csi: gio

here's a rant that's been a long while in the making.

exhibit A:


i'm sorry, i've watched this clip a lot of times just to be sure ---CERTAIN, infact-- that i'm not wrong when i say that what i see is giordano "taking a hit to make a play." i'm guessing he saw clutterbuck coming and knew that a hit was imminent; he certainly looked up in time to see #22 in xmas colours bearing down on him... he stumbled a half-foot (a mis-step which might have ended his season)... but i also see that the last thing he does before receiving this hit is tap the puck up-ice along the boards. make no mistake: gio got injured by trying to clear the zone. [he also stays with his man, probably in significant pain, in attempt to keep the puck out of the flames' net... but i digress...]

exhibit B:
"Gio, unfortunately, put himself into a position that was even more vulnerable than the one he was in a second before he got hit," explained Keenan. "He moved himself from a non-vulnerable position to a very vulnerable position -- he got popped pretty good." .... Said Keenan of Giordano's situation: "A) the player should know who's on the ice, and B) you should protect yourself. That's part of your responsibility as a professional athlete."
----from the calgary herald: feb 25/09

my theory: gio went from a non-playmaking (aka: "non-vulnerable) position to a playmaking (aka: "vulnerable") position. yes, this so-called "competitive hockey playing" made him vulnerable to a solid hitter like clutterbuck. and, yes, he got popped pretty good. but in order to have protected himself, he would have had to give up on clearing the zone. is this something that keenan wants to teach ? should every guy, doing his "duty" as a professional athlete, give up on the puck in order to stay healthy ???? if yes, then sarich should sure have caught an earful when breaking his foot blocking a puck....

exhibit C:
okay, i can't find a video of regehr's most recent knee injury but i think we've all seen the replay. what it looks like to me is a guy who's clearly angry (and maybe a little wobbly) due to the missed boarding call on his previous shift that made him bleed from the head. with no apparent regard for the puck or the play, our reggie goes hard into the boards on a missed hit. it's unclear if tweaks his knee on the collision with the boards or on his way to the ice but what's certain is that he did not return after that shift.

exhibit D:
keenan says regehr is "day-to-day" in his post-game presser... and nothing further.

so i'm not suggesting that gio is the same calibre defenseman as regehr or that he's paid his dues in the nhl. i'm also not suggesting that mike keenan, with his obvious penchant for veterans (worthy or not) doesn't have some kind of theory as to how to make the young guys learn what not to do on the ice. but berading a guy for doing his job and getting hurt in the process seems sortof.... well... insulting.

ulitmately what i'm saying is that what I'M seeing is an angry regehr headhunting in the 'tunnel of doom' vs. a conscientious gio trying to clear the puck. if keenan were to point the finger at any of his blueliners for being responsible for their own injury then, out of the above two examples, i'd be far more inclined to blame the veteran.

the good news is: gio's skating, apparently.
this makes me a very, very happy WI.

:)