from Chris Mueller at the TimesOnline,

The NHL’s product is a choked, stifled mess. A handful of teams play entertaining offense, and the idea of superstars being treated well is anathema. The blind provincialism of fans helps maintain the status quo. A quick exploration of social media reveals just as many fans celebrating Dubinsky’s play as there are Penguins fans venting about it.

What is crazy is that many of these fans aren’t even Columbus backers, but rather Rangers fans or my favorite subset, “people who hate Sidney Crosby and think he receives preferential treatment from the league.”

Try and imagine that. There are people that watch the NHL often, and really believe that Crosby is treated too well by officials. It boggles the mind. These are the same people, by the way, who wax poetic about how honorable hockey players are, and what great guys they are, after watching 60 minutes, sometimes more, of players pot-shotting each other and playing dangerously.

Talented players are sitting ducks because the one thing that could save them—consistent, stringent officiating—is utterly absent, seemingly by design.

Hockey’s other issue is that the old Canadian mentality, one which seems to prioritize toughness and grit over skill, grace and speed.

more