Time to Try Something Else
As it's a slow day so far for news and rumors, let's take a look at
something that's been on my mind for some months now: the absurdity of
suspensions in the NHL.
The current system, based largely on the subjective opinions and interpretations of the game's disciplinarians (Gary Bettman, etc.) is pretty ridiculous, as we've come to learn in the past weeks and months with the devastating injuries to the Bruins' Patrice Bergeron and Andrew Alberts. Both of the perpetrators of the vicious hits are members of the Philadelphia Flyers; Berg had his face smashed into the boards on a hit from behind by defenseman Randy Jones, while Alberts received a similarly questionable hit from left winger Scott Hartnell. Berg was knocked unconscious and suffered a severe concussion and broken nose as a result of the hit, which occurred on October 27, and still cannot ride a stationary bike for more than 5 minutes without feeling woozy and light-headed. The next time the B's faced the "Fighting Flyers" on November 26, Alberts was knocked unconscious and left with a concussion after his head was elbowed into the boards.
Oh yeah, and these two hits came on the heals of Steve Downie's brutal assault on Ottowa's Dean McAmmond on September 25 (for those of you keeping track, yes, that is a preseason game) and Jesse Boulerice's ludicrous cross check to the face of Vancouver's Ryan Kesler on October 10. Talk about a coincidence, huh?
Downie got 20 games and Boulerice got 25 games, both seemingly appropriate given the extent of the hits and the context of recent suspensions for similar actions. Jones and Hartnell? 2 games apiece, a tenth of the time Downie had to serve.
Look, I'm as much of a hockey purist as the next Bruins fan. I think guys should be allowed to fight, in fact I love nothing more than watching Zdeno Chara pummel fools like he did to Chicago's David Koci, or Shawn Thornton drop the gloves with... well, whoever. I also think that the "new NHL" babies players too much in that they are not allowed to hit each other like they used to over fear of receiving an interference or roughing penalty. However, illegal hits are a totally different matter, especially when suspensions are being doled out to 5 or 6 players on a single team in the span of a couple of months, and most especially when they are potentially crippling to our favorite franchise player and perennial All-Star candidate, Patrice Bergeron.
So I propose something radical, at least by the NHL's standards: in cases like the Bergeron and Alberts injuries, in which the perpetrators received seemingly short suspensions and the victims have remained out due to injury for lengthy periods of time, have the length of the suspension mirror the length of the player's injury. Bergeron and Alberts can't play because of post-concussion syndrome? Well then Jones and Hartnell can't play, either. Berg gets better and comes back next Wednesday against the Penguins? Then Hartnell can get back on the ice to face the Lightning on Thursday. Some hits, such as Downie's and Boulerice's, necessitate a suspension of a set period of time regardless of whether the victim of the hit is able to bounce back in a couple of days because it sets a future precedent that such actions are intolerable, but when a player's dirty hit keeps someone out for months, or perhaps an entire season, why should the dirty player be allowed back on the ice when they have singlehandedly taken away another player's ability to do the same?
The current system, based largely on the subjective opinions and interpretations of the game's disciplinarians (Gary Bettman, etc.) is pretty ridiculous, as we've come to learn in the past weeks and months with the devastating injuries to the Bruins' Patrice Bergeron and Andrew Alberts. Both of the perpetrators of the vicious hits are members of the Philadelphia Flyers; Berg had his face smashed into the boards on a hit from behind by defenseman Randy Jones, while Alberts received a similarly questionable hit from left winger Scott Hartnell. Berg was knocked unconscious and suffered a severe concussion and broken nose as a result of the hit, which occurred on October 27, and still cannot ride a stationary bike for more than 5 minutes without feeling woozy and light-headed. The next time the B's faced the "Fighting Flyers" on November 26, Alberts was knocked unconscious and left with a concussion after his head was elbowed into the boards.
Oh yeah, and these two hits came on the heals of Steve Downie's brutal assault on Ottowa's Dean McAmmond on September 25 (for those of you keeping track, yes, that is a preseason game) and Jesse Boulerice's ludicrous cross check to the face of Vancouver's Ryan Kesler on October 10. Talk about a coincidence, huh?
Downie got 20 games and Boulerice got 25 games, both seemingly appropriate given the extent of the hits and the context of recent suspensions for similar actions. Jones and Hartnell? 2 games apiece, a tenth of the time Downie had to serve.
Look, I'm as much of a hockey purist as the next Bruins fan. I think guys should be allowed to fight, in fact I love nothing more than watching Zdeno Chara pummel fools like he did to Chicago's David Koci, or Shawn Thornton drop the gloves with... well, whoever. I also think that the "new NHL" babies players too much in that they are not allowed to hit each other like they used to over fear of receiving an interference or roughing penalty. However, illegal hits are a totally different matter, especially when suspensions are being doled out to 5 or 6 players on a single team in the span of a couple of months, and most especially when they are potentially crippling to our favorite franchise player and perennial All-Star candidate, Patrice Bergeron.
So I propose something radical, at least by the NHL's standards: in cases like the Bergeron and Alberts injuries, in which the perpetrators received seemingly short suspensions and the victims have remained out due to injury for lengthy periods of time, have the length of the suspension mirror the length of the player's injury. Bergeron and Alberts can't play because of post-concussion syndrome? Well then Jones and Hartnell can't play, either. Berg gets better and comes back next Wednesday against the Penguins? Then Hartnell can get back on the ice to face the Lightning on Thursday. Some hits, such as Downie's and Boulerice's, necessitate a suspension of a set period of time regardless of whether the victim of the hit is able to bounce back in a couple of days because it sets a future precedent that such actions are intolerable, but when a player's dirty hit keeps someone out for months, or perhaps an entire season, why should the dirty player be allowed back on the ice when they have singlehandedly taken away another player's ability to do the same?
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