Legal Cheating
Patrik Elias’s illegal stick last week got me thinking about rules and sports in general. I’m reading THE STORY OF MY LIFE, by legendary Detroit Tiger Hank Greenberg. One of the more surprising parts is that Greenberg and his various teams routinely stole signs from the opposing teams so the batters would know what pitches to expect. It’s against the rules, but rarely (if ever) enforced.
It’s the same thing with the NHL and sticks. Players routinely use bigger sticks and sticks with too big a curve, but it’s rarely called. Jaromir Jagr, who’s a bit notorious for using illegal sticks, was even caught with an illegal stick at the start of the season and before that last season, both times by the Predators.
Back in May, the Hurricanes accused Montreal goalie Jose Theodore of wearing an illegal jersey. They joked it was too big. But it seems like they were only kind of joking, though.
And then there’s former Red Wing goaltender Dom Hasek, who pulled the old switcheroo on the Avalanche in May. He allegedly gave Colorado coach Bob Harley one of his sticks for his son, which Colorado measured and found to be illegal. Game six of the Western semis, Colorado is down by two in the second, and Colorado decides to go for it and challenge Hasek’s stick. And it’s fine. They don’t give Stanley Cups to just anybody.
I guess the NHL will attack illegal sticks once they get a handle on holding. Baby steps.
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