Taking the fight out of hockey; keeping the fights

“…Hits targeting the head are becoming the biggest problem in hockey today.”

These words were uttered by The Sports Network (TSN) hockey analyst Bob MacKenzie in February of 2007. In hindsight, they seem to be almost seer-like in their accuracy because of the rash of violent incidents in both professional and amateur levels of hockey over the last several months.

It took all of these incidents to open the eyes of people around the game of hockey to see that changes needed to be made. From Rouyn-Noranda player Patrice Cormier’s elbow to the head of Mikael Tam that sent him into convulsions on the ice, to Matt Cooke’s blindside hit of Boston Bruins’ star Marc Savard that knocked him unconscious (see violent hits in video), these hits sent a message that something had to be done.

On Tuesday, March 9, the General Managers of all 30 NHL franchises elected eight of their members to work on a rule change that would cut down on hits to the head and excessive violence in the game of hockey. The rule change would lead to stiffer penalties for dangerous hits:

“A lateral, back pressure or blindside hit to an opponent where the head is targeted and/or the principal point of contact is not permitted violation of the above will result in a minor or major penalty and shall be reviewed for possible supplemental discipline.”

That supplemental discipline could include anything from suspension to possible review from a panel of law enforcers.

The recent rash of violent hits have forced NHL general managers to change the rules to reduce injuries.

Jason Cassidy is a third-year hockey player for the St. Thomas Tommies who has come up through the junior ranks playing for Brampton and St. Mikes in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). Throughout his career he has sustained at least five concussions (that he knows about) from taking violent hits to the head including one in February that shut him down for the remainder of the season. (To hear more about his most recent concussion, click below to listen to an excerpt from The Sportswire’s interview with him). He says that the game of hockey has started to change and lean more towards violent hits.

Click play to listen.

“I think head checks are something the game needs to address,” said Cassidy. “Because players, the culture of the game right now, is to hit players to hurt them. It’s not a matter of hitting to separate the player from the puck anymore, it’s now hit that player to take them out of the game. It’s definitely dangerous, but it’s a big business, hockey is, and when there is a lot of money on the line, players are fighting for a paycheck.” (click below for full interview)

As much as the problem has become more of a hot button issue recently because of the 24/7 cycle of sports news and discussion, this isn’t a new problem; players have been throwing dirty hits for years, they were just addressed differently.

Mike Eagles played in the NHL for 16 seasons, and just finished his eighth season as the bench boss of the St. Thomas Tommies hockey team. He says that the way the game used to be played, players policed themselves but in recent years, rule changes have altered the way the game is played.

“It used to be that if you threw a dirty hit, you had one coming right back to you, that’s just how it was,” said Eagles. “But now, with the crack down on fighting in the league, guys are more hesitant to drop the gloves because they don’t want to get suspended or an instigator penalty. So now, a player on another team can throw a dirty hit and not have to worry about the repercussions of someone coming after him.”

Eagles also pointed to a couple more reasons why the injuries have started to pile up: changes in the way interference penalties are caused, and advancements in equipment technology.

The interference rule changes made by the NHL in 2005-2006 no longer allowed players to impede an incoming player on defense. With that change, offensive players are allowed to be at full stride coming into the zone which leads to more unsafe collisions near the boards.

The equipment Eagles said, was maybe the biggest factor though.

“Now with the gear these guys have,” said Eagles, “you can take a run at someone, miss, and just bounce of the boards and keep going. In the past, wearing some of the older gear, if you miss a hit, that’s going to hurt.”

Ryan Lehr, a fourth year player with the Tommies, played much of his junior career with Bai Comeau of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), said that these hits happen because some players don’t respect their opponents.

“Obviously, there’s going to be times where there are borderline hits,” said Lehr. “I think that basically it comes down to respect for the players you’re playing against. If it gets up [around the head] it’s kind of unfortunate, but the majority of the time, the players have the kind of respect for each other to try not to do those kinds of hits, but sometimes it happens due to emotion and things like that.” (Full interview below)

Nick Layton, a first year player for the University of New Brunswick Varsity Reds, that played his junior hockey in the QMJHL for Montreal and St. John’s, has a different perspective on why this is just becoming an issue right now.

“I think there’s always been big hits and bad hits, I think hockey has been always known for this,” said Layton. “I think that fitness is becoming a pretty big part of hockey especially. Guys are training harder, I think guys are bigger and faster, that has something to do with it. And I remember in the olden days, we didn’t have half the camera angles we do now… I think that maybe makes it look worse.”(Full interview below)

Those camera angles are becoming a big factor now because of the first rule change we talked about: the phrase “A violation of the above… shall be reviewed for possible supplemental discipline.” These angles are becoming evidence and reviewable material for the league and even law enforcement to look at when talking about the “supplemental discipline.”

There has actually been quite a substantial list of on-ice incidents which led to criminal charges being laid (for a complete list, click here). The most notable in recent years were the incidents of Marty McSorley in 2000 and Todd Bertuzzi in 2004. It was ruled that these incidents were outside the lines of what was “acceptable” within a hockey setting.

James McAnany has been an RCMP officer for 30 years and has dealt with much violence over the course of his career. He agrees that sometimes law enforcement has to get involved in the case of an extremely violent incident. He says it all has to do with the individual’s intent and that it should be reviewed on a case to case basis.

“Because [a hockey game] is a sanctioned event, in my view, it does not preclude or exclude the long arm of the law from entering into that arena and dealing with the issue at hand,” said McAnany. “If two individuals are to drop the gloves, I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that would not be a matter for the police. Two people agree to engage in fisticuffs, you’re allowed to hurt me, and I’m allowed to hurt you and the chips will fall where they may from there.”

McAnany says that when it goes past that stage, trouble begins.

“Where we draw the line…is when there is overreaction to said fight,” said McAnany. “If I drop to the ground immediately and you continue to pummel me and I can’t offer any defense, then that is clearly outside of the established rules of engagement… With the [hits to the head] that we’ve seen lately…is that when we lose focus of what the intention is here, playing the game of hockey…your objective has been hijacked and your intent is different from playing hockey. Your stick is now coming across their head or back or neck, which is clearly outside the stated objective of scoring goals and winning the game. There is the heat of the moment, yes, and that’s where the controlling bodies step in [and hand out suspensions]… but when it goes past that, that’s when it lies in the domain of the justice system and of law enforcement to deal with. The key is the intent.” (Full interview below)

So, with the General Managers of all 30 NHL teams getting together to try and stop hits to the head, they are no longer only trying to stop injuries from occurring to their players. They are now trying to protect their players from possible criminal charges that come from these hits.

As we’ve seen, because of the size, strength, speed of these players, and because of the advances in equipment and the rule changes, the NHL is a much deadlier game than it has ever been before. The only thing to do now is try to regulate and keep the integrity of the game, while still making it safe for the players, fans, coaches, and everyone else involved.

Jason Cassidy summed it up this way:

“I’d like to see the game remain on the ice,” said Cassidy. “But if players are getting hurt to the extent that the law needs to be brought in, then they should, because there is a lot of things you can do on the ice that aren’t acceptable if you’re walking down the street. [At the same time] if we can crack down on that while still maintaining the integrity of competition and integrity of the game without taking anything away, I think that is really important.”

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Posted by Matthew Robertson on Mar 13, 2010. Filed under Features, This Week's Edition. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.