Back at the beginning of the new season, I asked what anyone thought of the the new rules. The response I got was "New rules? Huh? You mean post-lock-out? Or 2010-11 season specific? There are very few changes this year. Officially, anyhow." No one seemed to feel that the new head shot rule was of any major consequence...no biggie deal. I have to confess that it was a big deal to me because I felt that the cheap shot that Cooke took on Savard back in March 2010 cost the Bruins a cup last year.
Even though at that time the hit was "legal", everyone in the league knew it was a dirty cheap shot. Savard was their best scorer and feed man. After he got knocked out, they went into a scoring slump (expecially with power plays). To this day he hasn't been the same player he was. I wonder if he ever will be again.
OK, now that my rant is over, lets move on
Fast forward to this month. Sid (the golden boy) Crosby gets a hard shot (ruled legal by the NHL even with the new rules) and another soft hit the next game. He realizes he has a concussion and starts whining about it. He publicly questions why the hits weren't ruled illegal (even though every NHL announcer or analyst I've heard says they were hard but clean). The media is falling over themselves to talk with him about it:
So, where was Sidney when his team-mate Matt Cooke disrespected the game and ruined the season for the Bruins (and possibly the career of Savard) with a vicious dirty hit?
I propose that the league needs to rule that when a head shot is deemed illegal and deliberate that the offending player should be suspended without pay
until the injured player is able to return. Now someone may question if this is "wussification" of the NHL. I say that it is not since even back in the rough days of the 70's, the players had a code that they would follow. Certain things were off limits. Even today, some of these unwritten codes exist. You'll notice that many players will fight only if both players take their gloves off. Also, once one player falls to the ice the fight is over.
Comments? Do you think the two shots Crosby got were legal? Do you think the head shot rule is tough enough?