Chris Campoli is sent back to NY for further evaluation the other day. But, to get any more of that this year as a fan, blogger or press, good luck. You see, the NHL changed its injury policy. Instead of a full-disclosure policy, like the NFL, there is a heaping pile of murk allowed instead.
"Garth Snow’s policy forbids discussing injuries in detail, and NHL general managers apparently have endorsed this policy. The idea is to prevent the opposition from knowing an opponent’s injuries, and it also allows GMs to hide injuries when they are trying to trade a player. The downside for the player, in addition to being forced to be less than honest with reporters, is that fans don’t know when a player is struggling to play through an injury."
Chris Botta delves into the same subject in his new blog.
"What’s known is the general managers of the NHL - not the Board of Governors, not the Players Association, not the league office, not PR - pushed hard to essentially have no injury policy. This is an inane decision that no doubt will have major ramifications. And it’s unlikely to be pretty."
So does this mean Campoli is out for a while? If so, or even for a short stint, will we ever know his issues? How can fans bridge their concern for a player when the team does not want to disclose what is wrong with them?
The bottomline here is fans and media lose out to as NHL GMs play a shell game. That truth is shoveled under a cheap rug for their own convenience. Meanwhile Media Relations departments and those who deal with the press and fans are put in an odd position due to their GMs now channeling their Nathan Thurm this season.
The results: The fans lose out.
Meanwhile:
The Isles came out with a forecheck, but it crumpled when they got frustrated by Marty Biron.
"I thought we had a great first 15 minutes. Then we stopped skating in the last five minutes. In the second period, we didn't come close to approaching what we did at the beginning of the first period. In the third we got it back. The second period was the only downside of the game. We generated some scoring chances. We gave more chances than I would have liked in the crucial areas. Tonight we played with a bit younger lineup and they're top six forwards were pretty good. I thought we competed well with them. Some mistakes and some bounces didn't go our way. The guys need to make mistakes before they can get better."
- Scott Gordon, Isles coach
Not worth freaking out about. It's preseason and Gordon's system is new. Which is why I haven't put much stock in the Isles "undefeated" Rookie team record. Towards the end of preseason we can get concerned. Of course, the final judgment on any system and camp is October.
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