From the league offices:
NEW YORK/TORONTO (April 14, 2008) — National Hockey League Senior Executive Vice President and Director of Hockey Operations Colin Campbell today issued the following advisory on the interpretation of Rule 75 - Unsportsmanlike Conduct: ”An unsportsmanlike conduct minor penalty (Rule 75) will be interpreted and applied, effective immediately, to a situation when an offensive player positions himself facing the opposition goaltender and engages in actions such as waving his arms or stick in front of the goaltender’s face, for the purpose of improperly interfering with and/or distracting the goaltender as opposed to positioning himself to try to make a play.”
The precipitating, offending behavior can be seen here:
23 Comments
link to video of Avery doing his thing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bb4WaZMVtyE
That’s just absurd what Avery did. That’s the extreme of what the Caps need to do on Tuesday.
I was laughing my ass off watching Avery do that. It was totally unsportsmanlike but a total riot nonetheless.
I think it’s rediculous to make it a rule. I guess that’s to balance out the defender not being able to cross-check the get the offending player out of the crease. (An old-school lumber swing by Brodeur would have done the trick.)
We’ll just call it the ‘”I’m Not Touching You!” clause’. (Oh how it reminded me of those cross-country car trips of my youth.)
I thought it was really funny. I’m surprised no one’s done it before.
So what does this say:
If Brodeur doesn’t like something, the NHL will make a rule against it. I guess Ovechkin and Avery actually do have something in common now.
Okay okay, it’s not REALLY Brodeur’s fault, but he always seems to be at the center of rules involving goaltenders.
Baseball has a term for that behavior = Bush League.
Spot-on, Jerry.
This comment on Kukla’s Korner gave me a laugh on an otherwise down day after a loss:
“Its behaviour expected of a Scarberian poseur that grew up too close to a Nuke plant and wants to be appear urbane by stealing Lisa Loebs glasses and black nail polish.”
(A little spelling and grammar challenged but funny.)
Anyway, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing last night. He’s a player only a Ranger fan could love.
Ironically, what he did, up until today was legal. But, if he continued to do it after the officials told him to move on, it would have led to a misconduct penalty. But I also think the on-ice officials were smart enough to overlook Brodeur’s cup check and face wash, knowing full well what Avery was doing was in spirit if not by definition unsportsmanlike conduct.
Avery rules. It’s a joy watching him play and agitate both players and fans.
Did Drury come across the crease and tell him to cut the [crap]? If he did, Avery wasn’t listening.
I loved it. I wish the Caps had a guy like Avery. Hes an a-hole, but he would be OUR a-hole.
The “I’m not touching you” clause - I love it - I didn’t think anyone else had to deal with that but me at the hands of my cousin!
Leave it to a guy like Avery to do something like that. I’ve yet to see that in my beer league. Dittos to Jerry.
And according to a SI NHL player poll, he’s the dirtiest player in the NHL. That’s a pretty funny move, and he got *deep* into Broduer’s head (which bothers me not one whit). Pity it’d only work once.
And as he scored on that PP, work it did. Gotta give him credit for thinking outside the box.
My favorite comment I have heard regarding that play was Rick DiPietro on Versus last night saying that 90% of the NHL watching that play was hoping that Avery took a puck to the head while he had his back to the play.
Not my favorite comment because someone said they wanted to see Avery hurt, but my favorite because it does show how Avery gets under everyone’s skin. From the looks of it, it did appear that Drury was not amused. Probably did not want to lose the 5 on 3.
Hey, how do we know Drury didn’t tell him to keep it up?
Maybe because Drury and the rest of his teammates were embarrassed that he was doing it. Maybe Avery should have just dropped his drawers and mooned Brodeur, it doesn’t say that’s against the rules, does it? I’m glad to see the NHL drop the common sense hammer so quickly, but also a bit sad, in that eventually Avery was going to be on the wrong end of a Dave Brown-Tomas Sandstrom exchange and I guarantee you the refs would have just skated away. What a tool.
Couldn’t agree more, JR. I liked your phrase “common sense hammer.” Spot on. I overheard Levy and Melrose on ESPN this morning noting that in the NFL, defensive backs are prohibited from waving their hands in the faces of opposing receivers. For good reason. Play the game the way it was meant to be played. Avery’s got some skill to his game — he needn’t make a mockery of the sport, and the moreso when more eyes are on it than at any other time.
Here’s all you need to know about Sean Avery.
When he was a veteran player with Owen Sound in the Ontario Hockey Legue, the rookies “hotboxed” him. Not ONE of his teammates came to his rescue.
He may be the most despised player in the NHL–by other players, including his teammates.
He’s a puke.
Everybody knows that he scored about 15 seconds after this clip, right? That’s the essence of Avery… total a-hole, but really good player.
pardon my ignorance… what is “hotboxed”?
I loved the video, am sharing it with fellow sports fans.
I particularly enjoyed it when Brodeur smacks him in the face early in the video. Huet needs to start doing that with the Flyers.
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