Media pushed NHL and general managers to move on head shots
March 10, 2010 · 26 Comments
Weren’t you warmed by the courage and vision displayed the NHL general managers this week?
I mean, think about it. After months of soul searching, these people concluded that blind-side head shots — like the attack by Matt Cooke on Marc Savard — are illegal.
And, at the referee’s discretion, these infractions are — wait for it — deserving of a penalty.
We knew this would be a difficult decision for the general managers when George McPhee of the Washington Capitals said earlier this week: “It’s such a difficult subject and it’s hard to define exactly what we want to do.”
Oh, yes, it was a real puzzler all right.
My sense of this is that neither the general managers, certainly not the NHL and most certainly not vice-president Colin Campbell, the guy who suspends players, wanted anything to do with this.
Some NHL players are beginning to speak out now, but for months they’ve parroted the league’s line: We don’t want to take the physicality out of the game (Ottawa’s Jason Spezza this week). Or, you have to be aware of who’s on the ice. Or, well, it was a tough hit, but it was a good hockey play, too.
No, what was needed to bring a degree of sanity to the NHL’s thought process was the media, or at least some in the media. Stu Hackel, who blogs for The New York Times, has been writing about head hits for a long time. Damien Cox of The Toronto Star has as well. TSN’s Bob McKenzie has done some good work on it.
On a few occasions, McKenzie has vented on this subject, but he also chooses his words carefully. He was on the AM 640 Toronto’s Leafs Lunch this week, during which he went out of his way to explain that it’s much more important to protect junior age and youth hockey players from attacks to the head than it is the pros, who are well paid adults well aware of the hazards in their line of work.
He also reported that if the league moved to hand out significant suspensions to these offenders, it is unlikely it would increase the punishment for repeat offenders. He didn’t explain why the NHL is against doing this, but it’s easy to guess: Because it makes sense. In the real world, repeat offenders are punished accordingly, but not in the world of the NHL.
That’s why real blame for the problem of head shots and concussions belongs to the league, specifically Campbell, and not to the perpetrators. More than three years ago, Colby Armstrong hit Trevor Letowski from behind, ramming his shoulder into his head. Letowski, concussed, was carried off the ice on a stretcher. Armstrong received nothing.
If Campbell had moved on this problem even as recently as a year ago, he would have made progress.
Consider a head shot by Cooke delivered on Artem Ansimov in November. Campbell suspended Cooke for two games. Because Cooke was a repeat offender, the league also took some money away from him.
But, what if, as a repeat offender, Cooke had been given a 15 or 20 game suspension? What if he was looking at a 30 or 40 game suspension for his next attack? Would he have even thought about targeting Savard’s head?
Campbell and the league, terrified of taking the “physicality” out of the game, have showed no courage on this issue. Now that the general managers have acknowledged that blind-sided hits are a bad thing, there’s no indication the league will show any more courage in punishing the offenders.
Yahoo and CBC team up
Yahoo! Canada will begin streaming the CBC’s Hockey Night In Canada on Saturday, March 13.
Yahoo and the CBC this week announced the partnership, which runs through the end of the 2009-10 season including the playoffs.
In a release, Gina Cothey, director, audience, for Yahoo! Canada said: “It’s no secret Canadians love hockey, and as part of the company’s focus on delivering ‘wow’ consumer experiences, Yahoo! Canada wanted to make the experience of watching games even better. Hockey fans can watch their favourite teams in action and catch up on all the news and analysis from the hockey world just by visiting Yahoo! Canada. CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada is an important part of Canadian culture, and Yahoo! Canada is excited to partner with the CBC to offer NHL fans this unique online viewing experience.”
Scott Moore, the head of CBC Sports said: “CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada is pleased to be working with Yahoo! Canada on this initiative. Yahoo! Canada provides a unique platform for CBC to extend the best in CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada programming to Canadians. In addition to our complete line-up at CBCSports.ca, we’re ensuring that Canadians can experience Canada’s number one weekly sports program whenever and wherever they choose.”
No suspension for Cooke
It you needed further evidence of the NHL irresonsibility regarding head shots, the league has decided not to suspend Matt Cooke. On Leafs Lunch, Bill Watters said the league’s credibility “just went out the window.” I’d say Colin Campbell should have been removed from his job years ago. Here’s the hit on Savard:
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My street hockey league is better run than the NHL. They are a joke. In any other league, this hit would have been a suspension. How does the NHL expect to be taken seriously. Stupid morons are running the league.
Yes Bill, the media made the NHL and GM's move on head shots. Particularly, Bob McCown and yourself are the two most influetial people who had the greatest impact on their decision to address this issue. I was also made aware that both of you have cured Colon Cancer and have completed a proto type electrical car that will eventually make the gasoline automobile obsolete.
Thanks Bill for clearing this up and please don't stop your tireless efforts to rid the world of all that ails it.
Mississauga………Relax man, get a life…….
Binder Dundhat (how original)….. I do have a life, I was sleeping when you were replying. L
Then here's one for you: Get over yourself!
Bill, did you hear the interview with Bob Clarke to other morning – he had some great things to say (Fan morning show). His basic point was – the point of body checking is to get the puck. Anything that accomplishes that is Ok, anything that doesn't, isn't Ok. If you think about it, that makes a lot of sense. How many hits do we see where the puck is long gone, but these guys are going head hunting? He makes a great point. Looks like the GMs listened, as he gave an impassioned speech to them at the meetings. Of course, Clarke was a rough and tumble player whose teamates were the Broad Street Bullies. But he still makes a great point.
When he was known as "Bobby" Clarke this was the same guy who tried to chop off some Russians foot and defended his actions as part of the game.
I guess "The Media" has little influence over the NHL if this was the decision they came up with….
Did we see any of this during the amazing Olympic tournament? No. Does this just perpetuate the stereotype (held in every country of the world except Canada) that hockey is the sport "where they fight and try to injure one another"? Yep. Way to promote the game. Makes me sick and ashamed to be a hockey fan at times.
Every other country in the world except Canada thinks that about hockey? Maybe they feel that way about North American hockey but I doubt most Scandanavians, Eastern Europeans and Swiss think that about their own brand of game.
Part of the reason the league won't do anything is the players association. They would have to agree to larger fines and suspensions, and they always side with the person who tries to injure people, not the victim.
best post so far (and you've had a few). No suspension for that hit is beyond the pail, like not groovy for the NHL man. If they think that is a safe but rough tough play that's hockey phoniness then count me a sucker. Campbell and his boss (or is that bosses?) need to come to heel.
cbc/hnic has two goon hockey lovers in cherry and milbury, no wonder yahoo! wants to feed these morons to its bloodlusting audience.
I guess you would be a better choice.
What I don't understand is that if a player draws blood on a high-stick, even if not intentional, he gets an extra 2 minutes. The rationale is that the player should have control of his stick.
By the same logic if a player causes a concussion to another player on a hit to the head, even if not intentional, shouldn't there be a price to pay? The rationale is that the player should have control of his shoulder/elbow.
I am really fed up with seeing players knocked out on the ice.
No suspension means the NHL does more to keep its title as worst professional sports league. The Olympic hockey tournament was so good that I just gave the NHL another chance (Even though, I knew that this type of hockey couldn't be replicated in the NHL), but after the Cooke B.S. hit non-suspension and the failure of the league to do anything about similar hits and goonery, I'm done with the NHL. It's a league full of goons and people who should be working in other jobs. Basketball only from now on.
HNIC already streams at cbcsports.ca – what is the added value (to consumers, and to the CBC) in having it stream also at Yahoo?
I don't know and by no means am I a hockey expert, but it seems to me there are 4 things that need to be penalized more harshly, perhaps a 5 minute major, game misconduct and suspension irregardless of who commits the infraction and whether an injury occurs –
1. Any hit from behind
2. Any hit on a player not in possesion of the puck (even if it is right after they had it)
3. Any blindside hit were the player could not see the player hitting him
4. Any penalty currently called as elbowing
How can a league and their broadcast partners who all actively promote fighting – on a hard, frozen surface, no less – spend all this time on the issue of protecting its' employees from brain injuries?
It makes sense that Yahoo's working with the CBC to offer webcasts. They've been doing the same with other sports – NCAA basketball and football with Raycom, stands out – for a couple years now.
Do they still have that deal with Versus to stream NHL games in the US?
while McCown's ego is far out of proportion with the value of his insights he must be commended for being on the front line of this issue.
this is a question of will. the NFL crafts its rules to fit the kind of game they want to see on the field. they are constantly tinkering with what counts as a legal hit and the players usually fall in line within the same season. One can only infer from their entrenchment that the current NHL game reflects the will of the owners and the commissioner. i'm not interested in what they are selling, and outside of about 10 cities, many others share my opinion.