HockeyGetting serious about headshots starts now

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Getting a consensus, however, is not going to be easy. For one thing, there is not a desire to radically change the game. An automatic penalty for a hit to the head? Not going to happen. One of the NHL’s talking points is that we’re only talking about five or six hits a year out of 60,000. If you believe the problem is that small, you don’t drop the atomic bomb.

But that doesn’t mean this is a one-step solution. There are a lot of factors the NHL must address, or this is doomed to fail.

MAKE THE PENALTIES HARSH

Rob DiMaio played 18 years in the NHL, his career ending in 2006 after a borderline hit by Guillaume Latendresse. DiMaio was an aggressive player – had to be to keep his job – yet averaged less than one penalty minute per game. He’s got a good perspective on this issue.

“If you really want to eliminate head shots, you have to make the penalty so severe that players will really think about it,” he said. “You can’t have them thinking, ‘Well, if I hit this guy and I get suspended, it will be for only one game.’”

Boy, do I agree with that 100 per cent.

If the GMs really want to eliminate the Richards/Booth and Cooke/Savard hits, Step I must be Fear of God. Simply tell players that anyone who does it is getting a long-term suspension. (What’s long-term? You could start at eight games, chosen arbitrarily because it’s 10 per cent of the season. Discuss amongst yourselves.)

Then deliver. It doesn’t matter if you’re a first-time offender. It doesn’t matter if you averaged three penalty minutes a season. If you do it, you’re going to be punished. Automatically.

(By the way, the GMs should also consider penalizing players who intentionally make themselves vulnerable to blindside hits. It might have to be after the fact/upon review, but you know there will be a diver or two who tries it. Can’t be allowed to happen.)

EASE UP ON THE SELF-INTEREST

An enormous – but understated – impediment to consistent supplemental discipline is the individual teams. The competitiveness extends beyond the ice and into the owners’ boxes.

Let’s say, for example, the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals are meeting in the Eastern Conference Final. Five minutes into Game 1, Cooke launches himself at Alexander Ovechkin and knocks him out of the game. Within 30 seconds, George McPhee is calling Colin Campbell. Ted Leonsis is calling Gary Bettman. While trying to calm down those two, the conversations temporarily drop out because of call waiting. It’s Ray Shero and Mario Lemieux for the defence.

Two nights later, Jason Chimera runs Sidney Crosby out of the building. Now the Penguins are making the same accusations the Capitals did, while Washington’s executives are exhuming Johnnie Cochran just like Pittsburgh tried 48 hours earlier.

It’s ridiculous. And, it happens all the time (cough, Jeremy Jacobs, cough, cough). Teams must be told if there is an incident in one of their games, there will be a “don’t call us, we’ll call you philosophy.” Everyone gets a chance to make some kind of statement/presentation, but you’re just going to have to deal with the fact that if your guy crosses the line, he’s getting a spanking.

If there is resistance, Bettman/Campbell should ask the owners how much money they are paying to injured players.

SOFTEN THE EQUIPMENT

This is a big one. To be fair, the NHL – under the leadership of Kris King – is taking the initiative on this one. Earlier this season, Red Wings equipment manager Paul Boyer showed me some of the changes that are coming.

Several Detroit players were using shoulder and elbow pads that had soft padding covering the hard exterior shells. That’s a step, for sure. It’s not enough that players are bigger, faster, stronger and better conditioned than ever. They’ve also got body armour right out of The Hurt Locker. DiMaio, who is now a Blues’ scout, had a real interesting suggestion.

“In the NHL, I wore the same shoulder pads I used in midget,” he said. “I could feel the hits. These guys don’t feel anything. That gives players an extra feeling of power.”

It’s thoughtful. I don’t know if “weakening” the equipment (for lack of a better term) is possible. But I was really struck by the suggestion and wanted to include it.

MAKE THE VICTIMS MORE AWARE

The game is so fast and space so limited. There is no way the NHL can completely eliminate injuries, because even clean contact is so violent. One junior coach, Dave Cameron of the Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors, holds special practices where players are taught not to directly hit anyone whose back is turned to them. That’s a great idea.

But it’s not only the hitters who have to do a better job of taking responsibility, it’s the hittees.

It’s become acceptable now for players to face the boards, exposing their backs while trying to protect the puck along the wall. That’s a bad trend. The crackdown on interference (a good thing) allows forecheckers to arrive even faster. Defencemen who try to protect the puck facing the boards are going to get clobbered. The collisions look awful, but in many cases, it’s not anywhere near a deliberate attempt to hurt.

It’s not that sexy to say, but the honest truth is that more and more injuries are happening because players are putting themselves in vulnerable positions. John Mitchell is a good example. He was knocked out of Saturday’s game by Chris Neil. There was no penalty, nor should there have been.

It’s easy to blame the aggressor. But there are cases where they’re not at fault. Coaches/players have to a do a better job of realizing when strategy puts skaters at risk.

BE FLEXIBLE

A few years ago, the CFL’s coaches were really concerned about dangerous collisions on special teams plays. Players on the return team were allowed to block any potential tacklers from the front or the side. The field bosses believed the ones from the side were overly dangerous and voted to change the rule, making it legal to block only from the front.

It made things safer, but had a negative side effect: nearly eliminating punt/kick-return touchdowns, a huge part of the Canadian game. A Gizmo Williams couldn’t exist under those conditions. Eventually, the league voted to repeal the change.

That’s relevant here because there are many GMs who worry about going too far, removing hitting from the game. No one wants to see that. The CFL example shows that if you shouldn’t be afraid to try something, because it can always be reversed.

AND, MOST CONTROVERSIALLY ...

I never, ever thought I’d be the one to suggest this. I can’t help but wonder if it’s time to take out the instigator rule, but ONLY on a trial basis. A lot of players – and I’m not talking about one-dimensional goons – believe that one of the biggest reasons we are seeing so many injuries is that some guys are “too brave.” Meaning: they really aren’t so tough, but are allowed to play like it because of limited consequences.

The biggest concern: I absolutely hate it when clean hits lead to fits, and there is certainly potential for that to get even worse. If the NHL is not going to take the lead with harsher punishments, then maybe it should be up to the players to regulate the game on-ice.

If things get out of control, you can always reinstate it. But there is certainly some merit to the thought that some guys are playing tougher than they really are.

30 THOUGHTS

1) A couple of Canadian-based GMs caused grumbling around the NHL over the past few weeks. One was Pierre Gauthier. A few of his compatriots felt the decision to deal a second-round draft pick for Dominic Moore inflated trade-deadline prices.

2) The other was Darryl Sutter. No one had any issue with giving Matt Stajan four years, but let’s just say they were less impressed with the $14 million. “That’s going to make everyone else’s job a lot harder,” one said.

3) No doubt in my mind Maxim Lapierre got four games because a lot of people in the league don’t respect the way he plays. Then again, for that hit from behind, he deserved it – even though he’s not a repeat offender.

4) Derek Boogaard is really going to hurt someone. And he might not even do it on purpose. Ryan Jones is lucky his knee injury wasn’t worse, because Boogaard is too slow to keep up with anybody.

5) If the Phoenix Coyotes make the playoffs, I’m very, very curious to see what the ninth-place owner in the West has to say. They deserve to get in, and if the team was actually run by a person and not the NHL, we’d all be saying, “There’s an owner who’s really committed.” But everyone else is paying the bills, and is causing hard feelings among the other contenders.

6) Why wasn’t Dan Hamhuis dealt? One GM who inquired said David Poile was asking for a first-rounder. If he wasn’t a UFA, I think someone would have done it.

7) As for losing Hamhuis for nothing, don’t forget Poile traded Scott Hartnell and Kimmo Timmonen to Philadelphia for a first-round pick days before free agency began in 2007. There will be enough demand for Hamhuis that he could do it again if re-signing proves impossible.

8) Peter Chiarelli can’t say it, but here’s the truth: the reason the Bruins did not add offence is because they are not good enough to win the Stanley Cup. He really, really tried to get a scorer – Wojtek Wolski, for one – but it makes no sense to part with high-end players/picks unless that’s the final piece. The Bruins have some serious soul-searching to do. The work ethic is missing.

9) Tim Thomas was really, really bothered by the trade rumours. He made it very clear after beating Toronto on Thursday that he was not waiving his no-trade to go anywhere.

10) Strongly believe there was one, possibly two teams who were willing to take Cristobal Huet from Chicago. (Should clarify: I’m more certain about one than the other.) But the Blackhawks decided to stand pat, much to the surprise of other GMs. Unloading Huet’s contract (two years remaining, $5.625 million cap hit) would have cost at least a first-rounder and an established player. (I know you’re going to ask, but I’d be guessing on whom. The source wouldn’t tell me.)

11) Why did Chicago decline? Scotty Bowman believes strongly in the Detroit model: If you don’t have a top-three goalie, you protect him with great team defence and puck possession. The Blackhawks – disciplined and talented – have a shot. But, to duplicate the Red Wings’ success, they will have to show two things: their forwards are as committed to back pressure as Detroit’s and their defensive corps is as good. As great as the Blackhawks look, we’re talking Lidstrom/Rafalski/Kronwall/Stuart here. What a tough, tough call to make.

12) Among those who agree: Jim Hughson and Craig Simpson. We had a great discussion over beers the other night where they made an excellent point: Chicago would pay a huge price for someone to take Huet, then trade for another goalie.

13) A few GMs didn’t believe Vancouver was serious about holding on to Cody Hodgson, but I think they’re convinced now.

14) Toughest challenge Edmonton faces in unloading Sheldon Souray (aside from the salary, of course)? His foot speed – not exactly gazelle-like to begin with – is gone. That can be really tough to hide.

15) What exactly happened with Tomas Kaberle? Here’s my guess: He didn’t submit a three-team list. Agent Rick Curran spoke to Dave Nonis about a week before the deadline and repeated his client did not want to be traded. They talked some more, and Curran said something along the lines of, “Well, if you can do something with one of these three teams, I’ll at least ask him about it. But he wants to stay.” One of those teams was Boston and Tim Wharnsby reported New Jersey tried to get something done.

16) Brian Burke, by the way, said on Inside Hockey it’s more likely Kaberle is re-signed this summer as opposed to being traded.

17) If Burke wants Raffi Torres, he’ll get his shot in the summer. There is a strong belief he wants to return home.

18) Alexei Ponikarovsky asked the Leafs for a four-year deal. They weren’t going to give it to him, but playing with Malkin/Crosby gives him his best chance at it.

19) A few NHL teams were scared to death of arbitration-eligible players. That clearly happened with Wolski in Colorado. Same for Denis Grebeshkov in Edmonton. (Don’t be surprised if Nashville walks away from him, depending on how things go.) Toronto thought Ian White would get a huge increase. If sports owners could go back in time and change one thing, arbitration would be high on that list.

20) Bryan Murray met with his team Friday morning before practice to tell them he believed in them, “but we have to get back to being the hard working group we were before the Olympics.”

21) Murray didn’t trade Anton Volchenkov for two reasons. One, he thinks he has a pretty good idea of what it’s going to take to sign him. Two, he believes you’re sending a bad message if you add two important parts (Andy Sutton/Matt Cullen) but also remove a key player.

22) Does Cory Clouston remind anyone else of a young Mike Babcock? His handling of Pascal Leclaire on Thursday night – yanking him six minutes in – was positively Babcockian.

23) Leclaire responded by coming up huge Saturday night – stealing a much-needed point against Toronto. He was reasonably healthy, and delivered while flu-ridden teammates puked all over the place.

24) Nicklas Lidstrom said he’s retiring from international competition. I asked Daniel Alfredsson if he would make a similar announcement. His reply, “Not a chance.”

25) Quite possibly the most important thing that happened in Carolina this year? Brandon Sutter’s development. Paul Maurice feels he can use Sutter against the other team’s best players, which allows him to unleash Eric Staal more often.

26) Thought no GM had a better deadline day than Jim Rutherford.

27) Joe Corvo will be an interesting one in Washington. He’s got great skills, especially when it comes to skating the puck out of trouble. He has a label, though, that the bigger the game, the smaller he plays. (He was one of the defencemen Anaheim pasted during the 2007 Cup Final.)

28) It got lost because Newsday hides behind a pay wall, but Katie Strang had a real interesting report about discontent among the Islanders. Strang wrote, “Those unhappy with the current circumstances believe that the organization's efforts to get (Rick) DiPietro back into the lineup have resulted in a difficult situation for all parties involved.” The money quote: “If that continues, the organization will never improve,” a source said. “Things will only continue to plummet.” My sources say: that’s not good.

29) Of course, this is why Gary Bettman tried everything shy of felony kidnapping to prevent Charles Wang from signing DiPietro to that 15-year deal.

30) The NHL deserves a boatload of credit for what it’s done with GameCenter. Incredibly impressive piece of work.

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