Hartnell didn't mean it!

Just what the Flyers organization needed. Another questionable hit. Another suspension. Another media frenzy. The mullet wearing hockey heads of Hockey Night in Toronto are going to have a field day with this one.

With the fourth Flyer suspended for an "intention to injure" during a game, Philly is reliving the days of their infamous predecessors, the Broad Street Bullies, according to several sports writers.

In what seemed like a replay of the last Boston Bruins game, a Bruin player put themselves into a vulnerable position along the sideboards, tried to make a play and got just what he deserved, a bone crushing hit.

The hit will go on record as follows:
Scott Hartnell of the Flyers hit Bruins defenseman Andrew Alberts while in a vulnerable position. Hartnell's blow to the head was good for a two game suspension.

Hartnell did just what he was supposed to, forecheck and create turnovers . It just so happened that Andrew Alberts went for a bouncing puck by dropping to his knees, right along the boards..
What did you think was going to happen, Alberts?
Hartnell even tried to pull away, turning his skates and leaning away from the hit. But lets be rational here, it is a law of gravity! An object in motion will remain in motion, yadda yadda yadda. Hartnell is in mid hit, he does not have air breaks equipped in hit skates.

If "intent to injure" is the call, I could pick out a particular hit that I think could easily be worthy of a suspension. While Dennis Tolpecko pursued the puck through the neutral zone.. someone.. realizing they were beat on the play, threw out a hip, colliding with Tolpecko's knee and purposely knocking him off track. That particular kind of hit is a season or even career ending one, as a player cannot skate with a torn knee.

If your going to call it, protect the Flyers as well, please.

In the teams last meeting with the Bruins, defenseman Randy Jones put a hit on Patrice Bergeron that sent him out of the game with a concussion and a broken nose.

It is taught in the Minors and even the pee wee hockey leagues: Protect yourself with the puck. Quite simply, do not put yourself in a position where this type of injury can occur. Both Bruin players put themselves in harms way, Bergeron by facing the boards at such an angle behind the net and Alberts by going down to his knees along the boards to make a play. Come on, I don't care who you are.. that is asking to be crushed.

The Philadelphia Flyers of 2007-2008 are a far cry from what th e Broad Street Bullies were in the 70's. I have yet to see a bench clearing brawl or a a 2-on-1 fight. As a matter of fact, we don't really have any league renowned fighters on the team anymore. Just a bunch of guys that love to hit hard and do not know the meaning of giving up.

By the way, head coach John Stevens fully defends Hartnell's hit as nothing more than hard fought hockey and wants to see his team continue their hard hitting style of hockey.


I know as I am writing this, NHL analysts are talking about how bad of an image the Flyers give the rest of the league with their wreckless style of play and their lack of appreciation for human life. I say, if you want to keep playing in this league, be smart about how you play the puck. Oh, and don't enter the Wachovia Center expecting the Flyers to stop playing aggressively. That is about the equivalent of traveling back in time to ask Dave "The Hammer" Shultz to keep his gloves on.


I Leave you all, with a Don Cherry/Derian Hatcher quote.

“I think Don Cherry said it best a couple weeks ago, in that the player with the puck has just as much responsibility as the player coming to hit him. If you put yourself in situations where you can get hurt, you’re going to get hurt.”