Is Hockey Really this Starved for Attention?

The blogosphere is all atwitter with the news of the latest hockey fight.

No we aren’t referring to the fight from a few weeks ago where one goon clubbed the other in the face with his stick. No, we aren’t referring to that fight about a week ago where two goons slugged it out and one of them was wheeled off in a stretcher.

No, we are referring of course to the scuffle between this man

and them.

The gentleman at the top is New York Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvisk. And the ladies below are the New York Islanders “ice girls.” The ice girls, in case you haven’t been to or seen an NHL game lately (and judging by TV ratings and attendance figures, chances are you haven’t) perform the basic duties that the grounds crew performs at a baseball game. The only difference is they perform these tasks in half-shirts, tight pants, and other attire that we’re sure makes their parents very proud.

According to the report, the rivalry between the Rangers and Islanders was taken to a new height (or depth, depending on how you look at it) when Lundqvist began antagonizing the ice girls when they came to clean his crease during a stoppage. Supposedly, he refused to get out of the way of one of the ice girls, and even whacked one of their squeegees with his goal stick.

(quick aside: Dumber feud this week: Ludqvist vs. the Islander ice girls, or the war of words between Eric Wynalda and Jim Rome?)

Far be it from us to question anything done by the runaway success that is, the National Hockey League, but they may want to re visit the idea of ice girls. Clearly the idea here is to try their best to objectify these women, but is it wise to have them skating onto the ice during commercials and annoying the players? Is this really all the NHL has left to try to get fans into the arenas?

On another, non-ice girl related hockey note: What the hell is going on in the front office of the New Jersey Devils? This week GM Lou Lamoriello fired coach Claude Julien, less than a year after hiring him, despite the fact that there were only three games left in the season, and the Devils were in first place in their division and in the midst of four wins in five games. Simply amazing. Can you even imagine this happening in any other sport? Only hockey.