I think we all know that the NHL department of Player Safety is a joke.
If the NHL was serious about removing dangerous plays, they would enact harsher suspensions. I don't think it can be stated any clearer than this: Players are injured far too often on stupid plays that could be avoided if there were actual punishments for illegal hits.
Now, granted, hockey is a fast game and things happen in a split second and the actual intent to injure can, at times, be hard to judge. Also, there is a worry that if you have suspensions that are too harsh, you'll eliminate all of the hitting.
OK, fair enough.
But there is also the fact that suspending players hurts the NHL. It's one thing if you suspend John Scott, because no one pays to see John Scott, but if you suspend Ovechkin, you're hurting your own league on purpose, basically. So, there is bound to be some irregularity and two sets of rules for two kinds of players.
And there is the teams to think about. An unduly harsh suspension to a key player at a key time could ruin a teams chances. This shouldn't really be a factor, but I think it's naive if you don't think that it is.
So, I think we can all agree that there is a fine line in player discipline and that it is probably more complicated of a process than it initially seems like.
But still.......
You would think player safety would be the paramount concern here. And it seems rather obvious that if the game has less hitting and is safer, then that is a small price to pay. Especially with what we are now learning about concussions and the long-term effects of playing hockey.
If you look at the hit Nazem Kadri got four games for last week, I think that's a fair suspension. The hit wasn't grotesquely dirty and it is an example of the kind of heat-of-the-moment hits that hockey can't really prevent. So four games is about fair. I think if you gave him eight you might make players think twice, but based on precedent and how the NHL works, OK, four is just.
But what about Byfuglien's cross-check last night?
No. J.T Miller was down and out of the play. He was cross-checked because Byfuglien went insane.
This was a blatant intent to injure that could have had much more serious consequences. J.T Miller could have had his neck broken. The fact that he stayed in the game and was not seriously injured should be irrelevant.
The NHL has offered a phone hearing to Byfuglien, meaning any suspension he gets will be five games or less.
That is a joke.
If the NHL is really concerned about player safety, they should but the fact that the Jets are in a Playoff race aside and do the right thing: Suspend him for the balance of the season and the Playoffs.
They should use this to set an example that blatant intents to injure are unacceptable. I fail to see how this hit isn't just as bad as the infamous Dale Hunter on Pierre Turgeon or the Marty Mcsorley hit on Donald Brashere.
I just don't see how cross-checking a guy in the back of the neck when he's already down is in anyway acceptable. It was violent, intentional, dirty, disgusting and dangerous.
For Byguglien to play another game this year is a disgrace.