
Great hit.
I am an Isles fan, but I in now way see this as gutless at all. Are there any Islander Kaspar fans still around? Guess not. I had no idea so many Isles fans were so soft
Hockey is a tough game. Phanuef did not use his stick as a weapon, he did not go low and take out his knees, … in fact the issue was some guy spun Okposo as he got hit.
Sure, I’d like to see him fight, but why should he? He did nothing dirty or illegal. And if he breaks a hand, kind of hurts as he is a top D man in NHL.
I bet if that was Okposo throiwng that hit, 99% of Isles fans would be saying, “great hit”, just like we cheered Kasparitis
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#31, I don’t think you’ve read any of the threads here. No one said Phaneuf used his stick or hit low. The issue is and always will be with Phaneuf is that he is a head hunter. he seems always target players otherwise already engaged in a check and thus distracted, or makes those “big hits” along the boards where soemone always seems to be injured. Yes he is a gutless puke. He nearly always winds up finishing his so-called checks with his elbows and forearms and then winds up in the air and off his skates after these so-called hard hits (almost always to the head area). If that’s not launching yourself I don’t know what is. Please, watch Pheneuf’s hits on utube and see for yourself. I love the contact and collisions and hard hits as much as the next guy., but you don’t need to destroy your star players and jeopardize careers that often.
Read the column, Amen