phi1671

PA • United States • 50 Years Old • Male

Thoughts

So far this year it’s been true nightmare for the NHL executives because of the violence that is happening in our sport.

First and foremost do we all forget that hockey is a violent sport? In some ways, I think we all forget that notion because of the amount of injuries that is happening this year. Plus, it doesn’t help that some of the injuries are the star players of the game. In reality, injuries and violent collisions are the byproduct of the game we all love and cherish. If we want no contact or limited contact, then we can all watch college hockey and European hockey since they seem to have less body checking and very little fighting. With that being said…

I will never truly question the intent of any player. I don’t know them personally, I’m not his teammate and I don’t know what he’s thinking. I can only go by what I see and formulate my own opinion. When this occurs there will always be strong debates because we all have our own opinions.

The front office of the NHL needs to be changed. There should not be someone with a son playing or have anyone with previous coaching experience. The person in charge of suspensions should be 100% independent from any relationships if not they will continue to be questioned. Right now, like it or not, it shows a conflict of interest. Even if there is not conflict of interest, the general perception is there is one!
Also, modify and create a template for all suspend able offenses.
For example:
Hit to the head (1st offense) 2 games, (2nd offense) 5 games, (3rd offense) 10 games.

Each offense should be raised and fines should be levied because right now you have so much confusion throughout the league in how many games a player can receive. They need to take the objectivity out of the person’s hand. This will allow the league, the players and all of management to simply track the offenses. You break the rules, this is your consequence. There should not be, history in mind, prior penalties etc… The system is 100% broke right now.

Also, the NHLPA needs to send a strong message to all of the representatives and educate them that the league can only do so much (right or wrong) and the rest lies between them, the players. The players need to absorb some of the blame in regards to the craziness that is going on. They are the ones that are creating the suspendable actions. The player doing the hitting is just as responsible as the player receiving the hit. It’s a two way street. As much as the league is not consistent, the players need to police themselves within the rules and within the game.

There are no easy solutions because the league is made up of “Old” school and “New” school philosophies. But, there are solutions out there…

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