TORONTO (Mar. 11) -- Let me start by commending the NHL for taking a strict, unyielding stance against the Islanders' Chris Simon for his inexcusable attack on the Rangers' Ryan Hollweg Thursday night. For a guy claiming to be "out" on his feet, Simon's aim was rather impressive, and he's fortunate Hollweg was not seriously injured. That said, I generally admire the way Simon has tried to reform his game in recent years. A typical "goon" early in his career in Colorado, Simon worked hard at becoming a more responsible player and teammate, and he appeared to earn the accompanying respect around the league. His contrite words of apology to Hollweg in a statement released on Saturday should help Simon maintain that respect, though it's clear some lawyerly type in the Islanders' organization prompted him to concoct the absurd "I-didn't-know-what-I-was-doing" defense. The league chose not to fall for it and justifiably removed Simon from further competition in the 2006-07 season.
Ever since the frightening incident between Ted Green of Boston and the late Wayne Maki, then of St. Louis, during a 1969 exhibition game in Ottawa, the NHL has seriously frowned on any form of attack using the stick. Maki responded to a challenge from Green by hammering the Bruins' defenceman flush on top of the head with the heel of his stick and he almost killed Green, who underwent emergency surgery and had a plate inserted in his skull. From Clarence Campbell to John Zeigler to Gil Stein to Gary Bettman, every NHL administration since '69 has wisely maintained a harsh stance on stick offenses, and it is now incumbent upon the current regime to adopt a similar standard pertaining to blows to the head. Ironically, Hollweg was not injured as severely as either Chris Drury or Tomas Kaberle -- both of whom were victimized by high shoulder hits in the weeks prior to the Simon incident. Obviously, Simon could have done more harm to Hollweg had he connected in the nose or eye area, but the league would be wise not to differentiate between forms of attack. Don Cherry is bang on when he points out how the hard-plastic protection on shoulder and elbow padding has contributed to head injuries in recent years. The equipment isn't going to change, so the league must look at the way it is being abused by players who clearly lack restraint.
And the league has to do this not for the silly reason that is most popularly floated by shallow media types. How often do we hear that the NHL must clean up its act in order to "improve its image among sports fans in the U.S." As if the NHL would suddenly become a top-drawer television property south of the border had these incidents not occurred. When are people going to shake their heads and realize that hockey has been, is, and always will be a regional, niche sport in the United States? And that no amount of modification is going to change that? Would it not be far more reasonable to suggest that the NHL has to dissuade violence simply in order to protect its players? Or, is that too parochial?
This is not intended to disparage American hockey fans, or to pound the chests of the multitudes here in Canada who treat the sport as a religion. Hard-core NHL followers in U.S.-based cities are just as significant as those anywhere else. But, it is futile for the NHL to continuously force-feed its product to those who don't care about the sport, and never will. Whether the league chooses to make itself a ballet on ice, or a human demolition derby, it simply will not reasonate among people in American cities that have no affiliation to, or affection for the game. Period. End of story. Nashville is a sad, but classic example. A potential Stanley Cup team has been abjectly ignored by the business community in that city, despite the honorable and exhaustive efforts of the orgainzation to attract sponsorpship. If a business-person in Nashville wants to entertain a client, he or she will buy tickets to the music hall, not the hockey game. That will never change. Even the impressive and much-improved television production put forth by Versus and NBC is immaterial.
So, all attempts to "clean up" the sport will fall on deaf ears, blind eyes and empty wallets south of the border. Attracting hockey fans in non-traditional U.S. markets has never been about image or aesthetics. Baseball still allows assinine, bench-emptying brawls in which relief pitchers toss aside their sun-flower seeds to sprint in from the bullpen. The brawls are shown on sports highlight shows every bit as often as hockey stick-swinging incidents, yet it doesn't dissuade fans from embracing the American pastime. If anything, U.S. sports fans are consumed by violence, and that is probably why the tall thinkers on the NHL Board are hesitent to address the issue of hits to the head. They don't want to detract from the intrinsic nature of the game. American fans might object. The question I have is: WHAT AMERICAN FANS??? There are none. Never have been. Never will be. Not beyond the hard core.
Instead of concerning themselves with fantasy, NHL owners and their apologists in the media should put all of their efforts and attention towards the safety of the players. These are men who get paid well, but have friends and loved ones just like the rest of us, and deserve to work in a controlled environment that doesn't encourage unreasonable hazard. It's not about cow-towing to people who will never care whether or not the sport exists.
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