What Would Billy Smith Have Done?
If you want an indication of just how much hockey has been emasculated by earnest do-gooders, look no further than the Sean Avery incident.
Avery is the modern incarnation of Claude Lemieux, a pest who revels in being a dirty, underhanded, irritant. Which can be redeeming if it’s done well and with a certain code of conduct. But Avery has no concept of the code. The other night, he found another new low, by standing in front of New Jersey goalie Martin Brodeur during a Rangers power play and trying to distract him. Avery had his back to the play as he waved his stick in Brodeur’s face, waved his arms, and went way past the line in trying to screen Brodeur.
At one point, it appears Avery’s own team-mate tells him to cut it out, but he doesn’t. So now, the NHL is making a new penalty to prevent such nonsense.
I gotta tell you, there was a time when the league wouldn’t have had to act, because no self-respecting hockey player would have pulled such a stunt. But if he had, he would have quickly found himself getting the code of conduct explained to him ‘first hand’ so to speak.
In today’s NHL, clowns like Avery get away with such behaviour. Too bad Gordie Howe wasn’t on the ice. Or Wendel Clark.