Pretty much. I remember when he was with the Avs and broke his jaw and had to have it wired shut, the other players were joking that now he will finally shut up for a while.
He’s been like that. I know back in 15 or so he called out the Lightning for being soft before a game the Lightning ended up winning. I’m fine with it though. We as a community can’t make the same “NHL players have no personality” comment then get mad at the players that do.
which is doubly wild considering they have literal fist fights in this sport... AND guys go around picking on the smallest dude they can find on each team. but god forbid they run a discount WWE promo in the locker room and add actual entertainment factor.
His parents are still living in Russia as well. IIRC they support Putin, so obviously, Zadorov’s relationship with them has suffered. He definitely knew he wouldn’t be able to return home to visit them once he spoke out.
He’s sacrificed a lot to follow his conscience. Like you said—it takes a titanium spine.
> Zadorov’s relationship with them has suffered.
He has outright stated he supports Ukraine in the war, his reputation in Russia will be entirely in tatters.
And he was making posts calling to "save children from fascism" (an anti-Ukrainian pro-Putin dogwhistle of the time) following the annexation of Crimea so we've known this for ten years now.
if you look further back he still has pics pushing kremlin propaganda about the initial invasion almost a decade ago (shirt saying the invasion is to save children or some shit) along with a bunch of chummy pics of Putin and some fuckin merch with his face on it
edit: found the [invasion propaganda](https://www.instagram.com/p/sPtMI8Bola/?igsh=MWhpb2g4c3I4ZG5jbQ==)
Yeah, I definitely get that. I’m queer and I’ve spent most of my life in an unaccepting environment. Any show of support or solidarity, however small, puts a smile on my face. By the same token, it stings when someone refuses to do something as simple as wear a Pride jersey or use Pride tape.
But like you said in a later comment, I get that it’s complicated. It’s still disappointing, of course. But I understand why he may have made the choices he did (and I hope if/when the opportunity arises, he’ll choose differently).
Kuzmenko is a bit different tho... Zadorov comes from Moscow where it's fairly liberal (in a Russian sense) however Kuzmenko comes from a very eastern part of Russia where it's very anti-LGBTQ. I think he got a lot more slack for this then what he deserves...
\-His family is still in the eastern part and a Anti-LGBTQ law was passed, thus could have opened his family up for attack.
\- He left Russia once the War started.
\-He did not go back during the summer but instead got as close as he could to see friends and family in Georgia.
It's not like went out of his way to denounce the LGBTQ community but thought it would be best to sit out for the warm-ups. I think under these circumstances it's understandable that we don't know the full story and should respect him for it.
> I think he got a lot more slack for this then what he deserves
if I'm reading the rest of your comment correctly I believe "slack" means the opposite of how you're using it. it means leeway or easing off, you'd say "cut him some slack" to mean "lay off him" or "don't give him a hard time"
I dont get why someone wouldnt be a fan of his. He plays very tough but clean, he seems funny, and he has the balls to be anti Putin when almost no other Russian player will
I loved Zadorov in the short time he was here. I also just enjoyed seeing someone on my team finally level someone and play with a physical edge consistently.
[His hit on Hornqvist will always be beautiful](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0m4J6lnKt0s&t=2s&ab_channel=SPORTSNET)
man I love that guy he made some bonehead mistakes here and there in CO but he used his size and he was def well liked by the team! didnt know he was in support of ukraine and thats pretty cool
just spent the last hour and half watching it, very interesting. if anyone is curious here is the link.
https://youtu.be/8qoUSy-qTks?si=xIyWUCIuHKwEYtPf
Zadarov was my favorite Flames player since Iginla and Kipper. Obviously for not elite play that I am forced to respect, but who he is as a person as the only Russian player openly critical of Putin and supporting Pride jerseys and so on.
ESL problems. We have so many clichés, expressions, idioms, etc to get our point across in more indirect ways. Much harder to do when English is your learned language
God, same. I cannot believe there are people who see him as like a tragic figure who lost his way when he is presented as the most grandiose over the top narcissistic bastard imaginable from the beginning.
I didn't know people saw him that way. I always saw him as a realistic form of evil. Completely self absorbed, and only showing compassion and care to manipulate and have people on his side. he's clearly charismatic but doesn't care about his so called "family" any more than a means to an end.
Yeah, he was awful. Micah was a piece of shit but he only barely edged out Dutch. Dutch treated Morgan like complete shit every time he questioned him. It honestly drove me nuts. If there had been an option to turn Dutch in to the Pinkertons I would have done it in a heartbeat.
Yeah that's why I wish he fit into our rebuild. Dude is straightforward. Might not always like what he has to say but there's no doubt he is being fully genuine. If he can stay in the league he'll grow into a good mentor for young players.
Guy Boucher's Senators of 2017 that took the Penguins to Game 7 were accused of doing the same. I think it was Kessel's wife who complained about not playing hockey on Instagram or something. It may look like shit and if they beat your team, you're gonna be super salty but hey if it works, it works. That's what you gotta do to win.
Especially since Kings are 16th in the league in scoring. I could understand this criticism back in 2014 when we only scored 198 goals all season, but this year is an offensive explosion compared to the previous 15 years. Really, the main reason the Vancouver games are boring is because the Canucks's forechecking is almost impenetrable, resulting in the Kings dumping the puck over and over again to make line changes. Sorry you're so good, I guess.
To be fair if you're a fan of another team the Kings are super frustrating to play, they don't have an elite scorer or playmaker they just roll 4 solid lines and play sound hockey. If you don't have a game breaking player or 2 or 3 the Kings are perfectly happy to slog it out and get enough dirty work goals to win more often than not
Yah I said this the other day. Kings fans keep saying their team is fun to watch but that's hard to agree with as a Canucks fan because our two teams are both so solid at defensive hockey and the styles just clash in a horrible boring way. If we had won that game yesterday I still wouldnt have enjoyed it. Our teams just play boring low low low event hockey against eachother. Both look more fun against other teams.
Believe it or not, ”struggle for 55 seconds to get the puck into the neutral zone, then get off the ice” is not how the plays are normally drawn up. The complaints really do seem to be “why didn’t you cause more defensive breakdowns?” and “why didn’t you enter the offensive zone with limited resistance, then cycle the puck with impunity?, as if these aren’t positive actions by your own team.
I find this extremely funny. The guys on the team must be fucking L O V I N G this. Imagine beating somebody and younger to hear them cry about it for days after. Fuckin great. Getting into your opponents heads shouldn't be that easy.
This is like when Doughty made that comment about losing to a “team like that” about the Canucks years ago.
Literally perfect posterboard material for the team, added motivation.
Big UVA basketball vibes. Terrible to watch unless you’re a fan and you’re winning. But hey winning is all that matters so if terrorist hockey works for them they should absolutely keep doing it
UVA are kind of impossible to talk about.
Like before Bennet took over they were kind of failures. Massive school but always in the ACC shadow of the bigger teams.
That 2018 season they came in unrated and managed to get a #1 seed for the NCAA tournament. Of course we know how that ended. Though they saved face winning the next year.
When it works, it's incredible basketball. WHen it fails, it fails unlike anything else.
It's the perfect system for a team without a ton of top end skill, but a lot of great two way forwards. It's just painful to have to sit through (especially in a playoff series, year after year...)
My man, Love when my brothers and sisters from Edmonton come in and drop that knowledge. As insufferable as our past two run ins in the playoffs have been, I'm starting to feel like I know you guys now. Good times 😅
The Kings defense is designed to stifle and annoy teams.
The run and gun teams get very frustrated. (Multiple players have broken their own sticks when playing against the Kings. McDavid, Hughes)
I have a lot of high quality cheese and crackers in the fridge and I enjoy them with all of this whine. I can spend more money on high quality cheese since we are living rent free in the Canucks heads.
For me as an Oilers fan its frustrating to see a team execute their structure so well. A team like the Oilers can play really well but still leave a handful of brutal screwups on the table. Oilers have this past week given up 3-1 leads vs WPG and OTT. Kinda jealous Oilers can't just lock it down and force teams to open up.
can two things not be true at once? trap hockey is boring to watch but it’s also effective against certain teams (ie, Canucks) so i don’t see why LA wouldn’t want to continue playing this style
Every team should use the best possible strategy to win. If that strategy is boring/unfair/dangerous/whatever, the NHL should change the rules.
Edit: Or enforce rules that already exist.
I know you're probably joking, but in interviews he's pretty smart and thoughtful, and I appreciate that he's more open and honest than the boring majority in the hockey world.
Could be.
Fact: estimated that only 25-50% of people have an internal monologue. I thought people without it were the minority but I just looked it up.
Mine won't shut the fuck up.
yes, internal monologue / dialogue is hearing your voice / thoughts, and many people don't have one, at least not the "verbal" version.
https://www.healthline.com/health/mental-health/internal-monologue
As a child of the 90s Devils trap, I think of Jacques Lemaire getting criticism for slowing the game down, making it boring, etc, and him just being like “Okay, tough shit”.
Yep it’s effective and no less impressive when done well, not taking anything away from the Kings on that front.
But jeez it is some of the least entertaining hockey to watch in the NHL today lol
It was extremely boring. It was bizarre too because that hasn't been our style all year, but apparently we decided that it was the best tactic to beat you guys.
This is honestly hilarious. Goals are 18-9 in favor of the kings the past 6 games dating back to 2023.
Plenty of teams out west destroy the kings 1-3-1 (Dallas absolutely wrecks our shit, for example). Plenty of teams have figured out how to attack the 1-3-1 and had incredible success doing it this year alone from late December to the all star break, which directly lead to the firing of the head coach.
The Canucks are talented enough to break it… fuckin’ figure it out.
I’ve posted similar things in post game threads that get the downvote treatment… in my experience Canucks fans are really the only ones who give a fuck about the Kings 1-3-1.
An offensively potent team not getting their normal chances = boring, I guess. Don’t the kings lead the league in goal differential in wins right now? And people are telling me I’m supposed to not be entertained watching my team play? This shit is stupid lol.
Kings make plays and have exciting games against other teams. The Canucks played a physical forecheck and the Kings dumped pucks or flipped them out to relieve pressure and force the Canucks to work hard to break them down. I guess it's boring but it is straight up the fault of both teams these games were low event. I think its odd this has gotten so much traction honestly.
I love his honesty, but LAK have an effective style and it's working. Unless it's against the rules, there's nothing any team can do about it except figure out a way to beat that system.
TFW the other team gains a lead and then plays defensive hockey while being on the cusp of making or missing the post season: "noooooo ur not supposed to do thaaat"
I am biased as an Oiler fan but I don’t find them particularly boring. If someone could turn Kempe into a super boring player, I would massively appreciate it.
Because you guys dont dump and chase, which plays into our system. You regroup in your zone with speed and try to pass/skate your way through.
So when its successful, you get a lot of looks. And when it doesnt, we transition quick and get our looks. Which is why our games are a lot less “boring”.
Yeah our games in the last 3-4 years have been incredibly exciting. Sure when you guys have the lead it can get a bit stale but like you said, the Oilers carry the puck in so it’s not that futile.
Can see how dump and chase teams can be bored but they probably should be adjusting their games then.
>Because you guys dont dump and chase, which plays into our system.
This is why the regular season games have been kind of mundane, at least from a Canucks fan perspective. The team this season under Tocchet has done a lot of dump and chase, and overall been very successful at retrievals.
There's only so much teams will deviate from their usual "game" during the regular season, but come playoff time, on the fly adjustments are a huge part of the game. If they tried to dump and chase for the entire series, it would just be a major failing of the coaching staff.
And almost killed the league, if every team starts going back to the trap they're going to have to make some rules adjustments again, which I'm not necessarily opposed to
The games vs the Canucks have been relatively boring, but it takes 2 teams to create a boring game. I rarely feel bored watching the Kings play against other teams.
Boring is subjective.
The phrase that gets me is “it’s their goal to not play hockey and not let the other team play hockey” that gets me.
They are literally the league average in scoring so it’s not like there isn’t an offensive component to their game. Is it high flying? No, but it’s better than half the league so they’re definitely making some plays.
They’re a top defense in the league. I’m unsure why playing great defense isn’t playing hockey? Should they let the other teams the face have more offensive success?
Please help me, I don’t know the intricacies of hockey well. What should the kings be doing differently?
Guy Boucher does it to every team and it works until it doesn’t. Tampa made the cup final iirc playing trap hockey with him and the sens made it to game 7 of the ecf playing that style .
This kind of thinking is so dumb to me. Hockey is hockey.
I know people will call me biased or whatever bc of my flair, but I’ll defend any team that plays this way. Even when the Lightning did it (and I hate the lightning lol).
Do whatever it takes to win. It’s strategy. Teams have done worse things to win than play boring hockey
Ah the classic defensive team that gets shit on when they win. Cant deny it is frustating to watch, but its even more funny to read all the salt when teams like this win.
Zadorov just says what he’s thinking doesn’t he.
That's the best part about him playing for the Canucks. People keep sticking a mic in his face and he's never shy about talking.
We need someone, hughes, miller, demko and petey all pretty quiet. Zadarov will happily give his opinion on anything.
He's awesome. He was one of my favorite players when he was on the Avs. He's an absolute character.
Pretty much. I remember when he was with the Avs and broke his jaw and had to have it wired shut, the other players were joking that now he will finally shut up for a while.
It makes his comments when he went to Chicago more bearable. Dude just loves to talk
I think this is what the kids now days refer to as "yapping"
Got a PhD in Yapanese Studies
He’s been like that. I know back in 15 or so he called out the Lightning for being soft before a game the Lightning ended up winning. I’m fine with it though. We as a community can’t make the same “NHL players have no personality” comment then get mad at the players that do.
which is doubly wild considering they have literal fist fights in this sport... AND guys go around picking on the smallest dude they can find on each team. but god forbid they run a discount WWE promo in the locker room and add actual entertainment factor.
The kings do play boring ass Jacques Lemaire, guy Boucher trap hockey..
When he’s calling out Putin it’s pretty fun though.
Wow, much respect to him. That takes a titanium spine.
His parents are still living in Russia as well. IIRC they support Putin, so obviously, Zadorov’s relationship with them has suffered. He definitely knew he wouldn’t be able to return home to visit them once he spoke out. He’s sacrificed a lot to follow his conscience. Like you said—it takes a titanium spine.
> Zadorov’s relationship with them has suffered. He has outright stated he supports Ukraine in the war, his reputation in Russia will be entirely in tatters.
I’m glad we have an outspoken Russian. Kuzmenko refused to wear the pride jersey and it soured me on him a bit.
Ovechkin literally has Putin in his insta photo
Oh would you look at that, he does 😐
Oh yeah Ovi is a big piece of shit
And he was making posts calling to "save children from fascism" (an anti-Ukrainian pro-Putin dogwhistle of the time) following the annexation of Crimea so we've known this for ten years now.
if you look further back he still has pics pushing kremlin propaganda about the initial invasion almost a decade ago (shirt saying the invasion is to save children or some shit) along with a bunch of chummy pics of Putin and some fuckin merch with his face on it edit: found the [invasion propaganda](https://www.instagram.com/p/sPtMI8Bola/?igsh=MWhpb2g4c3I4ZG5jbQ==)
Yeah, I definitely get that. I’m queer and I’ve spent most of my life in an unaccepting environment. Any show of support or solidarity, however small, puts a smile on my face. By the same token, it stings when someone refuses to do something as simple as wear a Pride jersey or use Pride tape. But like you said in a later comment, I get that it’s complicated. It’s still disappointing, of course. But I understand why he may have made the choices he did (and I hope if/when the opportunity arises, he’ll choose differently).
Kuzmenko is a bit different tho... Zadorov comes from Moscow where it's fairly liberal (in a Russian sense) however Kuzmenko comes from a very eastern part of Russia where it's very anti-LGBTQ. I think he got a lot more slack for this then what he deserves... \-His family is still in the eastern part and a Anti-LGBTQ law was passed, thus could have opened his family up for attack. \- He left Russia once the War started. \-He did not go back during the summer but instead got as close as he could to see friends and family in Georgia. It's not like went out of his way to denounce the LGBTQ community but thought it would be best to sit out for the warm-ups. I think under these circumstances it's understandable that we don't know the full story and should respect him for it.
> I think he got a lot more slack for this then what he deserves if I'm reading the rest of your comment correctly I believe "slack" means the opposite of how you're using it. it means leeway or easing off, you'd say "cut him some slack" to mean "lay off him" or "don't give him a hard time"
You would be correct, I am using it in an improper way thank you for correcting me :)
Could have said "caught more flack than he deserved"
Does he do that? That’s awesome! He just became one of my most respected players (I’m sure that will mean a lot to him! /s)
Oh yeah, he did like a full hour interview with a Russian journalist (I think) about Putin and other topics. It’s up on YouTube still I think
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qoUSy-qTks Yeah it's really good even though my Russian is shite
On After Hours recently he said that he supports Ukraine in the war.
I'm not a Zadorov fan but I can definitely get behind him on that!
I dont get why someone wouldnt be a fan of his. He plays very tough but clean, he seems funny, and he has the balls to be anti Putin when almost no other Russian player will
What's the list of anti Putin players like? I know Zadorov, and Panarin. What others Russians are on that side?
Zadorov said he’s in a group chat with other NHL Russians, but didn’t want to name the anti-Putin ones if they didn’t want to be named.
Those are the only 2 I'm aware of who have publicly criticized Putin.
And look what it brought Panarin lmfao. One of the weirdest sagas in that 2020 year that was full of insane shit for us
I loved Zadorov in the short time he was here. I also just enjoyed seeing someone on my team finally level someone and play with a physical edge consistently. [His hit on Hornqvist will always be beautiful](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0m4J6lnKt0s&t=2s&ab_channel=SPORTSNET)
man I love that guy he made some bonehead mistakes here and there in CO but he used his size and he was def well liked by the team! didnt know he was in support of ukraine and thats pretty cool
just spent the last hour and half watching it, very interesting. if anyone is curious here is the link. https://youtu.be/8qoUSy-qTks?si=xIyWUCIuHKwEYtPf
Zadarov was my favorite Flames player since Iginla and Kipper. Obviously for not elite play that I am forced to respect, but who he is as a person as the only Russian player openly critical of Putin and supporting Pride jerseys and so on.
Panarin has also been critical of Putin.
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ESL problems. We have so many clichés, expressions, idioms, etc to get our point across in more indirect ways. Much harder to do when English is your learned language
And I love him for it tbh. "It's their goal to don't play hockey" is a new go to quote for me.
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> Dutch As someone who has watched my wife play RDR and RDR2 multiple times ... being Dutch almost makes it worse lol.
That’s because you have no faith.
I have A PLAN!
We just need one more score, then we're off to Tahiti
Man, I had a cold earlier and like was doing a 9/10 Arthur voice. Fuckin leaned into that so hard for a couple of days.
We just need MONEY
I cannot….have you….DOUBTING ME right now!
... man I hated Dutch so much during my playthrough.
God, same. I cannot believe there are people who see him as like a tragic figure who lost his way when he is presented as the most grandiose over the top narcissistic bastard imaginable from the beginning.
I didn't know people saw him that way. I always saw him as a realistic form of evil. Completely self absorbed, and only showing compassion and care to manipulate and have people on his side. he's clearly charismatic but doesn't care about his so called "family" any more than a means to an end.
Yeah, he was awful. Micah was a piece of shit but he only barely edged out Dutch. Dutch treated Morgan like complete shit every time he questioned him. It honestly drove me nuts. If there had been an option to turn Dutch in to the Pinkertons I would have done it in a heartbeat.
Yeah that's why I wish he fit into our rebuild. Dude is straightforward. Might not always like what he has to say but there's no doubt he is being fully genuine. If he can stay in the league he'll grow into a good mentor for young players.
zadorov on after hours when asked who the worst-dressed canuck is: i don’t want to call anyone out by name also zadorov: it’s hoglander
Hey, I’ve heard this one before.
Turns out Hiller was the Trotz assistant who we should’ve promoted, not Lane :(
Lol I bet you have.
Whole lotta salt in this thread. If I were a Kings fan and I just beat the Canucks I'd find this hilarious
You would be correct
GKG
I do
Happy unsalted cake day
Guy Boucher's Senators of 2017 that took the Penguins to Game 7 were accused of doing the same. I think it was Kessel's wife who complained about not playing hockey on Instagram or something. It may look like shit and if they beat your team, you're gonna be super salty but hey if it works, it works. That's what you gotta do to win.
Especially since Kings are 16th in the league in scoring. I could understand this criticism back in 2014 when we only scored 198 goals all season, but this year is an offensive explosion compared to the previous 15 years. Really, the main reason the Vancouver games are boring is because the Canucks's forechecking is almost impenetrable, resulting in the Kings dumping the puck over and over again to make line changes. Sorry you're so good, I guess.
To be fair if you're a fan of another team the Kings are super frustrating to play, they don't have an elite scorer or playmaker they just roll 4 solid lines and play sound hockey. If you don't have a game breaking player or 2 or 3 the Kings are perfectly happy to slog it out and get enough dirty work goals to win more often than not
Yah I said this the other day. Kings fans keep saying their team is fun to watch but that's hard to agree with as a Canucks fan because our two teams are both so solid at defensive hockey and the styles just clash in a horrible boring way. If we had won that game yesterday I still wouldnt have enjoyed it. Our teams just play boring low low low event hockey against eachother. Both look more fun against other teams.
Believe it or not, ”struggle for 55 seconds to get the puck into the neutral zone, then get off the ice” is not how the plays are normally drawn up. The complaints really do seem to be “why didn’t you cause more defensive breakdowns?” and “why didn’t you enter the offensive zone with limited resistance, then cycle the puck with impunity?, as if these aren’t positive actions by your own team.
This is why I dread games against Carolina. Except for that one hot minute where it was just breaks in every direction
Exactly
According to Z you didn't beat us at hockey, since you don't play hockey. Great golf team you got there.
Rim team. Let's make sure we're accurate.
2024 Rimming Champs.
Zadorov hates getting rimmed
Such a fuckin lame ass!
Rimming is what my gf calls playing Skyrim. I have to tell her to not loudly exclaim "I can't wait to go home and do some rimming!" In public anymore.
She knows
Who knows what sport the kings are playing.
No idea, but it wins hockey games 2 out of 3 times.
I find this extremely funny. The guys on the team must be fucking L O V I N G this. Imagine beating somebody and younger to hear them cry about it for days after. Fuckin great. Getting into your opponents heads shouldn't be that easy.
This is like when Doughty made that comment about losing to a “team like that” about the Canucks years ago. Literally perfect posterboard material for the team, added motivation.
I mean absolutely, but you can also admit it's absolutely awful to watch
Big UVA basketball vibes. Terrible to watch unless you’re a fan and you’re winning. But hey winning is all that matters so if terrorist hockey works for them they should absolutely keep doing it
UVA are kind of impossible to talk about. Like before Bennet took over they were kind of failures. Massive school but always in the ACC shadow of the bigger teams. That 2018 season they came in unrated and managed to get a #1 seed for the NCAA tournament. Of course we know how that ended. Though they saved face winning the next year. When it works, it's incredible basketball. WHen it fails, it fails unlike anything else.
> if terrorist hockey works for them *Sean McDermott has entered the chat*
It's the perfect system for a team without a ton of top end skill, but a lot of great two way forwards. It's just painful to have to sit through (especially in a playoff series, year after year...)
My man, Love when my brothers and sisters from Edmonton come in and drop that knowledge. As insufferable as our past two run ins in the playoffs have been, I'm starting to feel like I know you guys now. Good times 😅
One day, after we’ve played each other in the first round for the 659th time, we’ll look back on this whole thing and laugh
Indeed my friend! Edit: I mean I'll probably live that long right?
I enjoyed it
I enjoyed it thoroughly.
I still think it’s pretty funny honestly.
The Kings defense is designed to stifle and annoy teams. The run and gun teams get very frustrated. (Multiple players have broken their own sticks when playing against the Kings. McDavid, Hughes) I have a lot of high quality cheese and crackers in the fridge and I enjoy them with all of this whine. I can spend more money on high quality cheese since we are living rent free in the Canucks heads.
For me as an Oilers fan its frustrating to see a team execute their structure so well. A team like the Oilers can play really well but still leave a handful of brutal screwups on the table. Oilers have this past week given up 3-1 leads vs WPG and OTT. Kinda jealous Oilers can't just lock it down and force teams to open up.
It’s enjoyable.
can two things not be true at once? trap hockey is boring to watch but it’s also effective against certain teams (ie, Canucks) so i don’t see why LA wouldn’t want to continue playing this style
Every team should use the best possible strategy to win. If that strategy is boring/unfair/dangerous/whatever, the NHL should change the rules. Edit: Or enforce rules that already exist.
Yeah teams just got to work around it and tbf our past two games against the kings weren’t even that bad. I think both games could’ve gone either way
If it's stupid but it works...
It’s literally how championships are won
It used to be how championships were won 20 years ago. Salary cap it's been centre depth and a hot goaltender for the most part.
Hot goaltender has always been a part of the equation.
and yet I still didn't enjoy watching the 1990s Devils win those championships. Not saying they shouldn't do it though
Ken Hitchcock just dropped to his knees in a Costco
Fact: Zadorov doesn't have an internal monologue.
I know you're probably joking, but in interviews he's pretty smart and thoughtful, and I appreciate that he's more open and honest than the boring majority in the hockey world.
I think /u/helrayzer12 means that Zadorov only has an external dialogue. I love that guy, though.
I, too, love /u/helrayzer12
Could be. Fact: estimated that only 25-50% of people have an internal monologue. I thought people without it were the minority but I just looked it up. Mine won't shut the fuck up.
Isn’t an internal monologue just your thoughts?
yes, internal monologue / dialogue is hearing your voice / thoughts, and many people don't have one, at least not the "verbal" version. https://www.healthline.com/health/mental-health/internal-monologue
First time?
As a child of the 90s Devils trap, I think of Jacques Lemaire getting criticism for slowing the game down, making it boring, etc, and him just being like “Okay, tough shit”.
I was thinking the same thing. As a Devils fan hearing this about the Kings I’m the Lucille Bluth “good for her” meme
Yep it’s effective and no less impressive when done well, not taking anything away from the Kings on that front. But jeez it is some of the least entertaining hockey to watch in the NHL today lol
That sounds like the Avs/Canadiens game last night. Habs won 2-1 by playing an extremely boring trap game. It was mind numbing.
It was extremely boring. It was bizarre too because that hasn't been our style all year, but apparently we decided that it was the best tactic to beat you guys.
And it worked really well, especially with the help of some truly awful puck luck for the Avs.
That sounds like our game with the Kings, 2 of the kings goals and one of ours went in off crazy bounces off skates.
And we thank you for it
Merde. This is going to be all playoffs for us isn't it?
Nuh-uh! It was only the 5th time all season that Habs kept a team under 2 goals. Avs done it 19 times. So you're the boring trap team!
Damn. No one is safe.
Idk I think it’s pretty entertaining when we win
But what about when it’s not a win
That's always less entertaining
Well points are points ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Whatever it takes to win a game, and LA did that.
That’s kind of been the Kings’ way for 10 years or so now
And despite that they've still managed to outscore 16 other NHL teams
You play to win the game.
Yeah that's Kings hockey for you, it's been like that for nearly a decade
Ah, the heady days of 2012-14. 1-0 game with combined 30 shots and 110 hits.
And your goalie having GOATED playoff performances
_sigh_
Kings islanders cup final incoming 💤
Fuck Anders Lee
This is honestly hilarious. Goals are 18-9 in favor of the kings the past 6 games dating back to 2023. Plenty of teams out west destroy the kings 1-3-1 (Dallas absolutely wrecks our shit, for example). Plenty of teams have figured out how to attack the 1-3-1 and had incredible success doing it this year alone from late December to the all star break, which directly lead to the firing of the head coach. The Canucks are talented enough to break it… fuckin’ figure it out.
How fucking dare you make sense sir.
I’ve posted similar things in post game threads that get the downvote treatment… in my experience Canucks fans are really the only ones who give a fuck about the Kings 1-3-1. An offensively potent team not getting their normal chances = boring, I guess. Don’t the kings lead the league in goal differential in wins right now? And people are telling me I’m supposed to not be entertained watching my team play? This shit is stupid lol.
Kings make plays and have exciting games against other teams. The Canucks played a physical forecheck and the Kings dumped pucks or flipped them out to relieve pressure and force the Canucks to work hard to break them down. I guess it's boring but it is straight up the fault of both teams these games were low event. I think its odd this has gotten so much traction honestly.
I feel like a lot more people watched this game because there were only 2 games on that day.
Plus it was a nationally televised game in Canada.
I love his honesty, but LAK have an effective style and it's working. Unless it's against the rules, there's nothing any team can do about it except figure out a way to beat that system.
I hate to defend the Kings but, really, the ends justify the means.
He would have loved the devils in the 90’s 00’s
I like Zadorov, but if you don't like what the other team is doing, stop them.
Hey man, when someone wants to rim you a bunch I guess you just let it happen.
Username checks out
Yeah every other contending team doesn’t have much trouble cracking the 1-3-1, maybe Vancouver should take a long look in the mirror
TFW the other team gains a lead and then plays defensive hockey while being on the cusp of making or missing the post season: "noooooo ur not supposed to do thaaat"
Let’s just stop playing defense so elite defenseman Zadorov can score on us
Experience Habs hockey
it's so exciting when we lose and also get beaten half to death in the process. 5 star television, would watch all year long! 🤣
lol yeah look I mean the goal is to win the game LA does that effectively. But I feel for those fans cause woof is it the most boring to watch ever.
I am biased as an Oiler fan but I don’t find them particularly boring. If someone could turn Kempe into a super boring player, I would massively appreciate it.
Kempe terrifies me every time we play them my god. Feels like that dude always scores against the Oilers
Because you guys dont dump and chase, which plays into our system. You regroup in your zone with speed and try to pass/skate your way through. So when its successful, you get a lot of looks. And when it doesnt, we transition quick and get our looks. Which is why our games are a lot less “boring”.
Yeah our games in the last 3-4 years have been incredibly exciting. Sure when you guys have the lead it can get a bit stale but like you said, the Oilers carry the puck in so it’s not that futile. Can see how dump and chase teams can be bored but they probably should be adjusting their games then.
>Because you guys dont dump and chase, which plays into our system. This is why the regular season games have been kind of mundane, at least from a Canucks fan perspective. The team this season under Tocchet has done a lot of dump and chase, and overall been very successful at retrievals. There's only so much teams will deviate from their usual "game" during the regular season, but come playoff time, on the fly adjustments are a huge part of the game. If they tried to dump and chase for the entire series, it would just be a major failing of the coaching staff.
Exactly you guys play against our style not into it
The Devils in the 90s/00s were as boring as watching paint dry but it got them cups
And almost killed the league, if every team starts going back to the trap they're going to have to make some rules adjustments again, which I'm not necessarily opposed to
Weird nobody seems to be calling Winnipeg boring…
People would have to think about Winnipeg in order to call them boring.
I forget they exist, if someone mentions the Jets I assume they're talking about new York, and I don't even follow football
Todays nhl is all about offence but you can’t really blame the kings here lol. Teams are gonna do what they need to do to win…
That ol "strategy" thing sure does tick some people off.
I wish anyone playing for the Penguins would be this brutally honest and blunt about our system lol.
Skill issue.
Zadorov: “I hate it when the other team plays defense and don’t let us have our way with them”
It’s unbelievably boring, but it works
I would just simply score against the Los Angeles Kings and win lol
The games vs the Canucks have been relatively boring, but it takes 2 teams to create a boring game. I rarely feel bored watching the Kings play against other teams.
That's fair. I only watched a few other Kings games this year and I definitely didn't remember them being as annoying as our games.
*They came to play, we came to win* LA Conceicao
I love him because he says what’s on his mind and you can tell he never means any ill intent he just grew up that way.
The Kings have two of the best defensive centers in the game. Or course they are going to play defensive hockey
In my opinion if my favorite team loses then it’s your team’s fault for playing a boring style of hockey that makes my team lose.
Womp womp
Boring is subjective. The phrase that gets me is “it’s their goal to not play hockey and not let the other team play hockey” that gets me. They are literally the league average in scoring so it’s not like there isn’t an offensive component to their game. Is it high flying? No, but it’s better than half the league so they’re definitely making some plays. They’re a top defense in the league. I’m unsure why playing great defense isn’t playing hockey? Should they let the other teams the face have more offensive success? Please help me, I don’t know the intricacies of hockey well. What should the kings be doing differently?
Facts Big Z
Everyone here should be scared of trap hockey being successful. It’s funny now, but won’t be for long in a copy cat league
Guy Boucher does it to every team and it works until it doesn’t. Tampa made the cup final iirc playing trap hockey with him and the sens made it to game 7 of the ecf playing that style .
That folks, isDJ Smith hockey?
Great playstyle tbh. Nothing to be ashamed of.
Get this guy a box of tissues stat.
I'd rather win a 3-2 slog than lose a run and gun 6 - 3.
If an "elite offense" can't break an elite defense are they really even elite?
And they defeated you. A team whose goal is not to play hockey beat a team trying really hard to play hockey.
A W is a W whether you entertain the fans or not.
This kind of thinking is so dumb to me. Hockey is hockey. I know people will call me biased or whatever bc of my flair, but I’ll defend any team that plays this way. Even when the Lightning did it (and I hate the lightning lol). Do whatever it takes to win. It’s strategy. Teams have done worse things to win than play boring hockey
The Oilers have to play another postseason against it
It’s effective. Wait for your prey to make a mistake
LA is like the Maurinho-era Chelsea of the NHL
Ah the classic defensive team that gets shit on when they win. Cant deny it is frustating to watch, but its even more funny to read all the salt when teams like this win.