Giroux's Whining Breaks NHL 'Code'

Most casual sports fans have put the NHL and hockey behind them until around October when the regular season is gearing up, but I couldn't help but take notice when Claude Giroux of the Flyers (the team I hate the most along with the Washington Capitals) decided to open his big mouth.  Now, I first should say that I don't care for Claude Giroux mainly because he plays for the Flyers, but I can't say that he is a horrible player.  Every Penguin fan watched as he seemingly defeated the Pens in the playoffs last year by himself.  However, I couldn't help but notice that there is something about this guy that other players don't like either...chalk Sidney Crosby on the list of players who are members of the "Anti-Giroux" club.

You could make a case that Crosby could have been the club's founder even before Giroux decided to tell the Timmons Press in Ontario, Canada that he had to have two wrist surgeries in the offseason to repair damage done in the playoffs, and one of those wrists was specifically injured by Penguins Captain Sidney Crosby.  Here is the exact quote:

“[The scars] are from (Sidney) Crosby,”  “Every time we’d line up against each other for a face-off during our (2012 playoff) series, instead of going for the puck when it was dropped, he’d hack me across the wrists. I ended up playing the series against (New) Jersey with one of them fractured and had to go for surgery on both of them after we were out of the playoffs.”

The quote disturbs me for a couple of reasons.  First, is that since reading these quotes for the first time I've felt that Giroux broke the NHL 'Code' of dealing with injuries.  The NHL isn't the NFL where every little bump and bruise needs to be reported.  You hear things like "lower body injury" or "out with an injury" instead of other specific terminology.  To me, the code is about not complaining about your injuries either.  How many times do you see players suck it up during the playoffs and need surgery after the season?  More often than not probably, but how many star players cry about their injuries and specifically call out someone who they think injured them.  Secondly, did you hear Crosby crying about David Steckel for blindsiding him and causing his concussion / neck injury?  Never.  Did you hear Mario Lemieux cry when Adam Graves tried to hack his hand from his wrist in the early 90s?  Never.  The great ones don't make excuses, they play through them without a word. 

This just adds plenty of fuel to a fire that is already burning strong well after the playoff series between the Flyers and Penguins ended.  These two teams, their coaches, and fans can't stand one another.  Its exciting to think about these two playing against one another come this fall.  The other question is- Is the Crosby vs Ovechkin rivalry dead and now the Crosby vs Giroux rivalry taken its place?  They will be playing against one another more often and there is obviously bad blood between the two.  Ovechkin and Sid have never said a bad word towards one another, but with these quotes from Giroux, I have to think this rivalry will trump all others in the NHL world.  Lets just hope the CBA gets worked out so we have hockey come this fall...