Wed Dec 17, 2008 9:38 am EST
Pass or Fail: The shootout spin-o-rama move
Ross McKeon mentioned it -- OK, "dishonorable mentioned" it -- in last night's Three Stars, and here's the Jason Blake spin-o-rama shootout goal against New Jersey Devils goalie Scott Clemmensen in the Toronto Maple Leafs' 3-2 victory (for cell phone camera coverage, head here):
Blake obviously isn't the first player to go all Denis Savard in the skills competition, as we've seen Pierre Marc-Bouchard twirl for a goal against the San Jose Sharks and Ryan Shannon's infamous spin-o-bstruction on Nikolai Khabibulin. Each time this happens, it causes controversy and a trip to the NHL Rule Book; since shootout rules defer to penalty shot rules, the spin-o-rama is covered under Rule 25.2:
The spin-o-rama type move where the player completes a 360° turn as he approaches the goal, shall be permitted as this involves continuous motion.
Ross's contention, after viewing the goal, was that Blake's shot was illegal "if you go by the letter of the law." He wrote: "The puck must always be moving forward during a shootout attempt, and that move is impossible to pull off without stopping the puck's forward progress for even a split second."
Naturally, Leafs fans disagree, calling the goal "amazing" for a player who hasn't had a hell of a lot of "amazing" happen for him in Toronto. Puck Daddy reader Wayne checked in this morning with a preventive strike against Blake spin-o-rama criticism:
"Now, if you want to nit-pick the shoot-out, I'm sure on more than one occasion a player has pulled the puck back away from the goal while making a deke or pulled it back into a shooting position after carrying it in front while skating in ... but they've always let that go."
Did Blake have continuous motion? It all depends on what you mean by "motion," because his skates didn't -- but his body did. But his goal and others like it beg the question: If the shootout is a gimmick whose sole purpose is creating TV-friendly highlights and serving visceral cheese to the assembled masses -- along with artificially determining the winner of a hockey game -- why regulate and dampen creativity at all?
It's already a sideshow to the real game; why even pretend to treat it with similar reverence? So, with that, two Pass or Fails this morning:
1. Pass or Fail: Jason Blake's shootout spin-o-rama was, by the letter of the law, a legal move?
2. Pass or Fail: The NHL should change its shootout laws to allow more creativity from shooters and goalies, no matter if they violate the current penalty shot rules?
Puck Daddy
Greg Wyshynski
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118 Comments
1 - 24 of 118
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As long as the goalie isn't pushed or shoved intentionally to create the goal, I see no problem with this move or others of like nature.
Penalty Shot/Shootout rules: Fail
The rules should be changed. Like Wyshynski said, "artificially determining the winner of a hockey game" is what the Shootout pretty much is. Why not allow players to make ridiculous moves. Some of them are really eye-catching and will have people ooohing and aaahhhing like Bettman wants.
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go classic or it just could get retarded.
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2) Pass. The more creativity the better in shootouts. Adjust the rules and players (including goalies) will adapt.
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Fail as to more creativity, let's keep the Ovechkin baseball manuevers limited to a Skill competition and maintain some integrity into what is already a questionable ending.
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2. Fail. It's a hockey game (Bettman, I know you are now confused but I'm sure you can find the word "hockey" from your dictionary. It's somewhere between "Avery" and "sloppy seconds"), not a (add a word which Yahoo would censor) skill competition
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Shootouts suck. Worse way to end a hockey game.
Pass to the spinarama move.
I would rather see that then Roltson just taking a slapshot
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2) Pass - as long as there is going to be a shoot out, they should be entertaining.
I would differ on your assessment of Blake being amazing, considering what he has been through and is going through medically, that he can even play NHL hockey is amazing to me. I'm not a Leafs fan, but this guy is as tough as they come...
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2. Fail, because this will create a further travesty than it is. Are we going to have the 5 minute shoot-out attempt, where a player tries a dozen moves but never really shoots? Are we going to have wrap-around tries, rebound attempts, shots that go wide, but bounce in front of the net, etc.? Is a shootout try going to be stopped at the referee's discretion, creating a controversy no one wants to be a part of?
Keep the puck moving forward, keep the spin, dekes, etc. As soon as the puck crosses the goal line or is moving back towards center ice (except when it hits the post/crossbar or is not in control by the goalie, or a goal), then the shot is concluded.
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Fail on #2. Save the big time trickeration for the ASG. Spare the psyche of the poor goalies who have to put up with that nonsense.
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If the NHL wants to eliminate ties, get a bigger surface to open the game.
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2) Fail. What if the player just stops entirely, then does a bunch of fancy stick work while standing like 10 feet away? The goalie can't really come out in case the player just moves to the side and scores, and eventually that puck's going to fly out of the fancy stick work into the net. Needing "forward motion" also means that the shootout takes a little less time, which is always a good thing.
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Bettman would be thrilled if someone could do a slam dunk.
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I think the NHL would be well served to allow players to be as creative as they want and can during the shootouts.
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lets not focus on the puck, but the forward motion of the skater. The letter of the rule sucks in this case, and BIG surprise...the NHL got another one wrong. But who can expect them to fix something like this.
Also, this is a cheap/easy way to score in the shootout. It's like wrap-arounds or deke's in NHL '94 (super nintendo style). I expect most-to-all skilled players in the NHL to be able to do this, and i hope to god that it doesn't catch on and become more players' go-to move. especially not all the players under 5'10".
I agree with everyone who says FAIL!
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I say make the spin-o legal, and since the shootout isn't going away anytime soon, I say make everything fair game. If Robbie Schremp wants to do his lacrosse move in the shootout, then I'm all for it. If Sid wants to try that 360 move where he pulls the puck betwen the legs and shoots it (and yes, I know it was done years before in the OHL skills comp), then he should be allowed. I'm just saying make everything fair game.
1 - 24 of 118