Dreger said he's afraid to hit with the new crackdown on illegal stuff.
This has been said about a number of players, but I'm not buying it. Ruutu wasn't known for high hits before, I see no reason he'd change his game now.
Ruutu isn't a headhunter, agreed, but he does specialize in hitting guys form behind into the boards. I've NEVER been impressed with the supposed "physical play" Ruutu brings. In my opinion, his hits are borderline dirty or cowardly. His go-to hit is seconds after a pass has been made, along and into the boards.
Last edited by TheBigKahuna: 10-19-2011 at 12:42 PM.
He's been injured. In the Buffalo game the camera caught him on the bench working on his shoulder, so it really wouldn't shock me if he's got some soreness/minor injury.
If Ruutu is hurt so badly that he can't hit, he needs to get it fixed. He's not doing anybody any good right now. What he's bringing to the table right now can probably be replaced fairly easily by Jerome Samson or maybe even Jon Matsumoto (who is an amazing 3-6-9 in four games for Charlotte). Other teams can see it, too. So if he's hurt, he's not trade bait.
If Ruutu is hurt so badly that he can't hit, he needs to get it fixed.
I completely agree. I don't understand people playing injured, especially early in the season, if you can't play good enough. It just hurts the team, makes recovery slower and in that way hurts the team even more.
Anyway, it seems like he's feeling better lately. The last 2 games he's looked ok.
"I've got a player, and I've talked to him about because I don't think his game is where it needs to be and hitting is big part of his game and he's admitted that it is on his mind, that he's trying to be careful about his hits" - Mo when asked about the crackdown (7:50)
He doesn't name the player, but he gets asked later if he was talking about Ruutu and kind of dodges the question
Last edited by Amaxing Joni Jokel: 10-19-2011 at 09:41 PM.
"I've got a player, and I've talked to him about because I don't think his game is where it needs to be and hitting is big part of his game and he's admitted that it is on his mind, that he's trying to be careful about his hits" - Mo when asked about the crackdown (7:50)
He doesn't name the player, but he gets asked later if he was talking about Ruutu and kind of dodges the question
Nice find.
If I'm Maurice, I've got to have a chat with Tuomo, and remind him why he's in the league. You've got to be smart, but it's an incredibly fast game and stuff happens. If suspensions happen, they happen. But you can't play the game at 3/4 speed. Period.
"I've got a player, and I've talked to him about because I don't think his game is where it needs to be and hitting is big part of his game and he's admitted that it is on his mind, that he's trying to be careful about his hits" - Mo when asked about the crackdown (7:50)
He doesn't name the player, but he gets asked later if he was talking about Ruutu and kind of dodges the question
Actually, he answered it by saying something like, "I don't have to worry about Ruutu. He probably leads our team in hits."
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Actually, I listened again and Boomer asked, "Is Tuomo Ruutu the player you're talking about?" and Mo responded, "I don't think it's Ruuts. He probably leads our team in hits. We've got a couple other guys... It's not the hitters, it's the guys that hit a different way."
"I don't think it's Ruutu" and "we've got a couple other guys" is a dodge to a yes or no question in regards to a statement he made about one particular player. He clearly doesn't want to name the player, and he's not going to say "yes" to anyone's name.
There's no way he's describing anybody other Ruutu with that statement.
Last edited by Amaxing Joni Jokel: 10-20-2011 at 01:54 PM.
