The SBP Archives - Your less than frequent dose of SBP!

Two suspensions were handed out last week for players deliberating attempting to injure their opponent by "finishing their check" and making hard, deliberate contact to the head. Using the elbow to bodycheck is illegal, but players still do it. I should also point out a lot of these head injuries that lead to concussions or worse are shoulder checks that are well within the rules, and don't merit any penalty so long as no one was jumping or charging the player.

Newspapers and the league bring up the subject on whether heads shots should be banned from the NHL as soon as more than the usual number of players have to be helped off the ice. The OHL has adapted the rule barring head shots and other leagues may follow suit. Will the NHL do so?

I can understand both arguments. We don't want to see the physicality taken away from the game, as a good solid check adds intensity and excitement to it. On the other hand, there are many times a player will go after another even though the play is long gone from the area of the rink, in deliberate attempt to hurt the other player. No one should be shocked that when a guy is going in at 100 mph with his elbow raised, that the end result is a guy being taken out on a stretcher. And I certainly do want to see star players like Sydney Crosby or Alexander Ovechkin being forced to stay on the sidelines.

Whether or not you in favour of barring heads shot in the league, the NHL and their players' union need to find a solution together. I was thrown aback with this comment from Bill Guerin on this issue, "I heard somebody say the other night they're looking for the (NHLPA) to step in. Well, the (union) won't step in. They're not going to suspend players. They're not going to jump in and take money out of guys pockets. It's up to the league to step in and start handing out the stiffer penalties."

Hey Bill, how about stepping in to protect your members from injury? How about making sure your members aren't sucking their meals through a straw for the rest of their lives? How about making the players who have no respect for the well-being of others obsolete: you can have gritty, physical players who don't take things too far, but unfortunately for every few of those, a Chris Simon can be found within the ranks.

A union should not just be about dollars and cents. It's also about the health of their players, and I hope the NHLPA big-wigs realize this when they decide how they want to proceed with the NHL on this issue.