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On a regular basis, both in my capacity as the ECAC's director of officiating and here as a HockeyBuzz blogger, people send me videos of controversial hits in order to get my take on whether I think a given play merits a penalty and/or supplementary discipline. It was the same when I was employed by the KHL.
Over the years, it has occurred to me that the root causes of most of these incidents in all leagues -- once you take away the various partisan agendas and step away from emotional aspect of what may have led up to the play in question as well as the aftermath -- can be boiled down to three basic root causes. This is especially true with the epidemic of head shots and concussions.
1) Players lack respect for fellow players' safety and too easily hide behind the excuses of "I was just finishing my check," "It was an accident that happened while I was trying to make a play," and the diversion tactic of "why am I in trouble for doing X when this player was let off the hook for doing Y." This reckless attitude is fostered and encourged -- either directly or indirectly -- by coaches, agents and parents. Enforce the rules on the other team but I'll whine and carry on if you discipline my player.
This also filters downward. I guarantee that the next time there is some much publicized incident in the NHL, some youth hockey kid will try to do virtually the same damn thing in order to emuluate "the pros." I see it all the time.
Until this callous attitude toward safety is changed, all the "stop" signs on the back of youth hockey jerseys and other lip service to safety and respect will have little to no impact.
2) Players have lost self-defense awareness. When I played, it was incumbent upon players to learn how to TAKE a check as well as to deliver one. At every step of our development, it was drummed into us (sometimes almost literally) to keep our heads up at all time, to get up against the boards and brace for impact, not to leave ourselves vulnerable to get blind-sided or hit directly from behind. We also learned to use our sticks as a defensive shield.
That knowledge has been largely lost. While the onus is on the hitter not to make head contact or hit from behind, the recipients of such hits do themselves no favors by not proactively learning how to protect themselves. Players who frequently play with their heads down are the most likely to end up with repeated concussions. Especially given the lack of respect around the game, one would think an emphasis on self-defense would be common sense. Alas, common sense isn't all that common.
During my playing days, locker rooms were self-policing. In no uncertain terms, the veteran leaders would tell the young players who liked to dangle with their heads down that they were going to get themselves crushed if they didn't start to protect themselves.
Meanwhile, the captains and enforcers -- apart from protecting their teammates on the ice -- had a duty of straightening out someone on their own team who put everyone else on their team at risk by playing recklessly with their sticks. If I had to spill my own blood to defend something stupid that a teammate did, well, I was bound to be every bit as peeved at the instigator of the whole situation as I was at the guy(s) in the other team's sweater whom I ended up having to fight in order to save my teammate's hide.
There is very little self-policing that goes on in today's game. If a captain and the other leaders pull a teammate aside, it's more likely to be for something like whining over ice time or showing up a teammate rather than disrespecting the game itself or not knowing how to protect himself. Since many team leaders don't know how to protect themselves, either, it would really be the blind leading the blind in that regard.
3) Today's equipment is basically a lethal weapon. I've mentioned this issue time and time again, and will continue to do so. Those shoulder and elbow pads players wear today cause dozens and dozens of concussions EVEN when the head contact occurs on the follow-through but especially when the head is the principle point of contact. Today's players are so much bigger, stronger and faster than the average guys when I played and even for much of my 17-year NHL refereeing career.
Add those hard-capped plastic pads and a vulnerable hit recipient to a reckless attitude about hitting whether or not there is a legitimate hockey play to be made, and the same bad outcomes happen over and over again while risking even worse and permanent results.
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Paul Stewart holds the distinction of being the first U.S.-born citizen to make it to the NHL as both a player and referee. On March 15, 2003, he became the first American-born referee to officiate in 1,000 NHL games.
The longtime referee heads Officiating by Stewart, a consulting, training and evaluation service for officials. Stewart also maintains a busy schedule as a public speaker, fund raiser and master-of-ceremonies for a host of private, corporate and public events. As a non-hockey venture, he is the owner of Lest We Forget.