NHL broadcaster doubles down on controversial, violent opinion

Arizona Coyotes colour commentator and former NHLer Tyson Nash is doubling down on controversial comments he made on air Friday during a game between the Coyotes and Anaheim Ducks.

With just minutes remaining in the third period of a blowout contest, Coyotes forward Jay Beagle chose to fight Ducks forward Troy Terry, who didn’t appear to be very engaged. Despite the extremely unfair matchup in the tilt, Nash seemed to think it was justified.

“That’s the problem with these young players,” Nash said, referring to both Terry and Trevor Zegras. “You wanna embarrass guys? You wanna skill it up? You better be prepared to get punched in the mouth.”

Those comments have caused quite a stir on social media, with several fans and even some media calling Nash out. In order to try and help calm things down, Coyotes reporter Craig Morgan talked to him on Sunday to try and clarify his comments, but Nash seemed to double down on them instead.

Nash told Morgan that instead of saying “skill it up”, he should have used “hot dogging”, likely in reference to Zegras scoring a Michigan-style goal earlier in the contest. He also explained that he didn’t like the way Ducks players smiled and smirked after scoring goals. According to Nash, if you are going to do that, you have to be prepared for what comes afterward. Morgan also asked if Beagle should have let up on Terry once he fell to the ice, to which Nash responded “No, not at all.”

Given that Nash played the role of an enforcer during his 374-game NHL career, you can understand why he is siding with Beagle. However, to suggest that skillful plays should result in a player getting punched is a very outdated way of thinking. Players like Zegras are helping grow the game in a major way, and they should be applauded for that.

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