Welcome to the first ever post of the Hockey Education Committee, hosted graciously by the PUCK BUNNIES!
The intentions of my soon-to-become incessant posts are to educate those on facets of hockey. Whether it's the game, the league, or the finer details, I hope to enlighten my readers (and myself as well) on the greatest game on ice. If this can consider one more person to start watching hockey, then I'll consider it a success.
Now, on to the mailbag:
What was the Original Six?
-Unsure in Iowa City
Before any of you PUCKHEADS begin to giggle, you should realize that this is something very few non-hockey fans have the slightest clue about.
The Original Six is the name given for the six teams that comprised the entire NHL between 1942 and 1967: Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs, Detroit Red Wings, Boston Bruins, New York Rangers, and Chicago Blackhawks.
The Original Six period was formed when the New York Americans suspended operations, and ended in the NHL's great expansion of 1967, when six new teams entered the league.
Of these teams, the Montreal Canadiens were by far the most successful. During the 25-year period, they won 10 Stanley Cups. They also didn't miss the playoffs once between 1949 and 1967, an impressive streak. Chicago was easily the least successful, only winning one Cup and never finishing first in the league.
The Original Six is often hailed as having the "truest" form of hockey in NHL history. The fact that there were so few roster spots available around the league ensured that every game would be akin to an All-Star game in terms of talent level. The game also had more rough play in the Original Six era.
All in all, it was a very significant period in league history. Hockey legends such as Gordie Howe, Maurice Richard, Doug Harvey, Red Kelly, Bobby Hull, Terry Sawchuk, Ted Lindsay, and many more made their mark in the Original Six.
Now, moving on to something more modern...
Who would you say is the best team in the NHL right now? Why?
-Not-So-Diehard Hockey Fan, Germantown, WI
This was an incredibly painful question for me to answer. As you can probably tell, I am a huge Detroit Red Wings fan. Plus, they have an incredible team, and I still consider them my favourite to win the Stanley Cup. Sometimes, though, you just have to face the facts. And the facts are saying that the best team in the NHL right now is the San Jose Sharks.
They have managed to build an incredible team with a great blend of promising upstarts, savvy veterans, and superstars in their prime (Joe Thornton and Dan Boyle). Youngsters Devin Setoguchi and Ryane Clowe are playing great so far this year, and Patrick Marleau and Marc-Edouard Vlasic are bouncing back after less-than-stellar seasons. Everyone seems to be working hard, and really buying in to head coach Todd McLellan's system. Don't forget about their annual Vezina candidate goaltender in Evgeni Nabokov.
Then, there's the fact that all their potential is translating to results on the ice. So far this season, they are 23-3-2, which is absolutely sensational. That's good enough for first in the league.
I don't think they'll end up with the Cup, though. Why? Maybe somebody should ask me that one in a later mailbag.
Who has the most penalty minutes in a single game? How about a single season?
-The Captain, Saint Leo, FL
Randy Holt, formerly of the Los Angeles Kings, holds the record for most penalty minutes in one game. On March 11, 1979 against the Philadelphia Flyers, Holt accumulated an astounding 67 penalty minutes, for one minor penalty, three major penalties, two ten-minute misconducts, and three game misconducts. The guilty act? After picking up a minor penalty, he fought an enforcer, then instigated a bench-clearing brawl. The oddest part about this achievement, though, is that all 67 of his minutes were assessed in the first period.
As for the full season, that honour goes to Dave "The Hammer" Schultz, the chief enforcer for the Philadelphia Flyers during their Broad Street Bullies era of the 1970's. His record of 472 minutes in the 1974-75 season is 63 minutes ahead of the next-closest competitor, Paul Baxter of the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1981-82.
That leads me to my final question, one that I needed to ponder for a while to find the right words...
Why are penalty minutes often considered positive, by announcers, Throwdowners, and on fantasy hockey sites?
-The Animal, Telford, PA
The simplest answer is that penalty minutes are the only readily available measure of a player's toughness. You can't find hitting and blocked shot stats without going on a wild goose chase, so we're stuck with penalty minutes as a measure.
Logic dictates that the more an individual hits others, the more penalties he will get. You also get penalty minutes for very good things, such as getting in a fight or preventing a goal. The intrusive one would say, though, "Shouldn't not doing your job well enough not be a cause celebre?"
The fact of the matter is that you won't get penalty minutes if you aren't hustling. The fact that you're racking up the penalties means that you are hustling, playing with guts, and tackling every situation. It shows, basically, that you aren't shying away from the action. THAT can never be a bad thing, and that's why penalty minutes are often glorified.
Feel free to FM me your questions for the next mailbag! For those of you whose questions I have yet to answer, don't worry about it. They'll appear here in no time.
Thanks for reading! I hope you continue following this series.
Tori Praver
Daniella Sarahyba.jpg)
Best NFL Single-Season Streaks
Tweets of the Week
Comments (39) Add A Comment
Nice start, Redwing.
A comment on penalty minutes - it is not a universal measure of quality. Each team will usually have one or two stars considered 'untouchable.' These tend to keep their aggressiveness confined to putting the puck in the net. If an opponent tries to get too rough with them, that opponent is subject to retribution from a 'headhunter' or 'enforcer.'
So penalty minutes is sometimes a measure of the team discipline necessary by some players which allows other team members the opportunity to score and defend.
Appleseed
Detroit, MI
Total Comments (945)
Great job, Redwing.
I learned a lot by reading this.
Dyhard - Thank You!
Germantown, WI
Total Comments (77141)
I agree, penalty minutes are hardly a universal measure. For players like Sean Avery, they only speak of his idiocy and his lack of discipline. However, they're the best tool available to define what can't be quantified, such as grit and toughness.
Some players are incredible defensively despite a lack of penalty minutes. See: Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg.
Great point about the aggressive stars, as well. I think you need to make some sort of distinction between aggression and effort, though. Most of the "untouchables" fall into the latter category.
Redwing19: retired
Halifax, NS
Total Comments (35151)
This blog will soon be a public service. I can predict THAT after reading this.
I can't wait to hear you tell about how (and WHY) goalies' masks came about. There IS a how and why, BTW.
DC Sports Nut: Nats,…
Total Comments (2558)
Well, if you FM me a question about it, I might answer that ;)
Redwing19: retired
Halifax, NS
Total Comments (35151)
Great idea RW. I almost feel like there should be some kind of Bill James formula that figures out the true worth of a penalty minute. (Yoda the stat guru...hint..hint) Math is like the ebola virus to me, so I'm out. When a guy like Avery goads a guy like Iginla or Phaneuf into a matching minor that is huge or better yet the refs didn't see and send Iggy tp th sin bin, Stars go on the man advantage and score. If Lucic drops'em with Laraque, more then likely regardless of the outcome of the fight, the Habs win.
Again, great idea RW.
Mac Brody-Out for a…
Sj, CA
Total Comments (10376)
An interesting sidebar to the Randy Holt single game penalty record is that in the same game
Frank Bathe had 55 minutes & holds the record for 2nd most minutes in one game.
I felt since you are talking penalty minutes that you also could have mentioned Dave 'Tiger' Williams being the highest in career minutes with 3966 & think you deserve a double minor for not doing so.
Who is this 'Know-It-All', Dagobah fellow anyways?
You gotta be as 'green' as they come asking questions like that! Talk about being a complete and utter alien to a sport!
The poor guy's probably a Sens fan or something which would explain it.
Go figure...
Baun-ded=PUCKHEAD
Total Comments (5387)
Don't blame me, blame the questioner. I'm not too sure about the double-minor, though... did I draw blood when you bashed your head against the monitor?
Redwing19: retired
Halifax, NS
Total Comments (35151)
What is a Hat Trick? (Don't make fun of me).
Southern Discomfort
Charlotte, NC
Total Comments (4867)
When a player scores 3 goals in a single game.
Redwing19: retired
Halifax, NS
Total Comments (35151)
I will offer up the hypothesis that something got lost in translation in the editing room. I would even go so far as to suggest that it may have been Pitt Panther who originally put forth this very good question.
As to anyone's involvement from Dagobah, I will try to answer that question after I finish prying myself out from under this bus. You'd think if I could lift up an X-Wing, I should be able to...
YODA
Total Comments (16863)
Duly noted.
Redwing19: retired
Halifax, NS
Total Comments (35151)
Great page, love it already. It's great to see some knowlegeable answering questions on here.....it will cut down on some of the ignorant belligerence on FN.
Johnny B.Goode
Blue Point, NY
Total Comments (8387)
What's a puck?
LGP: Stanley Cup…
Six Burgh, PA
Total Comments (9095)
Seriously, good stuff RW. 90% of the time when someone says they don't like hockey it's b/c they say they don't understand it or can't follow it.
LGP: Stanley Cup…
Six Burgh, PA
Total Comments (9095)
And a Gordie Howe hat trick is when a player scores a goal, records an assist, and has a fight in the same game.
A Sean Avery hat trick is when a player make a snarky, disgusting comment to reporters before a game, gets a 6 game suspension, and then designs women's clothes for 2 weeks.
Johnny B.Goode
Blue Point, NY
Total Comments (8387)
Not bad from a guy from Ottawa!
:P
FoosBall
Total Comments (3489)
It may be the sinuses talking, but I'm starting to get into the NHL a bit. It's not one-sided like the NBA.
catch is, we have to pay $15 a month to watch it here.
eylesy
Total Comments (141)
RW Amazing job. However one of my questions was used?!?! How dare you I gave you ten! I am insulted.
Joking fantastic job I actually learned alot of this.
The True Joker
Total Comments (11596)
Actually, I combined two of them into one. :) So eight to go.
Redwing19: retired
Halifax, NS
Total Comments (35151)
Comment
Remember to keep your posts clean. Profanity will get filtered, and offensive comments will be removed.