To borrow from the great comedian Chris Rock, I may not agree with the way Mason Marchment plays… but I understand.
Saturday at Climate Pledge Arena, the Edmonton Oilers weren’t in an understanding mood after Marchment’s 1st period hit on Darnell Nurse. For the rest of the 4-0 Edmonton win, Oilers took turns running at Marchment, trying to goad him into a fight. That’s one of the subplots for Thursday’s rematch between the two teams in Edmonton.
Afterward, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins said of the game’s chippy nature, “It started with one hit that should’ve been called.” But should it? The officials on ice didn’t think so. The NHL Department of Player Safety didn’t think so.
Three reasons why: (1) a video review showed the Marchment hit came less than one second after Nurse released the puck; in hockey, that’s called finishing your check (2) the hit was shoulder-to-shoulder, and not into the boards, and (3) nowhere in the rulebook does it say a player has to be looking at the opponent who’s about to freight-train him.
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What’s more, there’s history between Nurse and Marchment, whose Dallas Stars met the Oilers in last season’s Western Conference Final. After Nurse injured Stars’ star Roope Hintz with a slash, Marchment told reporters, “A lot of that stuff, you just keep in the back of your mind, and if the opportunity presents itself, then you take your chance.”
Misunderstanding Marchment
Online site OilersNation.com was typical of the pearl-clutching in Alberta this past weekend. Following what some termed a blindside hit, “Marchment refused to take care of his own business then – or near the end of the game, when Nurse approached him for a fight, only for Marchment to hide behind a linesman.”
Oh, really?
This must be “Hiding In Plain Sight.” Marchment is looking Connor Clattenburg directly in his eyes, with no linesperson in the picture. Moments later, Travis Gawryletz (67) comes in to do his job, but not because Marchment needed him to.
Calling Marchment cowardly for not dropping the gloves on Saturday fundamentally misunderstands his role – to gain an advantage for his team by irritating the opposition, in unsavory ways if necessary. It’s a big part of how he earns his paycheck.
Those who don’t think Marchment has to answer for his style of play, who think he doesn’t absorb punishment, didn’t see Leon Draisaitl smash his elbow into the mush of the player nicknamed “Mush.” In, fact, Draisaitl did it twice. Knowing his role, Marchment didn’t tangle back. Discretion being the better part of valor took a superstar off the ice, and gained a power play for the Kraken.
Mason Marchment is well-aware of the hazards implicit in his style of play, as this 2nd period sequence demonstrates.
- Left Image: Edmonton’s Andrew Mangiapane (88) grabs hold of Marchment
- Center Image: As Mangiapane holds on, Leon Draisaitl smashes an elbow into Marchment’s face
- Right Image: Two for the price of one minor penalty – Draisaitl gives Marchment a second elbow to the head
NHL History Filled With Players You Love, Or Love To Hate
Abrasiveness, playing on the edge, and sometimes over it, has been a part of the sport as long as curved blades and backchecks. See current players Brad Marchand and the Tkachuk brothers. Before them, see Ken “The Rat” Linesman, Dale Hunter (who was given a penalty box as a retirement gift), and Claude Lemieux, of the infamous Kris Draper hit in the 1996 Western Conference Final.
And before that, Bobby Clarke, John Wensink and Bryan “Bugsy” Watson, who no less than Blackhawks all-time great Bobby Hull called “superpest.” Speaking about Watson, Chicago coach Billy Reay complained, “What this guy did was rotten. He used his stick on Bobby and grabbed him every time they came close together. He did everything. Interference, holding, cross checking.”
Sound familiar? Earlier this year, when Marchment feigned a punch at giant Winnipeg defenseman Logan Stanley, then laughed – a moment which went viral on social media – he stated the obvious: “If the fans like it, then that’s great but it wasn’t really for that – I was just trying to get in his head a little bit.”
Exactly. By the end of the 1st period on Saturday, Marchment had worked his way into the heads of an entire team.
It’s Okay Not To Like Marchment – On One Condition
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If your hockey sensibilities truly get ruffled by the prankster tactics of a Mason Marchment, that can be a valid and principled stand – as long as you don’t insist fighting would be more “honorable.”
What’s more hypocritical then demanding schoolyard bullies duke it out with other students? That “unwritten code” business became obsolete the second we learned the letters CTE – Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, a disease linked to repeated trauma to the head.
Regrettably, there were fights on Saturday. Marchment got blamed for those, too, claiming teammates had to fight his battles. (I guess Mason also is responsible for high gas prices.) These bouts were also seen through team-colored glasses. “Clattenburg is hitting, taking on fights (against Freddy Gaudreau), aggravating and annoying opponents in post-whistle skirmishes,” said an admiring Edmonton Journal. Hmmm. Aggravating and annoying opponents a positive? You don’t say!
Edmonton media made hay over Clattenburg’s rag-dolling of Gaudreau. Almost no pixels were spent, however, commenting on Tye Kartye’s beatdown of Alec Regula. This, too, is part of the Marchment equation.
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If a player like Marchment, or Marchand, or Matthew or Brady Tkachuk wear the visiting team’s sweater, they’re Public Enemy #1. And rightly so. (Such jerks, amiright? And the dumb penalties they take!) If Mason, whose contract is up at the end of the season, gets moved to a contender as a rental at the trade deadline, he may go back on Kraken fans’ enemy list, too.
If one of these itching powders in human form is on a team you root for, or play for, you tend to love his antics. Don’t be surprised if Kraken sandpaper prospect Nathan Villeneuve graduates to Seattle in a year or two. That’s because of the rare skill set they possess, the way they can change the direction of a game, and how great a teammate they tend to be. Dallas goalie Jake Oettinger was almost heartbroken when the Stars traded Marchment away.
Which sums up why I may not agree with the way Mason Marchment plays… but I understand.