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| Sidney Crosby know how they feel about diving. (Getty Images) |
Have you had enough of watching hockey players tumble to the ice in theatrics that would make the Italian men's soccer team proud? Apparently so have the players.
Trying to reach a new Collective Bargaining Agreement hasn't been the only thing that the NHL and the players have been talking about this summer. Colin Campbell has also been dealing with the rules and how they are enforced. On Wednesday while the NHL and NHLPA were canceling their negotiation session for the CBA, Campbell was listening to some players who were adamant that they want to see diving out of the game.
The players in the session, including Ottawa Senators center Jason Spezza, Vancouver Canucks defenseman Kevin Bieksa and Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman John-Michael Liles, led an impassioned discussion on enforcing the diving/embellishment rule (Rule 64.1), Campbell told NHL.com. He said the players want to distribute a list of divers around the League so it can be posted in all 30 dressing rooms and be delivered to the on-ice officials.
"They want to get [the list] out there," Campbell said. "They want the player to be caught, whether it's on the ice by the referee or by us on video. They are all tired of diving. The object is to make them stop eventually and, by doing that, they can get it out there around the League, embarrass them. The referees will know it, too, so the divers don't get the benefit of the doubt."
We've been down this road before with the NHL trying to crack down on divers. It was like a summer fad, it lasted for a short while but eventually faded away and diving was more or less allowed once again. Well it was always against the rules, even subject to fines, but the refs stopped making the calls. It seemed the only time embellishment was whistled was when it was off-set by an actual penalty.
This, though, is a radical approach. Putting up a list like the FBI's Most Wanted in each dressing room across the league with the worst offenders? That's rich. It would have to be a point of absolute shame to look at the list pinned to the cork board and see your name, right?
Can't say it wouldn't be welcome however. Embellishment certainly has seemed to get worse over the recent years, anything to draw a penalty. I can't say I blame those who fall to the ice as often as a 6-year-old first-time skater, but it does start to look awful. Ask Americans who say they don't like soccer what the No. 1 reason as to why that is and they will likely give you one of two responses: Not enough scoring and/or too much diving. It's just off-putting, it feels dirty.
Whether they go through with putting up an embarrassing list in all the rooms or not, the message is at least being heard by the men that matter most in this situation: the referees. Some of them were on hand for the discussions too.
It is a tough spot for the refs, though, I'll admit. It seems pretty easy to spot a diver on a replay where you get multiple angles in slow motion focused on the specific play. But if you're a referee you have to watch a lot at once, especially in a case of something happening away from the puck, it's awfully tough to determine that a person is embellishing. Who are you as a referee to say "You're not really hurt!"
Something I did find ironic, though, is Kevin Bieksa's presence in the meeting and apparent support for the anti-diving measures. Right or wrong, he plays on a Canucks team that is accused of diving more than any team in the league. There might be a few names (ahem, Alex Burrows) from his team that would show up on that list. I'm sure Philadelphia (and the Rangers, as you can see above) would lobby hard for a certain Pittsburgh Penguins star to be on that list, too.
Embellishment wasn't all the players voiced a concern over on Wednesday. Obstruction/interference was another hot topic, specifically on forechecking forwards. Back to Rosen:
"What we had to hone in on was once that play is made, the dump-in is made, the attempts to slow down the forechecker," Campbell said. "If you have a step on me as a forward, that kind of bumping to slow you down -- they want no-touch, let him go. Once you're beat, you're beat. That's what they really wanted to hit. No holdups, no interference is what they were heavy on."
Another welcome site for sore eyes. The game has been slowed down by the fact that obstruction has seemed to be creeping back into the game. Scoring has been down for a multitude of reasons across the NHL, this is certainly one of the culprits.
We'll see how it all turns out when things are said and done, but this is off to a great start.
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