Hits to the head are the new goalie equipment issue at these meetings.
They talked about down-sizing goalie gear for years before anything tangible was done, and now they’re talking concussions.
Colin Campbell, the head of hockey operations, spoke to the governors — who are mostly NHL owners — to tell them, “it’s their players they’re losing. We talked about respect,” he said. “Very, very few (injuries) in the past were caused by body checks. In recent years we’re looking at the legal hit (that concusses a player).”
Campbell aired a slide show for the governors that chronicled all the different ways concussions can occur, as well as documenting many hits to the head that resulted in no injury at all. But what the league is finding out is that, in past decades, most head injuries were caused by illegal plays — sticks to the head, elbows, etc.
In today’s game, legal body checks under the letter of the law are also becoming the most injurious ones.
“Are we going to take something that historically has been legal, and redefine what is legal?” asked commissioner Gary Bettman.
It is a very fine line between protecting players from themselves, and starting down that slippery slope that takes hitting out of the game. Or out of part of a game, as players wanting to avoid taking a minor penalty late in a game simply stop throwing body checks.
“There are 50,000 hits in a season. We play 1,400 games,” said Campbell, in pointing out that injuries are still very rare.
“Some of the hits where the player had no chance to anticipate it, had no chance to see it coming or avoid it, then maybe we have to look into it,” added Toronto GM Brian Burke. “But a player still has some responsibility.
“When I was playing in the AHL and got drilled, you got back to the bench and your own teammates would tell you to keep your head up, what are you doing? There is some accountability for the player.”
“I can’t believe the number of players today skating with their head down,” added Anaheim GM Bob Murray. “I just can’t believe it.”
———-
Dallas owner Tom Hicks received money from Major League Baseball to help run his Texas Rangers last season. The rumours are out there that he has reached out to the NHL for the same treatment this season, rumours that are flatly denied by Bettman.
He has agreed on a suitor to sell the Rangers to, but Hicks said Tuesday that he wishes to hang on to his Dallas Stars.
“One at a time, we’ll only worry about baseball now,” he said. “But we’ll see about that.”
He simply has too much debt and has to unload the Rangers. The Stars could be next.
“The holding company has too much debt. We’re no different than a lot of companies around the world,” he said. “We just have to de-leverage. And that’s a process we’re working hard at.”
Does he still want to own the Stars?
“Absolutely.”
———-
Bettman was wishy washy on whether or not the $56.8 million salary cap will change.
“We have a pretty good sense of where our revenues are going to be at this stage of the season. Up a little, down a little in local revenues, close to flat in this (economic) environment which we think is pretty good,” said Bettman. “Whether or not the Canadian dollar goes up or down will impact what the cap will be next year and whether or not the players choose to take a five per cent (increase) or not (the players have that option under the CBA).
“My own view is it’s not going up dramatically and it’s not going down dramatically. My guess is within a million, a million-and-a-half or two million either way is the swing we’re looking at. I take that all back if the Canadian dollar goes to a buck-fifty.”
