Post-Game Handshake?

[estogoalie]

Just curious, why is there no handshake after the game in the NHL? I only see it at the end of a playoff series. In Europe, it's normal after every game, from the Pros on down. International, IIHF, Olympics, etc as well. What's up with the NHL?

[coopaloop1234]

Because it's better served for tournaments or beer leagues.

Plus, there's a bit of historical significance with the playoff handshake after every series. Doing it after every game takes away from that moment at the end of a series that many fans (myself included) enjoy. 

As for an actual legit reason why? Ain't got one.

[Fullright]

I think but don't know that it is avoided in the Show's regular season because there's no finality unlike the playoffs where the winner has killed the hopes of the vanquished.

In Beer League and Higher, Faster, Stronger, probably because of a pretense of sportsmanship. 

My own two cents, the handshake after any game is just an affectation. I did it just to go along when I played in Beer League but the leagues fortunately didn't have it in college and junior back in the Before Christian era. I much more preferred the Billy Smith and/or Tony Esposito approach.

[WillyGrips13]

Each sport is different, too. NFL guys tend to meet and greet on the field after every game. MLB doesn’t do any after game acknowledging. NBA guys tend to meet and greet after regular games, too. In Soccer they tend to mingle after the game, too. 

Of course every sport will have occasional dust-ups or snubs after games. 

[estogoalie]

I've always thought the handshake after every game was a good show of sportsmanship and/or respect. There wouldn't be any game if not for the other team, so at least thank them for that.

[stackem30]

6 hours ago, estogoalie said:

I've always thought the handshake after every game was a good show of sportsmanship and/or respect. There wouldn't be any game if not for the other team, so at least thank them for that.

I don't entirely disagree -- we line up for handshakes after every game. I think it's a fine thing to do, and I always participate.

Still, it's kind of an obligatory gesture, and I don't usually ascribe too much meaning to it. It's tradition, and tradition can be pretty mindless and meaningless if you're just going through the motions. It's like the national anthem in sports, or participating in grace when you're a guest at someone's house -- some people take it seriously, and it carries a lot of significance for them. Other people just do it because it's tradition or considered polite, and it would be too much of a big deal to do otherwise. 

I've skated through many a handshake line where I sincerely wanted to shake everyone's hand and look them in the eye because we just played a great game. I've also participated in countless handshakes where I didn't respect the other team at all -- even for showing up  -- or want to shake their hands. I don't think that makes me some unwavering good sport -- it just means I'm unwilling to break away from a custom, because I've been conditioned to act like it's integral to the game of hockey.

[bunnyman666]

The question is this: who has been involved with a handshake line where a fight broke out?

[coopaloop1234]

27 minutes ago, bunnyman666 said:

The question is this: who has been involved with a handshake line where a fight broke out?

Who hasn't?

[bunnyman666]

41 minutes ago, coopaloop1234 said:

Who hasn't?

But was it a full-ice brawl?

[coopaloop1234]

7 minutes ago, bunnyman666 said:

But was it a full-ice brawl?

3-4 pair offs.

A couple other random one off altercations

plenty of yapping

one locker room brawl

This is all on one team in low div mens league. lol.

I've seen some shit man.

[bunnyman666]

1 minute ago, coopaloop1234 said:

3-4 pair offs.

A couple other random one off altercations

plenty of yapping

one locker room brawl

This is all on one team in low div mens league. lol.

I've seen some shit man.

Wow- but it is low div men’s league...

[coopaloop1234]

Just now, bunnyman666 said:

Wow- but it is low div men’s league...

Tell me about it. At least in the high div's guys are willing to do a proper fight on the ice and settle it there.

Low level hockey is a bunch of guys who really have no perspective of the level they're playing. lol.

[stackem30]

I was kind of involved in one last week! 

There was a play where I made a save, and the puck trickled through and was rolling towards the goal line. I was able to get my glove on it when it was 2-3" from the goal line. Close, but not that close. The ref was right on top of it, but he still asked me, "You got that, right?" I told him I did indeed, and he was satisfied. No players on the other team had any complaints, and one even said "nice grab". Right on cue, some player on the opposing team who was at *center ice* when the play happened skates in, yelling that he saw the puck went in. I said, "No, it didn't" and he proceeded to yell that I was lying, it was totally in, etc. Goal didn't count, play continued, we won (6-2, I might add).

When I go to shake the guy's hand on the handshake line, he grabbed my hand, pulled me in close to him, and said 'You know that was in, you fucking liar." I just wrenched my hand out of his hand with a lot of force, but my teammates thought I'd been pushed, and so then an actual scuffle ensued. It was pretty minor shoving/grabbing and I didn't participate.

I'm not really sure why people bother getting in line to shake hands if their intention is just to get the last word in or start a fight -- they'd be better off just skating off the ice. That's kind of what I mean when it comes to these obligatory handshakes... it's not necessarily sportsmanship, it's just going through the motions. Sportsmanship is calling for a whistle when you see a player on the other team is hurt. It's apologizing to an opponent for a bad hit. It's admitting to a ref that a goal was over the line (when it actual is). It's skating up to a player on the other team after a game specifically to tell them they played a really great game. It's offering your opponents some beer after the game.

Lining up to shake hands after a game just because "it's what you do" feels like a hollow gesture to me, more often than not.

[coopaloop1234]

24 minutes ago, stackem30 said:

It's admitting to a ref that a goal was over the line (when it actual is).

You're a madman.

[ULTIMA]

You don't have to like your opponent but you should always respect them. Part of that is shaking hands of the game no matter what the scoreboard says. Have class.

[ULTIMA]

Oh, and if you're still hot from losing don't be a sore loser and whiny bitch like some "pros"

[Fullright]

"I am going to f ucking kill you next season"

[stackem30]

That all sounds well and good, and that's a cool picture and all, but I think that's very facile.

I've seen men's league players trying to put guys in the hospital. I've heard people use some pretty heinous racial slurs on the ice. I've seen a guy spit at a referee. I've heard people make comments about player's children. I don't have to respect anyone who acts like that simply "because sportsmanship".

Statements about "always respecting your opponent" presuppose that your opponents are carrying themselves within certain lines of decency. 

EDIT: I think we're getting a few arguments crossed here. I am all for looking your opponent in the eye after a hard game and shaking their hand. I *hated* when Lucic mouthed off in line like that... if a player can't be a good sport -- and some can't -- I'd rather see them skate off the ice and not participate in the handshake. I don't think it should be approached as something you do after every game, no matter what. It should be done out of true respect, not simply because "it's what you do".

[coopaloop1234]

And sometimes they're just ugly mother fuckers that have no business shaking my beautiful hand.

[ULTIMA]

8 minutes ago, stackem30 said:

That all sounds well and good, and that's a cool picture and all, but I think that's very facile.

I've seen men's league players trying to put guys in the hospital. I've heard people use some pretty heinous racial slurs on the ice. I've seen a guy spit at a referee. I've heard people make comments about player's children. I don't have to respect anyone who acts like that simply "because sportsmanship".

Statements about "always respecting your opponent" presuppose that your opponents are carrying themselves within certain lines of decency. 

For me, guys can act however they want in the handshake line. If they wana be punks about it, go ahead. I'm still gonna extend my hand because it's the right thing to do. If you're the kinna person who wants to be a jackass in the handshake line, that's your prerogative and I'm not gonna bring myself to that level.

[stackem30]

9 minutes ago, ULTIMA said:

For me, guys can act however they want in the handshake line. If they wana be punks about it, go ahead. I'm still gonna extend my hand because it's the right thing to do. If you're the kinna person who wants to be a jackass in the handshake line, that's your prerogative and I'm not gonna bring myself to that level.

Hey man, you should proceed as you see fit. We all have our own moral codes. To me, extending your hand "because it's the right thing to do" sounds like a pretty empty platitude. A month ago, someone on the other team called a black teammate of mine the N-word, and then slashed him hard in the ankle. I should shake that guy's hand after the game? Hard pass. I didn't feel like refusing to shake his hand brought my team down to his level... we felt pretty good about it.

I'm all for tradition and sportsmanship, but I'm not for blindly adhering to it. 

[Puckducker]

Yeah I always assumed it was just from a concern about post-game fights.

The league I played in when I was a kid used to do post-game handshakes, but had to stop because there were too many "incidents". We ended up switching to a pre-game handshake instead. 

I think you don't see that often in post-playoff handshakes because there's a certain finality to a playoff series that probably diffuses some of that tension. 

[estogoalie]

Wow, I'm 46 and haven't been involved in a handshake-line scuffle since I was 10. Maybe because I've been playing mostly in Europe and it's more "civilized" here? Or maybe my German/French isn't good enough to understand what the other team is saying to me?   Anyway, yea, it's mostly the lower tier teams where the bullshit happens anyway. The higher level guys are usually more professional and know to leave their grudges when the game is done.

Last year I subbed for a bad low-level team, and we were losing 3-0 after the first period. In the locker room the captain was giving a speech, and then looked over to me and said "You know, if you wouldn't have let in those 3 goals, we would be tied at zero right now". I thought to myself for a split second "is this guy blaming me for his suck-ass team losing right now?", and then said back to him "Yea, and if you would have scored 3 goals, we would be tied 3-3 right now". Everyone in the locker room was cracking up, but him . By comparison, I played with a higher-level team several years ago, and I blew a close game with 3 bad goals in a row, and after the game, they were all apologizing to me. Total class.

Anyway, back to the handshake thing, I think it's a good tradition, because it gives you the players/teams the opportunity to extend some appreciation/respect to each other. If you don't want to extend that, or if someone else abuses it, is another story I think.