Really, Ryan Kesler?
There is almost nothing that drives me crazier in the NHL than players who can’t take a hit. I mean a clean hit, not one that was dirty or over the edge. Last night, Ryan Kesler gave me yet another in a long line of reasons to hate the Vancouver Canucks.
Kesler was carrying the puck out of his zone along the boards, and he became the latest victim of Nicklas Kronwall‘s dangerous backside, as the Detroit Red Wings blueliner caught Kesler with his head down and crushed the American whiner with one of his patented “butt-checks”.
Kesler went nuts after the hit and went after Kronwall, and was assessed a roughing penalty for his actions.
After the game, Kesler spoke out saying “…and my only problem with the hit is he doesn’t stand up for himself afterwards. If you are going to hit guys like that you are going to have to drop the gloves.” (quote from NHL.com)
I call B.S. on Kesler. Why should Kronwall, or any other player for that matter, have to fight in order to be a hitter. It was a clean hit, you need to tip your cap and next time keep your head up. As the saying goes, make sure you know who you are on the ice with. Its not like it was Martin St. Louis or Erik Karlsson he was out there against, it was one of the most devastating hitters in the game today.
The only problem was, Vancouver scored a shorthanded goal 15 seconds after the incident, on an equally controvertial goal where Jimmy Howard was run over by Jannik Hansen before Alex Edler put it in the open net.
For Kesler to state that you have to drop the gloves after a clean hit is ridiculous and the whining act is reason #1,464 in the list of reasons to hate the Canucks that really only started to develop for me since the 2011 Stanely Cup Finals. If the hit had been at all dirty, then Kesler has a case.
Hey Kesler, just remember this incident next time Maixim Lapierre or Alex Burrows do something stupid that another team tries to hold them accountable for. Leave them defend themselves, after all they “should be standing up for themselves” The only difference is that when they do it, there is a greater than 50% chance what they did was dirty or over the line, and they deserve whatever pounding they get.
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