Mayhem on the ice
Some fear for players’ safety as penalty minutes mount
As penalty minutes stack up in playoffs, some fear for players’ safety,
Terry Crisp played for the Philadelphia Flyers in the 1970s, when every game night was fight night for the “Broad Street Bullies.”
It was an era known for bench-clearing brawls and intimidation hockey. But looking at what is going on in the NHL playoffs, Crisp said he would be more scared to play today than he was during his time.
“We brawled, but we didn’t have the cheap shots we have today,” Crisp said.
The NHL playoffs are entering their second week, and the league has suspended eight players and fined two and has a hearing scheduled Friday for the Phoenix Coyotes’ Raffi Torres, who sent the Chicago Blackhawks’ Marian Hossa to the hospital Tuesday night with a crushing check. Suspensions have doubled from last season, and repeat offender Torres is likely to be dealt with harshly.
After Hossa was carried off on a stretcher, player agent Allan Walsh said on Twitter: “Do we
“This has spiraled from out of control to total chaos. Do we really need a player to die on the ice for this insanity to stop?”
Tweet from player agent Allan Walsh
really need a player to die on the ice for this insanity to stop?”
Hossa was released from the hospital a couple hours later, but the sight of him motionless on the ice has further heightened awareness of the mayhem. He won’t play today in Game 4 of the series.
“You would like to see the guys have a little more respect for each other,” the Nashville Predators’ Kevin Klein said. “Obviously you are talking about split-second reactions. It’s going to happen every once in a while. But you don’t want to see on the same scale as we have seen in the first round.”
Some question whether Brendan Shanahan, who hands out player discipline for the league, could have taken a pre-emptive strike against future untoward acts by suspending Klein’s teammate Shea Weber for slamming the head of the Detroit Red Wings’ Henrik Zetterberg into the glass at the end of Game 1. Weber was fined $2,500.
“By not suspending there, (Shanahan) sent a message to every single player in the playoffs that it was open season,” Walsh said. “Had Weber been suspended ... every player would have been on notice: It doesn’t matter who you are, you are at risk for being suspended.”
Zetterberg said the incident warranted a suspension.
“I guess the bar is set,” he said. “I thought it was dirty. I thought he targeted my head. If we look at what happened the last few years with all the head injuries, I think that shouldn’t belong in the game. They did. There’s been a few incidents since.” Views differ
Shanahan, in his first year as the NHL’S disciplinarian, made an immediate impact. Armed with new rules on head shots and boarding, he drew attention early with nine suspensions in preseason games. All told, he handed out suspensions and fines that cost players more than $2.5 million.
Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke said Shanahan’s rulings had been fair and just.
“It’s impossible for fans to be rational at this time of year,” Burke said. “It’s impossible for Detroit fans not to be outraged when Shea Weber wasn’t suspended. But I don’t think he should have been.”
Former NHL player Keith Primeau, whose 15-year career ended because of concussion issues, said that he worried about players when watching these playoff games.
“Because of my case history, it’s scary to me,” Primeau said. “It’s scary to me because of the speed at which these guys are moving. It’s nerve-racking.”
Not everyone is worried. “It’s hockey, man,” Flyers tough guy Zac Rinaldo said. “You play at your own risk.”
While all this has happened, NBC is claiming a 35% increase in viewers (from 13.3 million to 17.9 million) over the first five days of the postseason.
“There is a certain element of the fan base which shares their passion for hockey with their passion for WWE and UFC,” Walsh said. “With that backdrop, where does player safety come into the equation?”
The image of this year’s playoffs has been Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby and his teammates self-destructing through undisciplined play against the Flyers. Crosby, the league’s golden boy who has been limited to 63 games over the last two seasons because of concussion issues, was depicted in a doctored photograph as the Cowardly Lion on the front page of the Philadelphia Daily News.
Penguins players Arron Asham, James Neal and Craig Adams were suspended for their actions in Game 3, and Pittsburgh coach Dan Bylsma was fined $10,000 because Adams instigated a fight in the final five minutes.
“It’s a shame what’s happening,” Crisp said. “The playoffs are the great time of the year, and we are talking about, ‘Who is Brendan Shanahan going to suspend next?’ We aren’t talking about who is scoring the goals.”
Burke said the actions of a handful of players shouldn’t take away from an entertaining first round that has included eight overtime games and the Los Angeles Kings on the verge of upsetting the No. 1 overall Vancouver Canucks.
“This is like people complaining about the rain at Woodstock,” Burke said. “There was lots of mud, but it was the greatest music gathering in history.” Timing everything
No one is quite sure why players have seemed more out of control in this postseason, although parity and heated rivalries have been contributing factors. Players say the line between playing passionately and recklessly can be blurred in an important playoff series.
“When you look at the tapes, you are talking about a halfsecond to make a decision,” Klein said. “Guys might be making a mistake. They are trying to fire up their team. They are trying to play hard.
“At the same time, you know when you have a guy in an awkward position or when he is not looking.”
Also, the teams play at a higher tempo, meaning there is no margin for error in calculating the timing of hits.
Former NHL player Peter Mcnab, who also played in the 1970s, said today’s players were more at risk than players from his generation.
“The game is so unforgiving now,” Mcnab said. “A lot of the hits are coming in areas where you don’t expect players to be.”
According to Mcnab, the demand for unrelenting defense means there is always an opponent stalking the player with the puck. “Sometimes it’s hard to watch the playoffs because guys are getting hurt,” he said.
It’s not only hard on former players. It’s tough for the average fan as well.
“My 5-year-old plays hockey, so it is getting old trying to explain what he is seeing and why it’s wrong,” fan Bill Murtha, 40, of Pittsburgh wrote in an e-mail.
Mcnab said there were major differences in eras but the one consistency was the game always belonged to the players.
“They are the ones doing this,” Mcnab said. “The question is, ‘Why?’ This is a roller coaster going downhill, and we are all wondering how much worse can the next hit be.”