Rampant Faking and Diving Is Beneath the Game

New York Ranger Coach Colin Campbell accused Pittsburgh Penguin defenseman Francois Leroux of being so theatrical in faking injuries to draw penalties that he “dies every time he gets hurt.”

Detroit center Steve Yzerman, usually a class act, was penalized for diving--taking an unnecessary fall--in Game 3 of the Red Wings’ series against St. Louis. In Game 4, Detroit’s Vladimir Konstantinov was penalized for a phony dive and Martin Lapointe was sent off for exaggerating the effect of a mild head-butt by the Blues’ Geoff Courtnall. In Colorado’s series against Chicago, Avalanche winger Claude Lemieux was nabbed for diving in Game 5.

Diving is an ugly trend, and it’s not the only bad new one this spring.

As long as there have been big scorers, checkers such as Bryan “Bugsy” Watson and Esa Tikkanen have shadowed them. Those two were annoying, but what they did was angelic compared to what’s going on now. Wayne Gretzky, Eric Lindros, Jaromir Jagr and other scorers are getting cross-checked, hacked and pounded into the glass, and someone is sure to get seriously hurt soon.

“What Doug Gilmour was doing to Wayne in the [Blues’ first-round series against Toronto] wasn’t vicious, but it was something we hadn’t seen before,” said former Montreal Coach Jacques Demers, now a scout for the Canadiens. “We played against him in the finals three years ago, and at the time, you wouldn’t think of doing some of the things Toronto was doing.”

No respect for stars. Diving. Faking injuries. What’s the NHL, whose players rightly prided themselves on being rugged but honest, coming to?

“It’s a different game now,” said Hall of Famer Bobby Hull, father of Blues’ winger Brett Hull. “We could give a body check and take one without getting our sticks up, and of course, that was before helmets. We had more respect for each other, from the best player in the league to the 120th.

“We were there to put bread on the table and entertain people in the building, not to embarrass our teammates, the jersey or ourselves and our family. You played it hard and you played it tough and if someone was better than you, you didn’t moan, you went to practice to bone up on your game.”

Demers attributes both trends to desperation.

“There was a lot of pressure on the Maple Leafs because they had made a lot of changes and they felt they had to win Round 1 and Round 2,” he said. “There’s also financial pressure. . . .

“I don’t believe in diving because it makes it tougher on the referee. You don’t want to make the referee look bad because at some point he’s going to remember you. There’s players lying on the ice all the time now, but the refs don’t know if they’re hurt because some guys lie on the ice and come back the next shift.

“I would never want to win a game that way. But if one of our guys dives and the other team gets a penalty and we score, I’d say, ‘Great.’ ”

But it’s not great for the game. Divers should get major penalties. Players who fake injuries and make miraculous recoveries should get misconducts if they stop play for more than three minutes. That should end the writhing.

WHO WAS THAT MASKED MAN?

After watching the Penguins tear the Rangers apart in five games, we have two questions.

When did the ghosts of Georges Vezina and Jacques Plante take over Pittsburgh goalie Ken Wregget’s body? And how small are Ranger General Manager Neil Smith’s chances of getting his much-desired contract extension after assembling a $34-million payroll and losing so quickly?

Smith built a big, veteran team to match up well against the Philadelphia Flyers, but he left the Rangers vulnerable to the Penguins’ speed and skill. That the Penguins had a superior offense was no surprise.

That Wregget, who had a .941 save percentage in the series, would control rebounds so well and the Penguins could play solid team defense were revelations. They neutralized Pat Verbeek, Adam Graves and Luc Robitaille, who make their livings around the net, and embarrassed Brian Leetch, who was minus-11 in the playoffs. Defenseman Ulf Samuelsson, usually at peak nasty form this time of year, wasn’t a factor.

“The key was our defense and Ken Wregget coming in for Tom Barrasso [who was injured],” said Mario Lemieux, the top playoff scorer with 20 points. “We played really well throughout this series. One of the reasons I came back to play the game is to have the feeling you have in the playoffs and to have the chance to win another championship in Pittsburgh.

“Defense has always been the key for us. When we won our two [Stanley] Cups in the early ‘90s, our defense won it for us. Defense is going to win the Cup.”

HERE’S ONE GOOD CHECK

The Chicago Blackhawks say they want to re-sign Jeremy Roenick, who will be a Group 2 free agent after this season. Relations between Roenick and management have often been rocky, especially since he took a strong pro-union stance during the lockout last season. However, club President Bill Wirtz realized that Roenick, who earned $1.4 million this season, is a cornerstone player.

“It’s going to take a lot [of money] but that’s all I do anymore, anyway--sign checks,” Wirtz told the Chicago Tribune.

Roenick may be worth the money for his needling skills alone. He and Avalanche goalie Patrick Roy have had an ongoing verbal battle that’s almost as good as their teams’ battle on the ice.

When Roenick complained that he should have gotten a penalty shot after being pulled down on a breakaway in Game 4, Roy replied, “I don’t care if he got a penalty shot, because I would have stopped him anyway.”

Roenick fired back, “I like Patrick’s quote, that he would have stopped me. I just want to know where he was in Game 3 [won by Chicago, 4-3, in overtime]. Probably getting his jock out of the stands or out of the rafters of the United Center.”

Roy had a great parting shot: “I can’t really hear what Jeremy says because I got my two Stanley Cup rings plugging my ears.”

SLAP SHOTS

Shame on the Blackhawks for initially attributing defenseman Chris Chelios’ absence in Game 4 against Colorado to an equipment problem. He had a pulled ligament near his pelvic bone. His attempt to play in Game 5 was admirable but misguided, because he was so badly hobbled. . . . Blackhawk Coach Craig Hartsburg demoted center Bernie Nicholls to the fourth line behind Denis Savard. It’s doubtful that Nicholls, an unrestricted free agent July 1, will return to Chicago.

The Detroit-St. Louis series marks the first time Gretzky and Paul Coffey have been opponents in the playoffs. “I’m trying not to see him,” Coffey said. “It’s no secret how much respect I have for him, but I’ve got a job to do. To me, he’s just another sweater out there.” . . . Colorado’s Roy broke Bill Smith’s record Saturday for most playoff minutes played by a goalie, 7,645. . . . St. Louis right wing Brett Hull’s goal Sunday was his 63rd in the playoffs, moving him ahead of his father, Bobby, for 15th place among playoff goal scorers.

The Penguins are playing so well, even Coach Eddie Johnston hasn’t botched things up. He had never gotten a team past the second round before. . . . NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman on the glowing puck used during games televised by Fox: “It’s a work in progress. The color has gotten much better.” Sorry, but it’s still laughable.

The Philadelphia Flyers, who trail the Florida Panthers, 3-2, are baffled by the sub-par play of Eric Desjardins. He was Philadelphia’s best defenseman most of the season but is a team-low minus-5. He had flu in the first round against Tampa Bay but had no excuse for the giveaway to Rob Niedermayer that helped the Panthers tie Game 4. . . . The Hartford Whalers, who made noise about moving if they didn’t sell 11,000 season tickets by May 1--and then extended the deadline to Wednesday--figure to come close enough to their target to say they’ll stay.