NHL, Toronto's Darcy Tucker is a "Joke"

[Pudge714]

Do you have a problem with Hecht cross checking Tucker's face after the "knee on knee"

[Wes Mantooth]

Hecht did not cross check tucker in the head, he did check him high but it was not a cross check. ESPN showed the reply of this a number of times today and it was clear that Tucker took a dive after this because Hecht barely connected on this check.

[Wes Mantooth]

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Did any of you see the game? Hecht moved at the last minute & stuck out his leg. Yeah, Tucker shouldn't have gone after him. Dummy shouldn't have stuck his leg out either. And the hit by Greir was retaliation for an earlier hit by Tucker.

This is the first time I've ever seen somebody sustain a "serious" knee injury & stay standing.

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Zuran,

Do you think that Tucker should be suspended for hits like this? This is the second time in a few weeks, how many times do you think a player can get away with these type of hits like this before getting suspended?

[Zurvan]

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Did any of you see the game? Hecht moved at the last minute & stuck out his leg. Yeah, Tucker shouldn't have gone after him. Dummy shouldn't have stuck his leg out either. And the hit by Greir was retaliation for an earlier hit by Tucker.

This is the first time I've ever seen somebody sustain a "serious" knee injury & stay standing.

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Zuran,

Do you think that Tucker should be suspended for hits like this? This is the second time in a few weeks, how many times do you think a player can get away with these type of hits like this before getting suspended?

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The point I was trying to make earlier, that I don't think I got across, was it wasn't that bad. It was accidental in regards to the knees. He didn't hit him in the head. Hecht got his stick in Tuckers face - whether you think Tucker dove or not, he did get hit in the face. If Tucker is suspended, so is Hecht.

I agree that Tucker has made some dirty hits in the past. Peca is a notable one. This was not, and doesn't deserve all the hoopla it's getting. This is not a big deal if Ruff doesn't throw a hissy fit after the game. That made the hockey media pay attention because they got two of their favourite things - the Leafs in a "controversy" and a pissed off coach.

The hit on Kovalev a couple weeks ago was not cool, but Kovalev's retaliation was far worse. I'm the first one to say that players should be suspended when they try to hurt someone. I also think any check to the head should be illegal - to the point where I would've given Stevens a penalty for pretty much every one of his body checks.

I just don't see what the big deal is here. Sure, I'm a homer, and Tucker's one of my favourite players. But I watched the game, and nobody cared at the time. Nobody came after Tucker, which is the typical reaction in those situations. It wasn't until later, after Hecht said he was out, that Ruff made a big deal out of it.

If anything, I would think Tucker is more likely to be suspended after a questionable hit than most players, because of his history & reputation.

[Zurvan]

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Hecht did not cross check tucker in the head, he did check him high but it was not a cross check. ESPN showed the reply of this a number of times today and it was clear that Tucker took a dive after this because Hecht barely connected on this check.

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And Tucker barely connected with his check. It goes both ways, if this is your arguement.

[Wes Mantooth]

I think Kovalev's retaliation against Tucker brought alot of attention to some of these questionable shots that Tucker has been doing. Kovalev is definitely not known as a physical player but for him going out of his way to hit Tucker like this must show something.

As far Stevens is concerned, I don’t think his checks/hits were cheap or dirty. I don't recall him attempting knee-to-knee hits or cheap boarding hits. Stevens was a very disciplined player, one commentator once said that Stevens only had 4 elbow minor calls against him over the span of his entire career. For a defenseman that logged in as much ice time and games as he did, that’s very impressive. I don't think he is in the same group as Bryan Marchment or Darcy Tucker.

[Triumph36]

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I don't think Stevens is in the same group as Bryan Marchment or Darcy Tucker.

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No, Stevens is a Hall of Fame defenseman who was never penalized for any of his big checks - Bryan Marchment and Darcy Tucker are both a disgrace to the game. Tucker also didn't get suspended for hitting Cam Janssen with a helmet - does this guy have nude pictures of Colin Campbell?

Campbell's got to go. And what would it matter if Tucker were suspended, his team is out of the playoffs anyway.

[Gamblor]

The tucker hit on hecht was an accident and believe me, if no action is taken by the players, then they didn't think it was a big deal. if the players don't think its a big deal and you're whining then you're clearly all either morans or from buffalo.

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by the way, tucker is psycho, but god love him he's a leaf.

[Wes Mantooth]

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The tucker hit on hecht was an accident...

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an accident?? LOL

Let me guess his cheap hit on kovalev was also an accident.

p.s.

he is pyscho tho...

[DZgroundhog]

Grier buried Tucker after he played the puck; that's just finishing a check which is pretty rare these days. Obviously, Grier goes extra hard against Tucker as some payback for cheap shots and flopping earlier in the game. IMO, Tucker went for Hecht's head and missed which is why he caught him knee-to-knee.

I can't figure out why Tucker and Kovalev got off without suspensions from that melee a few weeks ago. There's a video of the incident on youtube.com somewhere. Tucker threw a huge wild elbow but missed and almost nailed his teammate, but still clipped Kovalev with a high stick. So Kovalev came back and gave Tucker a taste of his own medicine and that's the highlight of the season. I would've handed down two-game suspensions to both of them, but since Toronto and Montreal can never be punished I guess they just get off without any fine or suspension.