NEEDLESS SECRECY
Hickey on injury policy
Sidney Crosby left practice Saturday and he wasn’t on the ice Sunday.
We would like to give you an update on the Pittsburgh Penguins superstar’s condition, but all we can do is speculate because the National Hockey League, in lockstep with the NHL Players Association, has imposed a total blackout on any news related to the health of the players.
“As the league has put forth these rules, we’re not permitted to comment,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said when asked about Crosby’s decision to leave Saturday’s practice with 25 minutes to go.
I understand the reasoning behind the rule. The players are entitled to some degree of privacy and they may fear there’s some stigma attached to testing positive for COVID -19 and suggestions they became infected because they did something stupid and didn’t follow the rules.
The league has provided some general updates on the number of positive tests, and two players — Toronto’s Auston Matthews and Edmonton’s Caleb Jones — have said they tested positive and are practising after dealing with the virus.
The main drawback to the rule is that it leads to speculation. When a player doesn’t show up for practice, the team can announce only that he is “unfit to practice.” There’s no way of knowing whether he is infected with the virus, is treating a minor injury or has undergone surgery that will keep him out of the lineup for months.
The Crosby case illustrates the stupidity of the rule. We can assume that he didn’t suddenly decide in the middle of a practice that he was suffering from COVID -19. Somewhere down the line, we’re going to learn that Crosby tweaked something in practice and it was decided that the best course of action was to take some time off rather than risk aggravating the injury.
Would it have hurt anyone for Sullivan to use a little common sense and say Crosby tweaked something and it wasn’t serious?
The coronavirus has provided the NHL with an excuse to formalize an unofficial policy of hiding medical information. With a few exceptions, teams routinely release information using vague terms like upper-body or lower-body injuries. Teams are generally afraid to use the word concussion, and the league’s protocol for in-game concussion testing is a hit-or-miss proposition. But there might be a reckoning on the horizon.
Betting on sports events is a growing business in the United States, where 18 states currently allow sports betting and another five states are getting ready to launch sports books. There are only three states that aren’t contemplating legalization.
The NHL has jumped into bed with the gambling industry in hopes that casual sports fans will become more invested in hockey if they bet on games. The William Hill Sports Books in Nevada reported a 38 per cent jump in betting on NHL games in the 2018-19 season, at least partly because of the arrival of the Vegas Golden Knights.
The NFL is popular because it’s easy to bet on games and the league requires every team to provide accurate and up-to-date information on injuries. With the increased interest in the NHL, don’t be surprised if bookies and punters demand more transparency on issues like injuries and starting goaltenders.
TAKING THE BITE OUT OF THE GAME
Social distancing is difficult in hockey, but with the NHL taking all the necessary precautions to keep the players safe, I hope Brad Marchand is reminded that licking opponents isn’t cool. And all players should heed Daniel Carcillo’s admonition that “Men don’t bite men.” That comment came after he was (allegedly) bitten by Marc Savard in the 2010 playoffs. There have been dozens of instances of players sinking their chompers into opponents over the years. The Dracula wannabes include Hall of Famer Chris Chelios as well as Dave Manson, Matt Cooke, Andrew Shaw and Laval Rocket assistant coach Alex Burrows.
My favourite biting incident occurred in the 1986 Stanley Cup final when the Canadiens’ Claude Lemieux bit Calgary’s Jim Peplinski on the finger. Peplinski, who needed a bandage and a tetanus shot, famously noted: “I didn’t know they allowed cannibalism in the NHL.”
There’s no way of knowing whether he is infected with the virus, is treating a minor injury or has undergone surgery.