Patrick Kaleta Fined For Headbutt On Travis Zajac
by Zachary Zielonka on Oct 17, 2010 8:36 PM EDT
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PrintTSN is reporting that Kaleta was fined for attempting a headbutt on Travis Zajac on Wednesday. Here is the video, you make the call:
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I think a fine is just. He should have also received 2+10-minute penalties, but the refs blow calls all the time (no surprise there). Not sure if I’d call that a dive afterward, though, given his recent neck injuries. I know I wouldn’t risk re-injuring my neck just to keep my balance. But yeah, the headbutt was pretty blatant, and rightfully punished by a fine.
Glad he's not suspended but the league had to do something.
There’s no place for headbutting.
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Good job Colin
I’m glad they caught that. Now if they would only take a look at the dives he takes every game when he’s “drawing a penalty.” I was excited about Kaleta when he came into the league, but it’s starting to get embarrassing watching him play. He’s suppose to be a tough physical player, but he flops on the ice like he’s been shot every time he’s touched. Get out there and be physical, but keep it honest.
I don't see him as a diver so I'll have to disagree on that
but like Sean Avery, he has to find the line to walk.
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by Ogre39666 on Oct 18, 2010 2:19 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Agreed. The only frequent diver on this team is/was Roy, and even he has pretty much stopped doing it in the last year or two.
Kaleta isn’t a frequent diver, that is not his strategy for drawing penalties (since diving is a penalty itself, that would not work out very well). He draws his penalties by hitting hard (borderline charging, even) and then not defending himself when challenged in retaliation. Then the opposing team gets a penalty, the Sabres get a power play, and Kaleta gets labeled as a pansy for not fighting back, but smiles nonetheless as he knows he is helping the team win in his own unique way. As hated is he is (and should be) by other teams’ fans, I don’t quite understand the hatred for him from Sabres fans. He is a very special type of team player. The occasional line-crossing dirty hit/play aside, he plays within the rules and helps the team win games. What’s not to like about that?
Now if only the power play could take advantage of those opportunities… then we’d really feel Kaleta’s worth.
I think the whole "this team is spineless" attitude blinds some people into not liking Kaleta
They want to see someone fight back when challenged (ignoring the consequences/situation) because they believe the team lacks a collective backbone
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You need to watch this video again...
Do you really think that weak attempt at a right hand dropped Kaleta?? Come on guys. As soon as Kaleta feels any retaliation, he drops to the ice like he’s been shot.
It drew a penalty didn't it?
And why is it so hard to believe he was genuinely off-balance there? He did just hit a guy with his head.
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"it drew a penalty didnt it?'
So the fact that they called it a penalty proves he wasn’t diving?…. Do you honestly think this is a good argument? The only way this works is if reffs catch every diving call all the time, which we clearly know is NOT the case. I can understand your view here if you’ve never played ice hockey, because you wouldn’t understand what it’s like, but you can not watch these games objectively and not see Kaleta’s embellishments. Go watch honest big hitters like Cal Clutterbuck, or Scott Nichol. You wont see them flopping around every time they’re touched. I know this may seem crazy, but you CAN be a fan and be objective at the same time. Trust me.
Comparing Cal Clutterbuck and Scott Nichol to Kaleta is a streatch
Kaleta is not a slow grinder who hits a lot. He is a pest who hits a lot and will sacrifice his face – and sometime dignity – to draw a call.
Of coarse “it drew a penalty” ≠ “not diving”, but his goal in that sequence was to deliver a hit, and once knowing he was getting called for something, to draw a penalty (hence when he was shoved and lost his balance, he didn’t try very hard to regain it). He achieved both those things. I think he know he took a bad penalty (headbutting) so he made sure he at least evened it up. There are worse things.
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Kaleta is still recovering (not quite back to 100%) from some serious head and neck injuries. If someone pushed on your injured neck, would you risk worsening the injury just to keep your balance, or would you back away and lose your balance? I think it was pretty smart of Zajac, after that headbutt, to exploit Kaleta’s weak spot like that. Should have been 2 penalties instead of one (one to Kaleta for the headbutt and one to Zajac for retaliating), but no dive.
Besides, the diving penalty only pertains to tripping calls. I can’t recall Kaleta getting many diving penalties, and the referees are definitely looking for it from players with his reputation.
really?
I can’t believe I am dignifying this with a response but…. Do you really think he would be headbutting someone if he was so concerned with his fragile head/neck? I’m sure your next argument would be that maybe his headbutt on Zajac hurt his neck, so he fell backwards once Zajac pawed at him. We all know (or should know) that is not true, and I’m pretty positive Kaleta’s neck stiffness never popped into Zajac’s head when he planned his week retaliation.
All I was saying was that the headbutt should have been a penalty, and the retaliation by Zajac was another penalty, but the dive is subjective. As ridiculous as people look when they are falling down in slow-motion replays, there is no way to prove it was a dive, because there are several factors contributing to balance on ice skates that you can’t account for, his neck injury being an additional factor. Basically it’s a situation where maybe he was diving and maybe he wasn’t, but from watching the games I haven’t seen him diving like that on a consistent basis and therefore don’t think its appropriate to call Kaleta out for his ‘constant diving.’
Roy calmed down his diving because he became known around the league as a diver, and got a lot of heat for it. Kaleta needs the same attention so he will knock it off, and get back to focusing on being PHYSICAL, not “drawing penalties.”
See above post beginning with “Kaleta isn’t a frequent diver, that is not his strategy for drawing penalties”
Kaleta draws penalties by being a pest, if he stops that to appease fans like you the team instantly loses about half its power play opportunities.
Also, when has Kaleta’s focus ever been anything but “PHYSICAL”? He does everything physical short of drop the gloves. He is not paid to fight, he is paid to hit and irritate then go to the bench, come back out and do it again and again until someone takes a stupid penalty in retaliation. If he started to fight guys to back his actions up he would immediately become expendable. Everyone wants to beat him up, but no one can touch him without getting a penalty. That is the beauty of it, really. His penalty-drawing has absolutely nothing to do with diving.
Once again...
Asking Kaleta to stop embellishing when someone retaliates, is not asking him to stop being a pest. Maybe your definition of being a pest IS embellishing and if that is the case, then yes I want him to stop, and I would gladly take less powerplays if that means there is some more integrity to what he does. Maybe your one of those kids that just started watching hockey and have no clue what the game looks like when guys keep it honest. I’m sure you know who Rob Ray is because of his god awful between the bench commentating, but if you watched the guy play, he was a huge best to other teams, but you never saw him laying on the ice every time a player went back at him. If you are naive enough to think that Kaleta can’t hold his own and stay on his feet when the battle comes back to him, then there is obviously no way you will understand this. NOBODY SAID ANYTHING ABOUT WANTING HIM TO FIGHT, so stop trying to argue a point that was never made to begin with. I could care less if he ever drops the gloves, and Id actually rather him stay away from that so long as he’s wearing a shield. “no one can touch him without getting a penalty” This is exactly my point, because every time somebody does touch him, he embellishes to draw a penalty. Like I said before, I loved Kaleta when he first showed up in a Buffalo uniform, but I can not in good conscience disregard the integrity of the game that I love for a few more powerplays. Stop being such a homer, open your eyes.
OK I now see the point you are trying to make. It’s probably not worth arguing, but I’ll give it a shot:
Kaleta generally plays within the rules. I can appreciate his effectiveness at drawing penalties. That effectiveness is contingent on his hits being legal, but at the same time frequent and powerful enough to draw ire. We both seem to like the hitting part. After this point is where we seem to disagree.
Once he draws such ire, he stands there awaiting an instigation. When it comes, embellished or not, it draws a penalty. Currently the NHL generally only calls unsportsmanlike conduct for diving to embellish a tripping penalty (something Kaleta is not involved with). So if Kaleta embellishes a roughing penalty, since it is generally not penalized, it only improves his effectiveness. If you take issue with the ethics of doing so, then that is where we disagree. I am not saying Kaleta’s style of play warrants respect on an ethical/integrity level, but I do think it warrants some appreciation for its sheer effectiveness. He gives the team an advantage within the current rules, just as ‘Mr. Integrity’ himself, Rob Ray, gained an advantage in fighting by removing all of his gear, leaving nothing for the opponent to hold onto, which at the time was within the rules, but similarly unethical.
by lassathrax on Oct 19, 2010 3:12 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Well now we are getting somewhere..
Clearly we just have differing opinions on the ethical nature of Kaleta’s actions, and your Ray point certainly makes sense, and I respect that. Like a lot of fans that have been following the Sabres for many years, I am yearning for a team that is hard to play against and doesn’t lay down for anyone. It bothers me to watch the Sabres embrace the attitude of antagonize in order to draw a penalty, rather than just run them out of the building. Watching them do nothing in the Chicago game when one of there core players was knocked out by a cheap hit because they didn’t want to lose their 5 minute PP was disgusting to watch. I think this is where we disagree, and both views are a matter of opinion. You think the best strategy is to take runs and pester to get retaliation penalties. I think the best strategy is take runs and stand your ground when retaliated against to make a statement to both the apposing team and your teammates that you will not be pushed around, or lay down for anyone. Either way, I think we can both agree that this team is missing something to take them to the top, and I hope they figure out what that something is soon! This was a good little debate Iassathrax, and I do respect your arguments and look forward to some more in the future! haha. go sabres.
But they did do something when Pomers was hit
Connolly jumped right on him and Sekera was right behind him.
But more to the point, personally I think a balance has to be struck. Drawing penalties is key to a successful team, but so is making sure you have a physical presence. Kaleta can do his thing but that means Goose, Montador, Rivet and others have to make a conscience effort to be firm and not back down if confronted.
Save Jenrry Mejia!
In lobby for Josh Byrnes/Chip Hale as Mets 2011 GM/Manager.
Don't be ridiculous
Connolly laying on Hjalmarsson for 10 seconds is hardly addressing the issue. There is absolutely no argument there. Of course drawing penalties is a successful key to the game, nobody said it wasn’t. It is the way that you draw penalties that counts. Kaleta can still draw penalties without embellishing. I’m sure you thought Chara’s hit on Kaleta in game 1 of the playoffs last year was legit too. Oh, and back to your point earlier. What exactly did you mean that it is a stretch to compare Kaleta to Clutterbuck? You called Clutterbuck a slow grinder.. Is that saying that he is just a big 4th line ogre (no pun intended) whose only goal is to go out there to hit and fight people? Number 1- Kaleta is bigger than Clutterbuck. Number 2- Clutterbuck doesn’t fight anymore than Kaleta does. Number 3 Clutterbuck is bigger offensive threat while still severely out hitting Kaleta. So what exactly were you talking about not being able to compare the two? they both have the same exact role, only Clutterbuck is much more effective while still keeping integrity in his play.
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