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Originally Posted by HockeyThoughts
Love this part of your post. This is a myth that is shared by the vast majority of members on this site, and I don't blame them. The Devils are widely remembered as a team coached by Jacques Lemaire who introduced the trap to the game of hockey.
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Devils fans know better, but have to contend with this myth all the time.
Lemaire did not invent the trap or even introduce it in the NHL, he merely popularised it in the mid 90s. He learned it from Scotty Bowman, who was running it on those late 70s Habs teams.
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Originally Posted by PALE PWNR
Scott Stevens is 6'2 explain to me how in almost every one of these clips his "tucked" elbow is the main point of contact on almost every one besides the first 2. Or how its just convenient that he has it up after a huge hit in almost all of these once it is clearly visible. I can't ***** and whine about it. He hit well within the rules of the game back then but trying to make him out as a saint and some perfectly clean hitter who never elbows anyone is ridiculous. That's like me trying to tell you Lindros never left his feet on any hits because he was never called for a charging penalty. Dirty is dirty whether it is my team or your team.
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Elbowing has always been against the rules. He had four elbowing penalties in his career. Star players do get more leniency for these things, but if all of the entries on his greatest hits highlight reel are elbows, you're telling me there was a 22 year ref conspiracy to never give Stevens elbowing penalties?
Watch that video again. #10 is a hip check, #9 his elbow is up only after contact is made, it is tucked before. #8 is a shoulder to the head, probably illegal today, but the elbow is in. #7 his elbow is in, he isn't leading with it, his shoulder is the first thing to make contact. #6, his elbow never makes contact with the player being hit, he looks like he's pushing the guy down on the follow through. #5 I'll give you, that does actually look like an elbow, because Stevens timed it wrong or Langkow moved where he didn't expect, and he caught him with his elbow instead of the shoulder as he intended. #4 it's pretty clearly tucked in. #3 has been endlessly dissected by Devils fans who consider it the hit that announced the Devils were for real. No elbow. #2 is a shoulder to chest. Slightly late perhaps, but otherwise clean. #1 his elbow comes up on the follow through, but contact is made with the shoulder first. Dan McGillis, a Flyers defenceman who was standing 15 feet away from the hit, has called it absolutely clean.