Something has to be done to discourage players from purposely trying to hurt each other.
"People die every day. If you don't want to get hurt; don't play the game." - Hockey analyst Mike Mulbury on Hockey Night in Canada Nov. 7.
Milbury, a former player, coach and general manager is right. Hockey is a tough sport. Regardless of what level you play the game, from house league to rep to pickup games to oldtimers, when you skate onto the ice, you accept the possibility you might be hurt.
But to suggest simply because hockey is a dangerous sport is reason enough to blow off possible improvements that will make it attractive for more people to play, in light of the vast number of serious injuries players are incurring, is ludicrous. What Milbury said was particularly distasteful coming on the heels of a 16-year-old boy nearly losing his life as the result of a body check in the Ontario Hockey League and another young man dying in a fight while playing senior hockey last season. I understand his sentiment, but Milbury needs a filter between his brain and his tongue.
Like many, I get sick and tired with hockey always being under a microscope. I was thrilled with the changes the NHL made coming out of the lockout that put more emphasis on speed and skill while eliminating fouls such as hooking and holding, but it is becoming clear those changes have increased the potential level of danger.
You can't take hitting out of the game and the majority of fans want to keep fighting in the sport, at least at the major junior and NHL levels. But are we getting to a point where the NHL needs to consider following the Ontario Hockey League's ban on headshots? The National Football League - the most successful professional league in the world - has taken steps to eliminate headshots.
When the NHL's general managers meet this week, let's hope they seriously address headshots and what can be done to eliminate them. They need to follow the NFL and OHL's lead.
This is not a knee-jerk reaction to something that occurred last week, but a continuing dialogue on ways to make the game we love better. The lack of respect players show for one another is shocking. And it's getting worse. By the letter of the law there was absolutely nothing wrong with the Mike Richards hit on David Booth. It was a textbook body check.
But when the end result is the struggling Florida Panthers losing their best forward for an extended period of time, it should make us stop and ask the question: Is it worth it? I know all the arguments about keeping your head up and being aware of who is on the ice against you and they are valid. But that doesn't change the fact Eric Lindros's career was cut short because of head injuries and the ringing in Booth's ears won't stop.
The game does not need an overhaul. It needs to be tweaked. More importantly, once and for all something has to be done to discourage players from purposely trying to hurt each other.
OHL commissioner David Branch has started the education process in his league. My guess is players will think twice before they deliver a hit given the fact Michael Liambas was suspended for the remainder of the season for his hit on Ben Fanelli.
What needs to occur for NHL players to stop and think about the possible outcome of their hits?
WHERE'S THE BEEF? When the NHL Players Association held its recent conference call, Alexander Ovechkin joined the party. But Ovechkin wasn't on the call to talk about the future of the NHLPA. All he wanted to do was whine about not getting all the money back that he put into escrow.
I am told players earning in the neighborhood of $500,000 to $700,000 were furious with Ovechkin, who by the way, quickly got off the call. Ovechkin, in case you didn't know, is on a 13-year contract that pays him $9 million a year for six years and then $10 million a year for seven years.
The players are on the fourth year of a collective bargaining agreement in which they pay money into escrow each season. In each of the first three years players received most of that money back. Last season the players started off by putting 13.5 per cent of their pay checks into escrow, but part way through the year their contribution was increased to 22.5 per cent. Few players, Ovechkin apparently being one of the exceptions, expected to get much back. In fact, players did receive a little more than five per cent back.
Not enough to please the Russian superstar, though.
Ovechkin is currently out with a mysterious injury that could keep him on the shelf for five weeks.
"Maybe he's not even hurt," one player joked. "Maybe he's protesting not getting his escrow back."
Of course that is not the case, but Ovie didn't do himself any favors by bitching about escrow on a call that was supposed to be about the future of the Players' Association.