Alexander Romanov calls out the Flyers and modern hockey culture.

It would appear that New York Islanders defenseman Alexander Romanov may not be a huge fan of the way things are trending in the National Hockey League, and in the sport of hockey as a whole.

Romanov spoke to members of the media on Monday and one of the topics discussed was a big hit that he delivered to Philadelphia Flyers forward Kevin Hayes during a game between the Flyers and Islanders on Saturday night. The hit itself didn't look like anything illegal but it came late in the third period and it was enough to draw the ire of the Philadelphia Flyers.

You can see the hit, the melee that would ensue from it, and the end of that fiasco, which culminated in a fight between Flyers defenseman Tony Deangelo and Islanders forward Oliver Wahlstrom, in the short clip below:

It would appear that the fact that an ostensibly clean hit would lead to such a circus doesn't sit well with the Russian defenseman who called out both the Flyers and modern hockey culture when he was asked about the incident, on Monday.

"I don't know why guys doesn't like clean hits now," said Romanov to reporters. "Hockey has changed. Like 10 years, 15 years ago, like, it wasn't even [big] hit. That's hilarious, you know."

The opinion expressed by Romanov here is one I have heard expressed by countless hockey fans and pundits alike who want to see more good, clean, hits in their game. As a result I suspect he will find a lot of support for his comments here today, both from within the Islanders' fan base and even from fans of other teams who simply agree with his take.

The 22 year old Russian has not been shy of delivering big hits in his relatively young National Hockey League career and by the sound of things it seems he would like to do so more often.