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Shanahan Has Balls. I Like Balls

September 27, 2011, 1:06 AM ET [ Comments]
Richard Cloutier
Edmonton Oilers Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Eklund and Co. really must get a picture of Brendan Shanahan for Hockeybuzz blog use. It appears he's going to be the talk of the NHL this season.

I loved Shanahan as a player. Why? Because he had balls. I like balls. Back in the 80's when the Oilers won cups, my favorite player wasn't Wayne Gretzky; it was Mark Messier. Why? Because Messier had balls. How many times can I say "balls" in a blog before the management of Hockeybuzz delete it? Balls, balls, balls.

Let me explain something before I go further, because I know I'm gonna hear it in the comments section for this blog: There is a difference between goons who participate in violence and real, actual players who occasional mix it up. What's the difference? Teams often have a 4th line player that completely lacks talent. Their only role in the line-up is to beat people up. That's just wrong. If you can't play at least 10 minutes per game competently, you shouldn't be in the NHL. I like my hockey with fighting, not my fighting with hockey.

Messier could dish out hits and dirty play, but he managed to find time in between his on-ice UFC matches to be the next-best player in the game behind Wayne Gretzky. Shanahan was very Messier-like in the way he played. Yes, he was often brutal on the ice to other players, but man, he could sure score goals. Everyone respected his talent. Shanahan was a tremendous player who just happened to have a mean streak. I could live with it. Actually, I rather enjoyed watching him express himself through goal scoring, fists, elbows, and creative interpretive dance.

Balls.

So now Shanahan is the NHL's top cop. It's sort of like allowing an ex-con to run the jail, but what the hell. It's not like the people who were "policing" the players knew what they were doing. This might be Shanahan's league now. Commish Gary Bettman is there to be the annoying legal jerk, because the world needs lawyers to survive, but this is Shanahan's NHL. He's making the rules, and more importantly, he's whacking the players when they stop playing nice in the sandbox.

I saw the video of the James Wisniewski hit on Cal Clutterbuck, and I have to say, it was ridiculous. Balls. See, the thing is...balls...that the intention of the elbow to the head of Clutterballs was obvious. Shanahan handled the situation in the same brutal way he use to play: Eight regular season games for Wisniewski. Eight games of sitting up in the press box, with nothing to do but sewing up his Hacky Sack.

The question has been asked, is this just a phase? I remember one hockey game I went to a few years ago: Edmonton vs Dallas. The league got it into its head that teams were taking liberties with line changes. Basically, players were jumping on the ice to replace others too soon. Instead of calling a stack of Too Many Men penalties, the league had the refs blow plays dead when a team made a "premature substitution". Yes, it does sound perverted. More perverted than me saying the word "balls" over and over for no reason. In fact, a number of fans around me during the game started calling the play...ummm...a phrase I can't write on here. It was rude, let's just leave it there.

I'll get to the point: The league did the premature substitution thing for about a week, and then forgot about it. Teams forgot about it too...just went back to old habits. Weak-kneed parents who are inconsistent with their children never earn their respect.

Will Shanahan's big league punishments go the way of the league's failed previous attempts to crack down on, for example, goaltender interference? Last time I checked, players were running goalies more now than they ever have. Will a Wisniewski style punishment for a clear cheap shot be worth four games a month from now? Or, does Shanahan have the balls to increase the punishments if teams and players don't get the message about knocking off dirty play? Would the league ever have the collective stones (gotcha, I didn't say "balls") to punish teams instead of players? Now there is a concept. Fine the owners, because owners are evil. We'd all enjoy watching Shanahan do that.

There is one name that tells me Shanahan and the league will stay the course when it comes to head shots: Sidney Crosby. No one wants to say it out loud, but Crosby's career is in serious jeopardy. He can come back from his current head injury, but I'm not sure he'll come back again after the next concussion. It's an absolutely terrible marketing strategy for the league to run an environment where their money players...the players fans will almost pay anything to see...are losing their careers to a situation that can be mostly-avoided. I say "mostly" because injuries are always going to be part of professional sports. Athletes will sometimes lose self control while attempting to win, will take cheap shots at each other, and we love them for it. Keeps things entertaining. Gives me stuff to blog about. Balls.

Think about it in these terms: If Wayne Gretzky career would have ended at the hands of a reckless player during the first game into his LA experience, there would have been rule changes immediately. Why? Because Gretzky was the most important asset to the league. All the players knew it: They understood the economics of keeping Gretzky healthy, and they treated him with respect. Players aren't like that now. Coaches tell their players to hit everyone. To intentionally treat no one with respect. Perhaps the league is a good barometer of the world we live in? Respect is a completely dead concept, from what I can tell. Some players have a brain, and some don't. Some know trying to harm an opponent is wrong, and some don't. Others just don't care.

It took Sidney Crosby's injury to wake people up. When I say "people" I mean the owners. The players are all rich now so they don't exactly have motivation to keep each other safe. The fans care, but the fans don't make the rules. The owners do. When owners think about Crosby's career being done, they see vanishing dollar signs, especially considering where Sid plays. If a star player in Canada gets clobbered, it isn't an issue, because the game will never die here. When star player on a US team gets clobbered, it effects the fragile marketability of the league south of the 49th. Owners don't like that. Hockey is a religion in Canada, and a business enterprise in the States. Try to keep that in mind.

It's sad things have progressed to the point where long suspension of players are needed, but it's about time the league took head shots seriously. Let's hope Top Cop Shanahan's corporate style will replicate his play in the NHL. Tough. Uncompromising. Tenacious.
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