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The talk of the office was, without surprise, the brutal hit on Dean McAmmond by rookie Steve Downie of the Philadelphia Flyers. Downie was clearly out for revenge after receiving two (legal) body checks by two different Senators players during his shift. He saw his prey, and the unlucky player was McAmmond. Downie skated full stride (although did let up at the end), left his feet, used his elbow and connected straight on with McAmmond’s head. I also thought it was a somewhat of a late hit, but that might be debatable. In any case, McAmmond was bloodied and unconscious but managed to regain his senses before being carted off on a stretcher.

Now make yourself comfortable because this is going to be a long post.

There are no shades of gray with this “bodycheck”. This was a brutal, deliberate intent-to-injure hit that re-establishes the notion there is little respect amongst the players. Some may say Downie was just trying to make an impression and show his edge as he attempts to make the Philadelphia Flyers team. But Downie already has a reputation of being a player who runs around with a short fuse. This isn’t the first time for Downie, and it won’t be the last.

Now the Downie defenders will say McAmmond had his head down and should have been more careful. There is a small grain of truth to it. But the main problem is every player in the NHL has the right to not expect a player to come charging in from the other end of the ice while they circle their own net to make a simple passing play. Much like he had the right not to expect Chris Pronger elbow him in the head in last season’s final. His head was up for that, but it didn’t matter. The damage was done, and he didn’t return for the rest of the Stanley Cup finals.

Some hockey commentators brought out the instigator rule contributed to the culture in ice hockey where we should expect more hits like Downie’s to take place. Because a two minute penalty is assessed to someone who starts a fight to avenge a player running around, there is the thought a player has this in the back of their mind while he attempts to injure opposing players: He doesn’t have to fear repercussions from the opposing team’s tough guy because they’ll be penalized. Let me tell you something: Brian McGrattan was on the ice for last night’s hit and that two minute penalty was the last thing on his mind. He went after Downie, only to be stopped by another Flyers player and ended up fighting him instead. Before the instigator rule, stick work and fights broke out with regularity. Just look at the style of hockey in the 1970s, where the Broadstreet Bullies in Philadelphia ruled the NHL. I watched “The Rocket” and saw the complete disrespect Maurice Richard had to endure in his career, including two handed tomahawk chops with hockey sticks to the head. I firmly believe the instigator rule, with or without it, would make absolutely no difference on the number of these cheap hits we see in hockey.

The NHL will have to decide on what sort of suspension Downie will get, but remember he's a rookie and may not even make the team. On the other hand, perhaps this will help his case to make the Philadelphia Flyers as many will look at this as playing with "edge" each team needs, a sorry statement on the league today. If the league decides to lay the hammer down on Downie, perhaps it can send a message to the rest of the NHL to clean up their act. But likely, the suspension won't justify the act.

You can play with grit, passion and heart and not have a reputation you're a dirty player. Just ask Steve Yzerman. Would there be any problems in the league with respect for other players if everyone had the mentality of an Yzerman or a Joe Sakic? Absolutely not. But how can we have the players think this way? How can we make the players play hard without thoughts of trying to kill their opposition?

I wish I knew the answer, because it looks like there's a good chance Dean McAmmond's career is over, and more careers will be finished until these cheap hits are done with. If you don't think this is a serious issue, put it in this light...what if it was Sydney Crosby that was stretchered out last night?

Downie Hit on McAmmond