I may actually bite on the short-season NHL GameCenter Live package for live game video. For all of it's incompetences, the NHL is the closest of the four or five "major leagues", if you consider it one, to actually trying to put together somewhat of a fair and competitive league.
But one thing I have to say definitively: The NHL has, at least to it's credit, been open on trying to increase player safety.
One of it's largest initiatives is to open the process and educate the public on player suspensions for illegal/dirty hits.
NHL Senior Vice President for Player Safety and Hockey Operations (that's a long term for the head of discipline for illegal hits) Brendan Shanahan (long-time NHL fans can insert your jokes here) has a section on the NHL VideoCenter (not the premium) site where, when a player is suspended, Shanahan will explain the exact nature of the play, why the action was taken, and what rules were violated.
Let's look at the first suspension of 2013's season. The video is off of YouTube, but is also on the official NHL site. Brayden Schenn of the Philadelphia Flyers was suspended for one game today by Brendan Shanahan for an illegal hit which Schenn committed on New Jersey's Anton Volchenkov.
Let's look at how the NHL explains it's suspensions.
The first thing that Shanahan does is, as the game video starts, he explains the time and situation in the game. At the time listed in the game, the hit is shown.
In this case (as the replay more clearly shows), Schenn, off a line-change, skates directly down the ice near the boards and launches himself, skates leaving the ice, into Volchenkov, making contact with his head.
It is hoped that the officials in the game are also penalized. Multiple replays in Shanahan's ruling video show that two officials had clear view of the incident, a linesman down the boards and another official (a referee, almost certainly) nearer the goal. The official nearer the goal is looking right at the incident.
Shanahan then explains that a penalty should've been called. Charging, NHL Rule 42. He comes down the ice, leaves the ice, jumps into Volchenkov, and hits him in the head.
The referee has jurisdictionary discretion to determine whether that's a minor or a major. That should've been a major for contact to the head by charging, and Schenn should've been disqualified, as a major for charging carries an automatic game misconduct (and an automatic fine of one hundred dollars for the disqualification).
At the end of the clip, the decision is clearly laid out, point by point, both verbally and by chart.
It's a charging foul, probably should've been a major and a game misconduct for head contact. Another credit to the NHL is that they also examine the injury that the other player might've suffered or did suffer as a result of the illegal hit. In this case, as Shanahan points out, there is no apparent injury on the situation to Volchenkov. The history of the offending player is also laid out -- Schenn, until today, had none, except as a victim of a vicious playoff hit last year. So this is his first Supplemental offense.
Even as a first offense, it is clear that Schenn should've been expelled from the game, so the decision is a one-game suspension.
If more leagues did this, and this transparently, you wouldn't have questionable decisions or even the level of disputes the NFL has degenerated into the last several years.
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I wish everything I could say about the NHL was good.
I can't.
It appears as if pre-staged fights are part of the modus operandi under which the NHL is going to try to win back fans.
One of the biggest stories from last year, other than the out-of-control Conference quarterfinals in the playoffs, was a large-scale drop-of-the-puck line brawl on a nationally-televised NBC game on April 1, 2012 between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.
It now appears that at least one game of the young season, between the Islanders and Lightning, started with a two-on-two situation much similar to that ballyhooed brawl.
A second fight had Detroit and Columbus send a player each into the fray off the opening drop on Monday.
Pittsburgh and the Rangers had a third such fight (another one-on-one job) on Sunday.
And, as Sports Illustrated reports and Brian Tuohy picked up on, the fights are most certainly pre-determined.
The staged fight is one way to get the fans back in it, especially on a week's notice between CBA agreement and opening the season.
But what is going to be the line between this and what happened last spring in the playoffs?
As with the lollipop... The world will never know...
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