NHL Players Need to Deliver a Collective Headshot

The controversial hit involving Zdeno Chara (#33) and Max Pacioretty

For the record, I have heard the name "Pacioretty" so much today that at dinner this evening I almost ordered "Pacioretty with meatballs." It is quite sad that a season of NHL hockey that has seen both individual players and teams achieve great results, will likely be remembered for the serious injury sustained by superstar player Sidney Crosby (1) and now the nasty and stomach turning injury suffered by Max Pacioretty (2). It is unfair to all the players, coaches, trainers, general managers, and owners who put so much time and effort into making sure that they are putting a good brand of hockey onto the ice. It is unfair to the vast majority of NHLers who play the game with passion and class. No one cares that Daniel and Henrik Sedin donated $1.5 million to B.C Children's Hospital when Matt Cooke just delivered yet another potentially career-ending hit in a game on national TV.

Hockey is a game built on beauty. If we take a step back and analyze the game at its very basics we can truly appreciate the skill it takes to skate with power, pass with accuracy, and shoot with precision. It is a shame to ruin this game over goonery and mental lapses by a few who play hockey at the highest level. There is a problem in the world when videos of brutal on-ice incidents have more YouTube hits than a tic-tac-toe goal or an amazing glove save.

The National Hockey League acts as though their sponsors are what keep the league afloat. Theoretically they are, but consider this: no players = no league = no sponsors needed. And the NHL, by comparison to other professional leagues, requires and receives a lot out of its players. Of all the pro sports leagues, the NHL is the only one that has, for the most part, been immune to doping scandals, contract holdouts, headline making crimes by players, and other such behaviours reserved for multi millionaire athletes. Most of the league's athletes are generous family men who are charitable with their wealth and whose sole focus is to be the best that they can be on and off the ice. In return for their contributions to the league, the players deserve the best protection that their employer can offer. It's like being a police officer - if I'm a cop who is putting my life on the line for my city, I want to make sure that my city is providing the best safety equipment and back-up support that it can for me. You don't send your guys into a gang shootout without giving them guns and shields. The NHL, in consistently refusing to deal with on-ice head shots, is doing exactly that. They are sending their players onto the ice without proper protection. So far it has only resulted in serious injuries but, at this rate, how long will it be before we're holding a moment of silence in honour of a fallen player?

The NHL is painfully inconsistent their disciplinary actions against dangerous plays. How quick the league is to protect one of its high-ranked officials. When Los Angeles Kings' GM Dean Lombardi lost his temper and verbally attacked NHL vice president Mike Murphy over a goal review, the league stepped in and immediately fined Lombardi $50,000 (3). The only thing that was hurt in this incident was maybe Murphy's ego. Certainly though, he didn't suffer any broken bones, torn ligaments, concussions, or life-threatening injuries of any sort. Similarly, why was it that when Canucks forward Alex Burrows spoke truthfully in a post-game scrum about how one of the league's on-ice officials had lost his impartiality, it took the NHL less than 24 hours to stick Burrows with a $2500 fine (4)? And yet when players are being tossed around like rag dolls and are suffering career ending and life threatening injuries the league lets the perpetrators get away scott free by calling it "a hockey play." These incidents are the result of the game getting faster, its players getting stronger, and its equipment getting heavier. Gone are the days where players would unwind between periods by treating themselves to a beer and a cigar. Nowadays, NHLers train year-round, pushing themselves to become stronger, faster, more agile, and more aggressive. The league can't ask the players to stop doing that. This is not a matter of saying "here Sidney, have a slice of cake and stop working out." The league has to go zero-tolerance on any sort of blindsided hits so that the punishment alone is enough of a deterrent for players to even test their luck. If they don't, not only will careers be ended because of these ridiculous hits, but the game we love will forever be marred by an era of black marks. 

The players are what make the league profitable and marketable and successful, and yet there is no pride and no sense of responsibility felt by the NHL to protect them!? Rule 48 (5) is not used consistently enough and it only really addresses "a lateral or blind side hit to an opponent where the head is targeted." What about the Zdeno Chara hit on Max Pacioretty where it wasn't technically a lateral or blind sided hit but the head was still the main point of impact? The NHL's brass is out of touch with what it means to be on the ice - it's a long ways away from the stain glass doors, leather chairs, and hardwood floors of the NHL's front office. If the league doesn't see it as being a priority to protect its largest asset why should the players continue to put themselves in harms way during games, show up for charity events, and participate in the league's latest advertising campaigns? What if tomorrow the Pittsburgh Penguins decided not to show up for work? This is a team whose star player - the player credited with saving the sport of hockey in the United States, the player who has obeyed the league's every command to help buoy the image of hockey - has missed nearly 3 months of action because of an unsuspecting and unpunished head shot. What if the Pens were to walk out on the league? It would make headlines all over the world, the league's newest funded arena would be sitting empty, the schedule would be disrupted, and attention would be drawn to the league's lack of support for its own players. Media outlets would join the cause, sponsors would follow suit, and maybe even other teams would join the fight. This is something that can't be done by only one player or one group of players because they would be seen as "divas" or "whiners" and a few players missing from action could be swept under the rug pretty quickly. It needs to be the effort of a collective team - a team with a resolve of demanding more from their league. If today, an entire organization walks off the job and refuses to play until something is done about dangerous on ice plays, trust me the league will take notice pretty quickly.

The fact that these players make millions of dollars shouldn't hide the fact that they still have the same rights as anyone else. No law says that a larger pay cheque means players should be putting themselves in harm's way. At the end of the day, these players are husbands, fathers, sons, and human beings. Their hockey careers will end in a few decades but they'll still have the rest of their lives to live. They can't do that on a brain depleted by concussions and they shouldn't have to. The NHL's players need to step up and show their employer what a head shot feels like - hand the league the biggest blow they've ever sustained and let's see how long it takes before the issue is finally addressed and lives are saved.