We are definitely treading into an era of scrutiny it seems.
Everything these days in the game of hockey is under a microscope, especially when it comes to player safety. Headshots, equipment, fights, races for the pucks...it seems like every day there is some new argument being made from some part of the country about a dangerous situation that could have been avoided.
Suspensions are not long enough, players aren't respectful enough or aware enough, and the evil Gary Bettman doesn't care about the game enough.
But where does the blame truly lie in this matter? Is it on the shoulders of Brendan Shanahan and the Department of Player Safety alone that a suspension isn't long enough? Is it all Gary Bettman's fault that we are reevaluating hitting and fighting?
These are questions with many answers, many angles, and definitely an array of varying opinions. To me it can't be one man or one person, but it has to be a collective understanding and agreement from players, the league, and maybe most importantly the NHLPA.
The latter of the three has been baffling though in my eyes.
It's not often I agree with Mike Milbury, but a few weeks ago on NHL Live he brought up the fact that the NHLPA fought helmets when they were grandfathered in. They also fought visors when they were grandfathered in. HELMETS. The basic necessity for protecting a players head, was fought by the NHLPA.
How does that make sense? Bad example?
How about all of these lengthy suspensions?
I know a lot of belly aching has been had already about the 5-game suspension dolled out to James Neal of the Pittsburgh Penguins for this shot on Brad Marchand:
This is a play that is completely avoidable and was a clear intent to injure by James Neal. So why did he get five games? Five games under the CBA is the maximum amount of games a player could be suspended without being able to appeal.
And appeal they would have had the suspension been over five games.
What kind of mixed message is this? James Neal goes out of his way to try and injure another player on the ice and they would readily jump to his defense in an effort to limit his punishment? This isn't a new concept either. The NHLPA almost ALWAYS appeals suspensions. They appealed the 25-game suspension to Raffi Torres, as well as the 7-game suspension to John Scott.
The NHL has recently been brought under suit by former players in a lawsuit regarding player safety and concussions. The NHLPA is neither mentioned in this lawsuit, nor are they supporting either side. However, in all of this you have to wonder why the NHLPA is not mentioned in the suit. They have done their best time and time again to stand in the way of NHL attempts to improve safety measures. To me the PA has refused to give the NHL enough leeway to make proper safety measures in recent years, and they have also done a poor job uniting and informing their members of the potential risks that face them. Even when the players agree that stricter penalties need to be enforced on staged fights or changes need to be made to the game for their safety (No-touch icing, Instigator, visors, leaving the bench, removing helmets...etc.), the changes have been met with vehement dislike.
In a poll back in February of 2012 the players voted overwhelmingly in favor of keeping fighting in the game. Almost 98% voted for it. Here is the full article from
Puck Daddy.
One quote that also stuck out to me in the article from an anonymous player was this:
"It's part of hockey," one European skater said. "In my opinion, it's always good when it comes down to the emotions, when it's not a show. You understand that there's retaliation, that if somebody does something dumb, you kind of have to pay for it."
But "pay for it" they have not. When it comes to suspensions, the PA is always ready to appeal. If it's vigilante justice some players want then you have to deal with the consequences of that.
But that has been the relationship of the NHLPA, its members, and the NHL for sometime now. They seem to be in agreement on the surface but inside there is little in the way of agreement until something horrible happens.
This debate is never easy and I am not at all advocating for a complete ban of fighting or physical play. I'm also not completely in support of the NHL and how they have handled suspensions or some player safety concerns. There are much deeper things at work than a simple suspension length that didn't seem long enough though.
Until there is commitment from all three parties (NHL, NHLPA, Players) to get behind one another and act as a cohesive unit there will never be a clear answer to the fans as to why things are the way they are. We will, however, continue to have questionable suspension lengths, public debates, and too many long winded bloggers like myself having an opinion on one of the more hot-button issues in the league. The day we can all stop writing about this stuff the better.
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