I am not going to sit here and debate whether or not this player or that one has committed an offense during the execution of a hockey play called ' body contact'. Suffice to say that many here know my position concerning head-shots and the frenzy to curtail them. For those still unsure, I do recognize the harm done by them that actively try and hurt another yet am prone to temper that awareness with a believe that this ' predatory ' phenomenon is not as prevalent as all that !
Yes , there have been incidents this season that point to individuals playing dirty yet the hysteria that has resulted is beyond reasonable . More to the point of this rant , the reaction and subsequent action of the NHL would be laughable if it were not so potentially damaging to the game of pro hockey ! The matter has been mishandled by the NHL and the NHLPA.
They have introduced a rule that blind side hits ( and broader definitions of said known to them only) are illegal but no on ice penalties will be applied . Thats right , your player is swimming as a result of an obvious blind side hit and your team is the only one who loses the services of a player ! Apparently the Refs are not qualified to make this call ! I guess the actual fans of the game know who will end up being short handed. That is of course if they feel that players should object to the dirty hit that the suits promise will be dealt with as supplementary discipline. This is an absolute joke !
And what of this supplementary discipline ? I suppose we are expected to believe that will be dealt with by the book. Give me a break! You mean like when Colin said no penalty for OV and than took a phone call or two that changed his mind. Or when Cooke gets a bye only to have another get thrown out for 8 games . This type of crap stinks of politics! Is this how we want to decide playoff games ? Is this what has become of our officiating ? Token figures with no more power than a striped shirt calling a Hulk Hogan revival ?
What of the hits in question ? If such a 'predator' surfaces and when such a ' vulnerable' player is ' taken advantage ' of what of the rules of the game that have been applied for decades? Where have the ' charging' calls gone ? What about 'intent to injure ' ? How come if by league definition the last person to touch the puck is deemed in ' possession of ' the puck a hit occurring a split second later is interference ? And it is a ' split second ', I don't care how many times you see it in slow mo !
My point is our league is not enforcing the rules that exist because they do not fit the direction they want to see the game go ! Now we are supposed to believe the lap dogs in the war room will ? I say they are posing !
The NHLPA held up the show a bit stating they wanted on ice , during the game, discipline but caved. Another political move given that the hockey media is frenzy feeding, stoking this hysteria at every opportunity. My lord, I have been listening all night to TV personalities going so far as to take credit for educating the ' public' of the evil practice and the urgent need to eradicate at all costs !
Real fans of pro hockey have been saying all along that stripping the participants of tools to police the game at ice level is causing the problem not solving it yet we have the instigator rule which, regardless of how trivial some claim it to be, was the catalyst that brought us reckless play. Lack of respect was than encouraged when players soon after realized Refs not only lost the names on their back but any real teeth had been pulled when supplementary discipline created two sets of books .
Will this madness ever end ?!
And you thought the foot in the crease was a powder keg !
How did that work out for ya Gary ?
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