Another Headshot, More Suspension Talks, The NHL Is A Broken Record

This past weekend, there was yet another vicious hit to the head in the NHL that left a player down on the ice, and the NHL community up in arms over whether the person throwing the hit should be suspended. This time it was Andrew Ladd on Matt D’Agostini:

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↵It seems that in the past few weeks, there have been an inordinate number of devastating headshots and dirty hits around the NH -- Tuomo Ruutu on Darcy Tucker, Willie Mitchell on Jonathan Toews, Mike Richards on David Booth, to name a few.

↵Colin Campbell, NHL disciplinarian, seems to have lost control of the play in the NHL despite communicating this statement to every team:

↵↵We cannot and will not tolerate blows to the head that are deliberate, avoidable and illegal. The length of suspensions for illegal blows to the head will be increased if these incidents persist across the League. Taking steps to maintain the safest on-ice environment possible for the players remains our most important priority.

↵↵Not only are we seeing illegal headshots continue, but we are also seeing an increase in supposedly legal hits where players throw shoulders into opposing players heads’ with similar results from an injury standpoint. The fines and suspensions do not seem to be adequate to control player conduct.

↵The meeting of all the NHL GMs next week in Toronto will undoubtedly be abuzz with talk about head contact, however the GMs have considered the issue in the past and were reluctant to make any changes to the rules. Perhaps the increase in frequency and injury will spur them into motion.

↵Of course, the esteemed Don Cherry has also weighed in:

↵↵That’s hockey...If you want to change the rule, take hitting out of the game, OK.

↵↵Somehow, I don’t buy into the idea that preventing players from inflicting concussions and other serious injuries equates to turning hockey into a non-contact sport.