There was a time when a hit like the one received by Marc Savard from Matt Cooke would have initiated a violent response. In contrast, Savard's teammates just stood around their fallen star player. I may sound like Don Cherry but today's players don't stand up for each other like they used to.
One of my Bobby Orr memories was the famous Quinn hit. In 1969, Pat Quinn was a slow hulking defenseman for the Maple Leafs who caught Orr with his head down and knocked him out. Quinn was assessed a questionable elbow penalty - mostly for having the gall to knockout a hockey God in Boston.
A donnybrook broke out. Leaf forward Forbes Kennedy playing in what proved to be his last game, was front and center in the aftermath of the hit. When all was said and done he had set NHL records for most penalties in a game (8), most minutes (38 - since bettered), most penalties in a period (6) and most penalty minutes in a period (34). He was also suspended for three games, reportedly for punching a linesman en route to the locker room.
The Boston fans went crazy. Quinn had to be escorted from the penalty box because some of the fans began hitting him. Garbage rained down in Quinn's direction. Finally police were brought in to safely escort Quinn to the dressing room.
The point I'm making is that acts like that made you a marked man in those days. Don Cherry blames it the change on the instigator rule. I don't agree. I just think today's high salaried players are more worried about themselves than the team. They are mercenaries. If your tough guy didn't stand up for your star players he would be gone the next day. Today's tough guys are mostly side shows with their staged fights.
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