Archives for November 2005
Enforcer Eligible For Workman’s Compensation – Who Ordered The Code Red?
“This court finds that fighting is an integral part of hockey.”
It’s nice to see a little legitimacy shine through for the enforcer role. During his time in Virginia, Ty Jones’ tenure as the Norfolk Admirals’ resident goon hit a few speedbumps. A former Panther and Blackhawk, Jones found himself out of work as a direct result of injuries sustained in a fracas he claims he was ordered to instigate. After his coach told him to "go get" an opposing player during a game in 2002, Jones found himself out of work with six screws in his shoulder.
The Admirals insisted that the fight "amounted to willful misconduct and that he was not entitled to workers’ compensation". So Jones was essentially left to twist in the wind for something he felt and was told was part of his job. It was looking pretty grim, until an appellate court ruled in favor of the enforcer…
"The Virginia Court of Appeals upheld a Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission finding that ‘fighting is an integral part of the game of hockey’ and that Ty A. Jones’ injury arose in the course of his employment as an ‘enforcer.’"
So the question now is – does that mean that Colonel Nathan Jessop would order a cross check?
All Hail Number 8! Neely gets Inducted
"Neely went through, not around." – Scott Burnside
It is time that we all pay our respects to one of the greatest hard-nosed hockey players EVAH! Watching Cam on the ice, and never knowing if he was going to score – or just beat the tar out of any tough guy going on the other team – was one of the things that made him great. He wore the Black and Gold with pride.
Some random statistics from BostonBruins.com:
- Was traded to Boston on his 21st birthday, June 6, 1986. I’ll bet that was a party.
- Became only the second Bruin in club history to record consecutive 50-goal seasons.
- A hit taken on his thigh in game six of the 1991 Prince of Wales Conference Championship series in Pittsburgh caused him to develop a condition known as myositis ossificans, where a portion of the muscle in his thigh turned to bone.
- Set a club record for playoff goals in a year with 16, second in the league in that category (1991).
- Scored 694 career points, ending with his retirement in 1996.
Please feel free to share your personal memories of Cam’s career. Jeepers – I’m talking like he’s dead or something. Tonight the Hall of Fame, and not the mortuary, gets a very worthy addition.
Welcome to the Show, Trevor. No – You are not Batman.
I just got back from today’s Monsters game. No fights, no emotion, no nothing. I had been eagerly awaiting 8 o’clock all day, as a GoonBlog favorite made his NHL debut tonight. Trevor Gillies is now officially in the show, but I’m not even sure he knows that right now. An auspicious debut to say the least.
Trevor Gilles (ANA) and Derek Boogaard (MIN) got into it right in front of the Ducks bench about halfway through the first period. The fight started OK for Trevor, as he handled himself nicely against the bigger Boogaard. The boys traded some hard rights and lefts. Then, Boogaard caught Trevor with a very hard right that bent him over. As he was coming back up, Boogie lowered the boom on Gillies sending him right to the ice. Trevor wound up on his back, and was clearly stunned. They took him right to the dressing room, and he has yet to return. I would say he probably has at the very least, a concussion. Oh, well. I guess you can’t win em all. In the business of enforcing, it is a win some lose some game. Right now, Gillies is 0-1. But he’ll be back for more.
CBC’s “The Instigator” Returns
Score another one for the good guy hockey fans. I mean, other than having the season back. A tiny grass roots effort, spearheaded by Puck Update and another affiliated blog, has finally succeeded in getting the hilarious Instigator cartoon strip re-instated on the CBC’s hockey website.
The power of the internet is truly staggering. If you’re not familiar with this gem, click through and familiarize yourselves. It looks like we’ll be able to enjoy it for a while yet. On a sorta related note, I washed Don Cherry’s windows once (I worked a summer during University on a window crew in and around Toronto). He wasn’t home at the time (neither was Blue). How’s that for a riveting anecdote?
Let’s Go to the Show! Janssen and Gillies Get The Call
Two of GB’s favorite slugging sons, Trevor Gillies and Cam Janssen, got the shoulder tap today and are headed to the NHL (Ducks and Devils respectively). We’ll bring you updates as they develop. In related news Malone just had a clear win against Leach. Easily 7 right hands to none. Now Orr and VanDenBussh are having a go. This post is writing itself. Tempers are flaring at the Garden.
Chris is actually at the game right now, so I’ll let him chime in and elaborate in the morning.
Mitch Love Should Have Fought Gillies
After a very long week of work, and partying, I’m back in the saddle. Yesterday I had a half day at work and took a tour of Fenway – and drank about 112 beers at lunch. After the tour was over I went up to Lowell for the Lockmonster game. The game was a pretty good tilt, with a fight between Mitch Love (LOW) and Geoff Peters (POR) in the third period. The fight was pretty good with lots of uppercuts and straight right hands from Love. He missed with a couple of huge bombs that, had they landed, would have really hurt Peters. But here’s the thing. He should have fought Trevor Gillies.
From the drop of the puck, Gillies was out there doing what he does. The first time Love turned him down, they were jawing at each other at a faceoff. It was in the neutral zone, and it would have been the perfect time and place to have a go. Love turned Gillies down at least three more times during the game. I can’t figure if it was because Love wanted no part of Gillies, or if Coach Rowe didn’t want him to fight Trevor or what, but it was kind of a let down man. It really bummed me out. Here’s hoping tonight they have a scrap when the two teams meet again tonight in Portland.
Black Eyed To The Future – Domi vs Grattan
The Ref has been putting off mentioning Domi’s Saturday night defeat at the fists of Brian McGratton for a reason. As we all know, denial is not just a river in Windsor. Is my man finally over the hill? Has Domi decided to take a back seat to Belak? Am I rattling off useless hypothetical questions like it’s my job in addition to referring to myself in the third-person like a pompous pad-sniffer?
The answers to all of these questions are open to interpretation (except maybe the last one), but GoonBlog feels that Saturday’s incident, and elements of Domi’s season thus far in general, are no reason to count him out just yet. You win some, and you lose some. And there’s no refuting Domi’s place in the hearts and minds of his fellow thumpers.
Tie’s introduction to the NHL was as an enforcer, but over time he evolved into an aware player who can rack up goals right alongside the KO’s.
"Tie Domi is kind of a role model for guys who play this role… He’s a huge part of the team. I respect a guy like Domi because he came into the league as a tough guy and has made himself into a player who contributes. That’s what we’re all trying to accomplish. You can’t just fight and expect to stay in the game." – Andrew Peters.
Kids who start playing the game at a young age, but outgrow their peers due to genetics and see their roles change, don’t always have to choose between aspiring to being either a goon or a Gretzky. And that fact is going to be increasingly more relevant in the perceived New NHL where the brutality is taking a backseat. Oh we still need the size and the strength, but you’ll have to be a well-rounded producer to boot. It’s simple evolution, like it or not. And the future holds a lot more guys like Tie.
And let’s remember – that was a pretty disrespectful taunt by the sinister Senator. To the entire Leaf team. I didn’t see anybody else get off the bench to answer the call.
Today’s Thought
"To act crazy is really not crazy."
Crazy people don’t think they are crazy. That honor is still reserved for Bettman on both counts.