The NHL's dicipline problems are now totally out of control. Dart board justice Colin Campbell and his clueless crony Mike Murphy can't seem to impose any kind of suspensions of substance. They leave dangerous hits, cheap shots and repeated intents to injure unpunished. The players are now starting to take matters into their own hands and vigilante justice is now running rampantly through the league where no player is safe.
The NHL has most likely lost its biggest superstar, Sidney Crosby, for the rest of this season and still head shots continue to happen. Some completely unpunished, others severely, depending who you are and which team you play for.
After his death, former tough guy Bob Probert's brain scan showed he had CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy) which is caused by multiple concussions. Still, the NHL makes no changes to its body checking or fighting rules.
Mario Lemieux ripped into the league about the leniency of suspensions for what he sees as intent to injure tactics. He warns the NHL that it needs to correct these problems or he might leave the game as an owner. Still, the NHL makes no changes.
Boston Bruin's defenseman Zdeno Chara (6'-9",265lbs.), finished his illegal interference check of Montreal Canadiens forward Max Pacioretty into the slightly padded stanchion between the two team benches. Pacioretty's head is directed by Chara's arm right into the dangerous turnbuckle where Pacioretty is knocked unconscious and fractured his C4 vertebrae. Chara stated he did not intend to check the player into the stanchion and did not know where exactly he was on the ice. Chara claimed that Pacioretty jumped up while being pushed into the stanchion. The league's disciplinarian's assistant, Mike Murphy reviewed the video and talked to Chara by phone before deciding that he could not see anything wrong with the check other than interference and that the players head was not targeted. Chara had no prior history of suspensions, so the Bruins player was not even punished.
Max Pacioretty spoke out that night from his hospital bed, with disbelief, that the NHL didn't see the hit on him as dangerous enough to warrant a suspension. Canadiens' GM, Pierre Gauthier, briefly stated: "The NHL made it's decision and it's not for us to express our opinion publicly,".
The next day, a letter was released to the media from a major sponsor, Air Canada, to the NHL, threatening removal of sponsorship if no action was taken with regards to the issue of headshots and concussions. Bettman informed them that if they wanted to pull their sponsorship, then the NHL teams could use another airline carrier for travel.
"Dear Fans,
I would like to thank you all for your comments and support as the Pacioretty family, and our entire organization, deal with this difficult situation. I share your frustration, disappointment and shock. I feel for Max, the team and you, our fans.
Max, on behalf of my family, fans and all who are associated with this great organization, rest assured that we are all behind you and hope for a full recovery.
The Montreal Canadiens is an institution that has played a leadership role in this League and in our community for over 100 years, and you can count on us to continue to do so in the future. The news of the NHL decision yesterday was a hard blow for both the players and fans of the Montreal Canadiens. It was one which shook the faith that we, as a community, have in this sport that we hold in such high regard.
The Montreal Canadiens organization does not agree with the decision taken yesterday by the National Hockey League. We can assure you that we have made our position clear to Commissioner Gary Bettman, and that he has agreed to make this issue a priority at the next General Manager’s meeting, which will be held in Florida on March 14-16. Pierre Gauthier, our General Manager, will be present at this meeting and has already expressed his wish to carry out, clearly, our message to his 29 counterparts and to the League.
Our organization believes that the players’ safety in hockey has become a major concern, and that this situation has reached a point of urgency. At risk are some of the greatest professional athletes in the world, our fan base and the health of our sport at all levels. Players’ safety in hockey must become the ultimate priority and the situation must be addressed immediately. As a proud father of three hockey players, I want to help create a healthy and safe experience for them, and I certainly never want any family to go through what the Pacioretty’s are experiencing at this moment.
We understand and appreciate hockey being a physical sport, but we do not accept any violent behavior that will put the players’ health and safety at risk. On this specific issue, I am asking for the support of the 29 other NHL owners, to address urgently this safety issue. And I am willing to play a leadership role in coordinating this group effort.
You are the best fans in the league, and I am proud to have you behind us. Both the team and Max need your support now more than ever. A solid playoff run is just around the corner and we are counting on you to carry us deep into the spring!
GO HABS GO!
Geoff Molson
Chairman of the Board of Directors and Team Owner"
As the fans' uproar has grown over the last week, more sponsors have expressed their concerns with the NHL's failure to address the concussion issues. Some high profile players (J.Thornton, H. Sedin) have come out against the NHL's decision not to suspend Chara for the hit on Pacioretty. As always, there are others who believe that nothing is wrong with the way the game is presently being played and you just can't make hurried changes. This week in Florida, the GMs will meet to discuss many issues but the main topics are concussions and the headshot rules. We all wait to see what the NHL will do if anything, after the past few difficult weeks of publicity. This is going to be interesting to see how the NHL will respond to what has transpired this season in the league.
I have 30+years as a player, coach and referee in hockey at all minor league levels. The Chara hit disturbed me in many ways. Hockey has been played for over 100 years and changes to the game have always come to make the game better and fairer. What most fans have seen over the last few years, is the NHL players are getting concussed more now. Crosby being out has only heightened the awareness of the problem. Probert's and Fleming's diagnoses of CTE again worsened this fear. It should not be simply dismissed. The game has become faster because the rules changed in the NHL after the lock out, to stop the interference. The rules of the game are all there to stop what is happening in the NHL but they have to be enforced. I have, since I was a kid, wondered why is it that the NHL does not seem to have the same penalties for the infractions as we do. The NHL is not the leader for safer or better hockey. Kids have always followed NHL Players' actions but do we really want our kids acting this way? The NHL has a catch 22, if there are to be changes. It must be the same from the ground up every where. Some provinces and countries have different philosophies, checking rules and teaching techniques. Players in the NHL come from around the globe now as well. The NHL has to re-teach the players how to check an opponent and that the purpose of body checking is not for intimidation but simply for regaining possession of the puck. The NHL hits today do neither. I hear too often that the player was just finishing his hit and didn't intend to injure his opponent. Well then why do it? Finishing the hit after the puck is gone seems ridiculous since the puck is no longer there to possess anyway, therefore the hit only serves to intimidate, injure or gain retribution. Chara's body check was deemed illegal on the ice by referees because the puck was no longer there. The body check was clearly serving one of the three reasons I stated before, but only Chara knows which. The reason the NHL could not give a suspension now was because it only would show their incompetences in not correcting the stanchion problems and that they failed to act on all the previous times this infraction occured. This is just another problem which was ignored again by the NHL while failing to make changes for the betterment of the game. People who really love the game of hockey must continue to demand changes, not in the rules so much as the attitudes towards how they are enforced by the officials and how the game is played.
It is clear to me that right now the players are out of control with no line being draw as to what is acceptable and what is not. The players are deciding on their own by their actions being shown on the ice, that the NHL leadership is no longer in control of the game.
