HockeyNHL should learn from NBA hardliners

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It was May 14, 2007.

The San Antonio Spurs were blowing a late five-point lead against Steve Nash and the Phoenix Suns. Their playoff series was about to be tied 2-2, and the Spurs were one frustrated bunch. Forward Robert Horry needlessly hammered Nash into the scorer's table with 18 seconds to go.

The Suns went supernova.

Horry was ejected, but two important Phoenix players - Amare Stoudemire and Boris Diaw - left the bench before assistant coaches hustled them back. They never threw any punches; never really got close to where Nash was drilled.

It didn't matter. They were in trouble.

Despite impassioned pleas from Suns players and ownership, the league suspended Stoudemire and Diaw for one game. Media reaction was overwhelmingly negative, but Stu Jackson (the NBA's Colin Campbell) didn't care.

"The rule with respect to leaving the bench area during an altercation is very clear," he said. "Historically, if you break it, you will get suspended, regardless of what the circumstances are...The rule is the rule. It's not a matter of fairness. It's a matter of correctness."

Short-handed, the Suns gave a great effort, but lost a close Game 5 on the road. A restored, but dispirited, roster dropped the series in Game 6. There were a lot of hard feelings, as history proved it was probably Nash's last great chance to win a title.

But the NBA - including its czar-like commissioner, David Stern - didn't care. There was something else at stake.

The league suffered from an image problem, with several on-court altercations creating a disconnect between its players and fan base. The worst, of course, was the infamous Malice at the Palace in November, 2004 - where Ron Artest went into the Detroit crowd. Players traded punches with fans and were showered with debris upon being pulled away.

Stern and his lieutenants made things very clear. No more fighting; anything even resembling a brawl was going to be severely punished. It didn't matter the team, the player or the situation. They ruined the Suns' season, but a point was going to be made.

Message received

You know what? The players got the message. Since that series, there hasn't been a serious on-court altercation (and the league was averaging almost one a year prior). Stern put The Fear of God in them. (I know somebody's going to bring up guns in the dressing rooms, but one problem at a time, ok?)

That brings us to a disappointing day in the NHL. In the past year, the league has been asked to act on headshots by the Players' Association; spent a ton of money gathering information on concussions; and, just this week, witnessed Bob Clarke give an impassioned speech begging the GMs to prevent today's players from becoming middle-aged vegetables.

It doesn't feel like a victory. There was a great opportunity to send the kind of message the NBA did three years ago, by throwing the book at repeat offender Matt Cooke and/or coming up with a legitimate awe-inspiring penalty for blindside head shots.

Neither occurred.

Cooke escaped any suspension, even though both Vincent Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis ripped him after the Lightning practised in Toronto. (As Campbell pointed out, Mike Richards wasn't suspended, either.)

Meanwhile, the GMs came out with a mild recommendation that any blindside hit "will result in a minor or major penalty and shall be reviewed for possible supplemental discipline."

Does that really fix the problem?  I see a lot of potential loopholes.

Look, no one wants to see the physicality of the game eroded. We all love a good, clean hit. If Phil Kessel can't keep his head up , that's his problem.

But the GMs had an opportunity to show real leadership with a harsh penalty that could end a serious problem. It didn't happen.

This legislation has much more bark than bite. And the NHL has proven, as it did 30 years ago, that if it wants to really get rid of something - bench-clearing brawls in this case - it can do so. (Credit to Gord Stellick for pointing out that one.)

There are still a couple chances at improvement: the competition committee, the board of governors. Maybe the players, who lose even more money since injured players add to escrow payments, realize it's financially prudent.

Maybe Jeremy Jacobs, who may lose precious playoff revenue with his best offensive player gone indefinitely, fights for something better.

The NBA has shown that drastic, forceful action can lead to change for the better. The NHL appears unwilling to take that bold, but important, step.

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