Former Oiler Defenceman Calls Out Tim Stutzle For His Reputation of Diving

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Liam McCormick
October 2, 2024 (5:47 PM)

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Former Oiler Defenceman and NHL veteran Jason Demers has called out Tim Stutzle for gaining a poor reputation around the league.

Fans across the NHL have seen that Tim Stutzle is often embellishing to get penalty calls, or at the very least going down easy and dramatically. Last night, Stutzle was caught by a huge hit from Arber Xhekaj. At first glance the hit looked brutal and Stutzle was sent flying, but upon closer inspection, Xhekaj made contact only with the chest. Stutzle's stick actually made contact with his own head.

Many times throughout his career, Stutzle has been confronted with allegations of diving. Players on the ice are openly astounded by some calls, and referees will begin to catch on too if they haven't already.

Now, former NHLer Jason Demers is saying what's on everyone's mind. Demers said that is Stutzle keeps this up, he'll lose the respect of his peers and the officials, which would be extremely tough to come back from.

As a former player, Demers' opinion should hold weight here. Stutzle will begin to have problems with referees if he continues making fools of them with embellishment. Earning the ire of referees will affect their calls on the ice for even legitimate penalties, and that would affect Stutzle's coaches and teammates. Continuing to exaggerate penalties like this will only hurt Stutzle's career.

Jason Demers is now 36 years old, and retired from professional hockey after his final game with the Edmonton Oilers in 2023. The Quebecois played 700 career games for 5 different teams in his career, mostly as a depth defender.

It's wild that Demers would speak so candidly about a personal criticism like this. Who knows? Maybe his message gets out and actually has an effect on Stutzle's game. Plenty of hockey fans would be thrilled!