Look, I’m one of the biggest advocates of preventing head shots in the NHL, I think it’s stupid and mindless when a player goes for a headshot in any type of sport. But what Boston did on Thursday really irked me.
They brought Patrice Bergeron out in a press conference, neck brace in full view and they basically ripped the players of the NHL. I didn’t like that one bit. It was almost as if the Boston Bruins were showcasing Bergeron to get a little more sympathy from the NHL and the fans. GM Peter Chiarelli had previously and passionately stated before the conference that he was outraged Randy Jones got a minimal two game suspension.
Come on guys, the hit wasn’t that bad, it was barely a two-game suspension. It was more a case of Bergeron being in the wrong position to take a hit at the wrong time.
And, I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m going to side with what Nick Kypreos said a couple days ago. NHL players may hold the consequence to be suspended for head infractions, but they also have the responsibility to be in a proper position to defend themselves when being hit. And in a new NHL where there is a crackdown on obstruction we’re seeing more and more NHL defencemen needing to staple guys to the boards in order to finish their checks. NHL defencemen can no longer get away with a small tug or hook without impeding the attacker’s play.
Case in point, the aforementioned Bergeron/Jones incident. The puck is sailing to the corner and Bergeron is the first one there. In the old NHL, Jones would normally just put the hold on Bergeron and isolate him from moving the puck. However, in order to avoid drawing a penalty, Jones pretty much is forced to put a solid check on Bergeron, and in this case it just so happened that Bergeron was injured on the play. Randy Jones would’ve been chastised had he let Bergeron go without finishing his check. It would’ve been irresponsible.
What I’m trying to get at here is that if you combine the NHL’s crackdown on obstruction, an increase in focus on headshots and an increase in media attention, there will be more issues with headshots. If you ask me, the Bergeron hit was barely suspendable. Matt Cooke’s hit on Daymond Langkow? Rubbing Langkow off the puck and getting the puck out of his zone.
Come on guys, we’re talking about eliminating headshots, not eliminating hitting altogether.
