Quote:Written Task: What do you think about celebrations in hockey? There aren't many of note, because it seems that most players like to keep it tame. Not only that, but when there is a celebration of note, it makes the media rounds and everyone has to weigh in. So where do you land on it? Should players be respectful and keep things low key, or would you prefer to see them go crazy sometimes? (150+ words)

So, I 100% understand from a player/team perspective why people generally do not go over the top with celebrations anymore. For one, hockey is run by the old breed still. They don't like seeing any change in hockey, they like the idea of status quo and 'old time hockey'. Crazy celebrations and shows of emotion and stuff like that don't really belong with that mindset. But more importantly is that during a game, you really don't want to be giving your opponent anything they can rally off of, and I think that's actually the bigger factor at play here. I think later on in a one-off game or whatnot it's more to do with just showing respect to your opponent and not being a dick. But in an important playoff series for example, you don't want to pull off a crazy celebration in a 5-2 game or something and give the other team something to get worked up about and rally behind for the next game. So overall I think the reason we don't see it is a mix between the three things. Respecting your opponent, the 'old time hockey' attitude where players are expected to be unemotional robots, and then not giving anything for the opponent to feed off of.

Personally, I don't really give a shit about 'cool' celebrations. Don't get me wrong, they can be funny to watch and whatnot and I can still get a kick out of it, but it's not a big deal for me. I am a hockey geek so I care more about the game than the side stuff. However, the NHL really needs to move on from this old time hockey mindset and find ways to expand their market. Players actually being allowed to show some personality and flair would go a long way for that.