I think that McKenzie cuts to the chase here—regarding player respect, you have none when you intentionally “blindside” your opponent.  It’s cheap, it’s chicken, it’s “yellow,” and it’s plain stupid.

Posted by George Malik from South Lyon, MI on 04/27/09 at 12:46 PM ET

There’s no doubt the current method of punishment is awful, but I honestly don’t have a good solution. I think there’s a lot of good ideas out there, but to put them together in a cohesive policy would be difficult.

On the surface, it seems to me that the best way to prevent these sorts of things would be to treat them like high-sticking penalties—hit a guy in the head, elbow or shoulder, intentionally or clearly accidentally, how about a minimum of a fine? Here’s an idea—a minimum of a fine that’s donated to some NPO that supports concussion and closed-head injury research/therapy/recovery.

But the “dinosaurs” are right—it would undoubtedly change the game. Physicality would diminish. Even players that don’t typically walk that fine line would ratchet their physical game down because it wouldn’t be worth the risk to hit hard. Perhaps there’s another solution out there that would preserve the hard hitting and also lower the number of head injuries players sustain each year. Unfortunately, I can’t think of that solution. I hope someone else can.

Posted by Nathan from the scoresheet! on 04/27/09 at 12:51 PM ET

I think that McKenzie cuts to the chase here—regarding player respect, you have none when you intentionally “blindside” your opponent.

I forgot to mention it in my other post, but your comment begs the question—what is the NHLPA’s role in this? Is it time for the PA to take the initiative on this issue? Instead of waiting for the NHL to figure out a discipline system that makes no sense, shouldn’t the PA step in? It is in the best interest of the PA membership to be healthy both during and after their NHL careers. As such, I would expect the PA to do something—off-season meetings or courses to educate players on the dangers of head injuries, and how they can impact their off-ice lives, and meetings and courses going over types of plays that, even if “clean” by the standard of the rules, should be avoided to prevent severe injury to a fellow PA member.

And why don’t the players take the onus on themselves a bit? Players should introduce a potential policy change for the PA that would involve PA-levied fines on players that commit hits that result in head injuries. Have the money go to a fund that can be used for treatment and research on these types of injuries for all PA members both during and after their careers—would benefit everyone in the PA.

And for chrissakes, team doctors, coaches, GMs, whoever, need to step in more. We all love the stories of guys playing injured during the playoffs. The guts it takes, the pain they overcome. Well, it’s one thing playing with a broken hand or a shredded groin. But when Umberger came back in the same game that Brad Stuart cleaned his clock? Was anyone else thinking about Franzen’s injury last season? Or what just happened to Natasha Richardson? When it comes to head injuries, there should be no room for heroics—period. If you’ve got a head injury, or there’s even a suspicion of a concussion or head problem after a hit during a game, the team docs, trainers, coaches, etc. should do the right thing and keep the player off the ice until they are properly tested to ensure they don’t have something lurking silently, like what happened to Richardson.

Posted by Nathan from the scoresheet! on 04/27/09 at 12:59 PM ET

The only way to rid the game of these hits is for the offender’s team and teammates to hold their own players accountable.

The league can only do so much with fines or suspensions. And as McKenzie points out, it’s mostly a futile effort to dissuade people like Brashear from repeating the action (or it would have stopped by now).

Players on the other team can try to “Police the game” as well, but we’ve seen how well that works too (it too hasn’t stopped the hits to the head by now).

But, imagine if you will, if Brashear came off the ice after his dirty hit to cold shoulders and rolled eyes from his own team. He would be forced to reconsider his action. If his own coach benched him for risking Betts’ career, Brashear would change.

Instead, the Caps—- and it’s all teams in this situation, the Caps, the Rangers, your favorite team—- defend the action. Brashear’s coach actually called it “a good shoulder hit.”

Instead, Boudreau should have said, “I’ve talked to Donald about this before. He knows where the line is and he knows he crossed it with Betts. He hit an unsuspecting player who didn’t have the puck. His hit served no purpose as I’ve laid them out in the game plan and risked a players life and livelihood. Brashear is going to sit for the rest of this series. It’s a shame because we could have used him in what I’m sure will be a tough Game Seven. But he has to sit and he knows it. I can’t condone this or I’ll have to accept it the next time one of my guy’s gets run, be it Donald or Ovie or Semin or whoever”

Nothing else (outside of the absurd) will stop hits to the head. Only the players/coaches can police this one effectively. And it has to come from their own team.

Posted by stebe on 04/27/09 at 01:00 PM ET

The PA and offenders’ fellow teammates obviously have a HUGE role in deterring this kind of behaviour, no doubt.

At the same time, I do believe that if players can avoid sticking their knees out and can be held accountable for hitting other players from behind, these professional athletes can control their body’s motion to the point that they do not follow through with hits where they explode upward to deliver the vast majority of the energy in their hits to players’ high shoulders and/or heads.  The horizontal check has all but disappeared from the league, and that’s a simple enough issue to remedy.

Posted by George Malik from South Lyon, MI on 04/27/09 at 01:04 PM ET

The NHLPA raised their concerns about head shots to the Board of Governors, and if I recall correctly they were brushed aside.  I’m sure if they try to do anything on their own the fictitious “partnership” between the league and the players will turn into the league smacking the players for showing any initiative that could potentially affect profits.

Instead of merely suspensions, maybe hit the teams in the pocketbook to give the GMs greater incentive to not sign players whose only role is to beat better players up - or be cheap-shot artists.  Maybe reduce the next year’s salary cap number for that team by a million dollars each time one of their players is suspended for a head shot?  Failing that, the league could just add a 15% surcharge onto all tickets sold to provide long-term care for the retired players who wind up suffering from dementia in their forties and fifties because of conditions in their workplace.

Does anyone know for certain how much it would change the physical nature of the game, though?  It seems logical that it would, but there are teams that play physical hockey without having players around to decapitate opponents.

Posted by Baroque from Michigan on 04/27/09 at 01:08 PM ET

But when Umberger came back in the same game that Brad Stuart cleaned his clock? Was anyone else thinking about Franzen’s injury last season? Or what just happened to Natasha Richardson?

I know I was.  I saw him back on the ice and my first thought was “I hope the damn team doctors know what they’re doing with the guy.”

Posted by Baroque from Michigan on 04/27/09 at 01:10 PM ET

The only way to rid the game of these hits is for the offender’s team and teammates to hold their own players accountable.

I agree for the most part, but would extend your idea to include the PA as a whole. All the players, together, have to tackle this issue, because it’s an issue that effects the players, period. As crass as it is to say, the NHL itself has a heck of a lot less at stake, so no wonder they haven’t found a solution. The PA, on the other hand, has no excuse—this is a (quality of) life and death thing in many ways—the PA should take it more seriously.

The NHLPA raised their concerns about head shots to the Board of Governors, and if I recall correctly they were brushed aside.  I’m sure if they try to do anything on their own the fictitious “partnership” between the league and the players will turn into the league smacking the players for showing any initiative that could potentially affect profits.

Agreed, I guess my thinking is that if the PA were really doing its job—to fight for the best interest of the players—they would say to themselves, “Okay, the NHL doesn’t want to play? Fine. Let’s figure out a way to protect ourselves without them.”

I really think if the players could come together and approve PA-levied fines for dangerous hits, intent to injure, etc. type plays, not only would it build respect amongst all the players on all teams, but when bad things did happen, the fine money would go to a good cause—a fund dedicated to helping players past and present deal with lingering injuries related to the game, perhaps fund research on head injuries, and other positive things.

That would be a hell of a lot better than whatever it is the NHL does with their garden variety fines.

Posted by Nathan from the scoresheet! on 04/27/09 at 02:12 PM ET

The root problem which the NHL will always run into when it comes to dealing with these kinds of issues is that it’s a league run by people who don’t quite get it.

Gary Bettman is the Commish.
Colin Campbell handles discipline.
Jeremy Jacobs is the consigliari.

Yeah.  That’ll really work out.

Posted by HockeyinHD on 04/27/09 at 02:32 PM ET

In my opinion, I think Boudreau directed Brashear to do that, so he should be investigated.  The situation is too perfect.  They took out the Ranger’s best PK’er and defensive forward.  That was no accident.

Posted by snowy on 04/27/09 at 02:33 PM ET

The problem is this:

Pronger on McAmmond.
Brashear on Betts.
Doug Weight on the Sutter kid.
Stuart on Umberger.

Four head shots that resulted in injuries.  In two of them the injuries were severe, playoff-ending.  One saw a couple months missed in the regular season and the last saw about half a period missed because the team doctors were idiots and let the guy play.

Four hits, four injuries, two obvious intent to injure and two offensive skaters putting themselves at risk and getting smoked on what would’ve been a very clean, hard hit had they not lowered their heads after seeing the hitter coming.  That’s how you and I all see these hits, I think.  I know some would not agree with my assessment of the Weight hit as clean.

Do we really want the league in charge of determining intent to injure on head shots?  I, for one, do not trust them nearly that far.

Posted by shanetx on 04/27/09 at 02:46 PM ET

Jeremy Jacobs is the consigliari.

Don’t get me wrong, I hate Gary (ass) as much as the next guy, but a lot of me thinks that Jacobs is the real doofus behind this joke of a CBA, communist salary cap, and pretty much everything awful that ever happens to the NHL.

Wonder how he’ll feel in a couple seasons when all his young talent leaves because the cap prevents him from retaining all of it, and he’s left with nothing to show? That’ll be a red letter day.

Posted by Nathan from the scoresheet! on 04/27/09 at 03:44 PM ET

I wonder if you could also penalize the team for a play like this by taking away the roster spot. Make the team play with a short bench for the duration of the suspension. That might encourage players on your own team to collectively discourage that type of conduct.

Posted by UMFan from Colorado on 04/27/09 at 04:08 PM ET

The punishment is not the issue.  They could obviously find a suitable way to punish the player if they cared.

The problem is making them see a need, and a viable way to determine punishability.

Posted by shanetx on 04/27/09 at 04:39 PM ET

shanetx,
You have to draw a distinction between the Stuart and Weight hits and the Brashear and Pronger hits.  The first two were within the context of the play; the latter two were not.  Hockey at the elite level is supremely fast, and injuries do occur.  NFL people like to talk about the collisions and big hits, but they are happening at less than half the speed with players generally equal in size to NHL players (most of the highlight real NFL hits are Cornerbacks or Safety’s on Receivers). 
Its amazing that more injuries on clean hits don’t occur.  Gordie Howe was a big man in his day and he’s listed at 6’-0”, 205 pounds.  Ovechkin is average now and he’s 6’-2”, 220, plus god only knows how much faster he skates (all due respect to Mr. Howe).
The speed and hitting in a playoff game make it the most intense, amazing game played. That said, the cheap sh*t, no respect, “watch your back” crap exemplified by Pronger, Phaneuf, Avery, Ott, etc. has to be stopped, and it has to be stopped by the players first. Punishment is only a deterrent when the punishment is extreme.

Posted by dip from philly on 04/27/09 at 08:58 PM ET

One more thing….I do think that UMF has a good idea regarding the lost roster spot to go with a suspension.  That would encourage the team to deal with the issue.

Posted by dip from philly on 04/27/09 at 09:00 PM ET