Crosby assault sets a bad example

Re Slipping back to the ice age, Feschuk, May 3 I don’t believe that the ice age was this mindlessly brutal. I watched the hits that took Sidney Crosby out of the NHL game with a concussion. Was this an innocent play by Matt Niskanen? Or was it a calculated move to take the star player out of this important game? Hockey has become so brutal that it is unwatchable, a bad example for the young men who want to be hockey players. Clean up the game or end it. It is not worth it. Virginia Edman, Toronto I have watched Alex Ovechkin hack and chop and charge his way through the Leafs and Penguins series with pretty much a free pass by referees. His latest assault striking Crosby twice with his stick before Niskanen finished off Sidney with a violent crosscheck to the head sickened me completely. The NHL has deemed both offences within the scope of the game and no suspensions awarded to either. Meanwhile, the best hockey player on the planet battles yet another concussion and could be done for the season. David Maki, Toronto

Ovechkin slashes Crosby to the head, Crosby slashes Marc Methot on the hand, Carey Price punches Kyle Palmieri in the head with his goalie blocker and, with these examples, either there were no calls made or the officials refused to impose the match penalty that the rule book sets out in black and white.

The officiating in the NHL is a joke and has been for decades. Most of the pushing and shoving and stick whacks after the whistle are never called, but similar behaviour in the NBA or the NFL would be called immediately.

There is a culture of intimidation and violence in the NHL that is accepted and perpetuated year after year. The NHL is still a garage league, as Mario Lemieux described it 25 years ago. Trevor Amon, Victoria, B.C.