Wake Up NHL

[DarkStar50 679]

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/18/sports/h...html?ref=hockey

[chippa13 1844]

I would think the ruining of careers for the Lindros brothers and Pat LaFontaine would have been enough to spur the league to do something.

[TheBert 0]

I've always been surprised that the NHLPA doesn't push harder for an NFL standard on headshots.

It's in their financial best interest to have healthy palyers.

[chippa13 1844]

That's one of the oddest parts of the whole scenario. The players all say the right thing about head shots and respecting each other but they never use a unified front to do anything constructive about it. Makes me think that all their talk about respecting each other is just good sound bites.

[Law Goalie 147]

I think they fundamentally do respect one another - apart form a few aberrant nutcases, I've never met a single player who made me doubt that.

On the other hand, five minutes with Luke Richardson should be enough to convince anyone of the severity of this problem.

It may take another couple of years, but things will come around on headshots. Frankly, Bruce Boudreau may turn out to be a minor hero in all of this - and not just because of the Koci tirade. He knows what goes on in the minor leagues.

I'm not unconvinced that this remains a culture not of the hitter, but of the hit. Everyone hits, everyone gets hit - but the admiration goes to the teammate who 'bounces up'. If your femur's broken, you can't; if it's 'just a concussion', in theory, and sometimes in practice, you can. Pro players dish it out because they believe every other guy on the ice can take it.

This is all well and good, until a handful of guys start throwing armour-plated elbows and shoulders at other guys' chins, then calling them pussies when they don't get up. The next generation compounds the problem. The phrase used to be 'knocking the wind out of him' because hits were aimed through the sternum; now, as often as not, they're aimed from the clavicle up.

[Chadd 916]

This story is somewhat unrelated to the current push against headshots. The guy was a fighter and ended up with a brain injury common to boxers. You see this happen to a Lady Byng candidate and then you have a story about head shots.

That's one of the oddest parts of the whole scenario. The players all say the right thing about head shots and respecting each other but they never use a unified front to do anything constructive about it. Makes me think that all their talk about respecting each other is just good sound bites.

Kelly had been very vocal about the head shots and was pushing the league on the issue. Unfortunately the NHLPA is in utter disarray right now and can't speak forcefully on any issue without an actual leader. I think players are starting to get behind this one every time a teammate goes down from a cheap shot.

I went to an AHL game tonight and saw guys pull up instead of burying someone along the boards, as they have done in the past. I think guys are becoming more aware of it.

[lotus 2]

This story is somewhat unrelated to the current push against headshots. The guy was a fighter and ended up with a brain injury common to boxers. You see this happen to a Lady Byng candidate and then you have a story about head shots.

I also found this odd when they talked about it on MSG.

Ruutu's hit the other night is a perfect example of whats going wrong. Actually, I guess he's a completely different story heh.

[camhockey16 5]

i remember hearing the gm's were talking about banning hard capped shoulder pads - but then i never heard if it happened - i think it would be a great first step.

Did anyone hear what happened with this?

[Chadd 916]

i remember hearing the gm's were talking about banning hard capped shoulder pads - but then i never heard if it happened - i think it would be a great first step.

Did anyone hear what happened with this?

If anything happens it will be at the next meeting, I don't think anyone expected it to happen this fast. The NHL moves very slowly when it comes to change.