The Flyers. Are they goons?

Loaded question, I know. I don't know that the goon--as defined in the seventies by the Flyers--could exist in the NHL as it is constructed in 2007. For one thing, Dave "The Hammer" Schultz and his "walking in deep snow" skating style would just not (ahem) fly in the new NHL. The intimidation tactics of guys like Schultz and similar players like his teammates were, in fact, pretty scary back in the day. I was a real little kid at the dawn of the '80s and I can tell you that even then, the mystique of the Flyers was still that they would rather hit, fight, and injure, than win.

So now we have three major on-ice incidents over the last few weeks involving the Flyers. Jesse Boulerice was suspended for 25 games only days after his teammate Steve Downie was suspended for his flying burrito bodycheck of Ottawa's Dean McAmmond in the pre-season. Then, Saturday, Boston's Patrice Bergeron conjured up the unthinkable flashing memory of Travis Roy when he was leveled face-first into the boards by Randy Jones.

Jones, a defenseman of estimable talent is not seen as a dirty player. Whether or not Bergeron lifted his head as he flew into the boards is not a debate worth having. The guy sustained a broken nose, possible grade-three concussion, and lost a fair amount of chiclets in the deal.
Seeing him carted off the ice while knocked out colds was, for lack of a better word, chilling. Those are just the facts and the facts are as such: in little over a month, three Philadelphia players have now injured three opponents. Two have been suspended and Jones is awaiting
his fate.

Do we point the finger at the Flyer organization? How about the coach, John Stevens, who played a scrub like Boulerice in garbage time for what seemed like the express reason of starting something with the opponent? Boulerice cross-checked Canucks forward Ryan Kesler in the face and was kicked out. His ability to stick in the NHL has always been in question and Boulerice had been suspended for baseball swinging at an opponent's face while in junior. There is, as they say, precedence here with this player.

The same cannot be said for Steve Downie. He is regarded as a player with potential. He was playing for a job in the NHL. He didn't, however, need to leave his feet to knock Dean McAmmond into the following week when McAmmond didn't have the puck.

Which brings us to Randy Jones. A serviceable player. Hockey coaches will say that Jones was doing only what he should in that instance. He was finishing his check. After seeing the replay over and over this weekend, it becomes clear that Jones ran Bergeron from behind, when he
could have held up.

Beneath all of this is a lack of respect from player to player. Normally, you'd figure that each guy is thinking that even though everyone is wearing a different sweater that they're all in it together. But that camaraderie is not showing itself on the ice. Cynics can say that here's too much money involved these days for any feelings of brotherhood to foster in the league. Some may even argue that the players these days are covered in so many pads and cages coming up that they get to feel invincible because nothing hurts too too bad when you've got some shatter-resistant plastic protecting your body.

In the end, protection doesn't matter. The hockey players at every level need to understand that without each other, there is no NHL. Competition is fine--it's the very basis of sport in any configuration. Taking advantage of a brother cannot be tolerated. The players are dependent on each other because let's face it--without an opponent, there is no one to play. Hell, ESPN barely shows NHL highlights anyway so don't worry about making that show. Learn to respect your fellow players whether their heads are down or not. It's something that needs to be done for the good of the game.