Is diving tarnishing the game of hockey???

[MVP1]

Is diving tarnishing the game of hockey? More and more players seem to be embellishing hooks and pokes to get calls. Some of the players just dive when tapped from behind. Even star players like Crosby, Forsberg, Malkin, Ovechkin and a bunch of others are doing it. Kids use these guys as role models and monkey see, monkey do.

Here's a perfect example of what i'm talking about:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLx7NN3WFK0

Even games are being decided by dives. It's sometimes hard for the officials to tell a dive from an actual call. Is diving becoming rampant in hockey like it is in soccer? I've seen a bunch of dives in the playoffs this year. More then other years. Is there anyway to fix the diving problem in the NHL? The only thing I could think of is fining players obvious dives and suspending repeat offenders.

I can see it getting worst and worst in the future. Players at every level seem to be doing it more and more now.

[Rometiklan]

Is diving tarnishing the game of hockey? More and more players seem to be embellishing hooks and pokes to get calls. Some of the players just dive when tapped from behind. Even star players like Crosby, Forsberg, Malkin, Ovechkin and a bunch of others are doing it. Kids use these guys as role models and monkey see, monkey do.

Here's a perfect example of what i'm talking about:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLx7NN3WFK0

Even games are being decided by dives. It's sometimes hard for the officials to tell a dive from an actual call. Is diving becoming rampant in hockey like it is in soccer? I've seen a bunch of dives in the playoffs this year. More then other years. Is there anyway to fix the diving problem in the NHL? The only thing I could think of is fining players obvious dives and suspending repeat offenders.

I can see it getting worst and worst in the future. Players at every level seem to be doing it more and more now.

Yes, diving is tarnishing the game of hockey. In the perfect league, every player will play hard, and the need to dive wouldn't exist if players played with honour. But we live in a faulty world, and hockey is a faulty game, played by flawed players with officals making dozens of split-second decisions. Diving has always been a part of the game, but it is so prevalent these days that I'm not sure what can be done to get rid of it. If a player can see an opportunity to put his team on the powerplay by pretending to trip, he'll probably do it. The powerplay has become such a deciding factor in games that a properly timed dive can turn the tides of a game, and even a playoff series. Players don't even have to dive anymore...he can "embellish" by losing a half-step or losing his balance and he can still get a call from the ref.

I suppose I've become jaded to the whole thing. Since the integrity of the game is tarnished as it is, I just accept diving as another aspect that is eroding away that integrity. I certainly don't have any faith in the braintrust like Bettman to resolve the diving problem. Suspending and fining repeat offenders might curb the problem to some degree, but you know there will still be players who will dive if it means his team has an opportunity to win a game.

[Matt723]

No diving isn't tranishing the league... there have always been a few players you can count on diving and embeleshing whenever possible but this is the case in all sports, soccer obviously ranking the highest on that list.

I can see having Crosby and Forsberg on this list but not Malkin and Ovechkin... if you watch them play there will be no arguments there. Forsberg is king of dives though, he even admits to trying to get calls... Mike Ribero used to be horrible too when he played for the habs... I think he's toughened up since going to the west.

[Mintmaster]

For hooks and interference/obstruction, the offending players are entirely at fault. They're taking a risk by putting the stick on the body or using their free hand to slow someone down. If that wasn't the case, then there wouldn't be any reason for doing that in the first place. They're just trying to keeps the effect small enough that they don't get called, but the intent is clear. Just get rid of these stupid habits that probably don't affect the player with the puck anyway, and there won't be a call.

For trips, it's really hard to come up with a solution. When you're on skates, it doesn't take much at all to fall, especially when you're attempting a tight maneuver. The first "dive" in that youtube link was such a case, as Crosby just lost an edge trying a tight turn around a defender. You just have to hope the ref sees it correctly, but it's really hard.

The best solution I can think of is that the player getting tripped has the option to say to the ref, "no, that wasn't a trip", and the penalty gets cancelled. Then, the league reviews calls after the game at the request of the penalized team, and if there was clearly no trip and the player wasn't honest enough to cancel it, he gets fined and eventually suspended. It's sort of a policed honor system. Not perfect, and obviously you'll rarely have players cancelling penalties in a critical game, but there would still be substantial incentive to stop diving as opposed to now where the worst case is offsetting minors.

What do you think?

[Mintmaster]

No diving isn't tranishing the league... there have always been a few players you can count on diving and embeleshing whenever possible but this is the case in all sports, soccer obviously ranking the highest on that list.

I can see having Crosby and Forsberg on this list but not Malkin and Ovechkin... if you watch them play there will be no arguments there. Forsberg is king of dives though, he even admits to trying to get calls... Mike Ribero used to be horrible too when he played for the habs... I think he's toughened up since going to the west.I have to agree with you. The game is definately better without the clutching and hooking that robbed so much flow and skilled offense from the game. There's a fine balance between needing teams to keep possession long enough to score goals and lose possession quickly enough to prevent killing time when you're ahead (as what happens in soccer). A few more dives aren't enough to negate the restored balance that the new rules brought.

Much of the "diving" that people talk about is just Crosby, Malking, Ovechkin etc. stretching out to get into open space for a shot or play. I've seen Malkin create near-breakaways out of nothing this way with some spectacular moves, but because he needs to leap to get the shot off, sometimes the ref calls a penalty and sometimes he gets accused of diving.