NHL business

[Mickey107]

Matte Cook's surgical skate blade technique comes to mind for one.

Thank-you!

[SKYO]

Should have the automatic icing call now, the racing to the puck seems to incur more dangerous activities.

[Meds]

AHL. BOG approved to trial two new rule changes. Both could eventually end up in the NHL:

Rule 46 (“Fighting”)/Rule 23 (“Game Misconducts”)
• Players who enter into a fight prior to, at, or immediately following the drop of the puck for a faceoff will be assessed an automatic game misconduct in addition to other penalties assessed.

• During the regular season, any player who incurs his 10th fighting major shall be suspended automatically for one (1) game. For each subsequent fighting major up to 13, the player shall also be suspended automatically for one (1) game.

Then they need a rule, or some way to review and assess whether or not a player is being excessively targeted by the opposing team.....the protection of your stars via on-ice policing has been a part of the game forever and has a point.

Running goaltenders should also now be an automatic game misconduct if it can even remotely be construed to be intentional.

[Hockey Widow]

Based upon last season only three players would have received suspensions for exceeding 10 fights.

Cody McLeod (12)
Derek Dorsett (11)
Matt Martin (11)

Mike Brown had 10 fights.

There were several at 9, 8, 7, respectively.

http://www.hockeyfights.com/leaders/players/1/reg2016

If the NHL were to adopt this change, based upon both last year's results and in the past several years of declining fights, it would have little to no impact on how the game is played. It would be a PR move for the NHL so they could say they are cleaning up the game and doing what they can to prevent concussions. The major rule changes to help curb fighting have been implemented over the last five years. This one would be pure window dressing. But it would be one step further in trying to eliminate staged fights.

I'd rather they get stricter on instigators, particularly ones that are initiated after clean hockey hits.

[Mickey107]

It's funny how in the old days, clean, even clean hard hits, would rarely bring a retaliatory response.
It would be more a matter of the guy who got hit, got back to the bench, and his team mates would say;
Shit, man, he really got ya that time, better keep your head up.
Now even one clean hockey hit can turn a whole game into a target fest?
If I could think back to a turning point, seems in or around the Chara hit on Pacioretty...

[rikster]

It's funny how in the old days, clean, even clean hard hits, would rarely bring a retaliatory response.
It would be more a matter of the guy who got hit, got back to the bench, and his team mates would say;
Shit, man, he really got ya that time, better keep your head up.
Now even one clean hockey hit can turn a whole game into a target fest?
If I could think back to a turning point, seems in or around the Chara hit on Pacioretty...

I don't know about that...

Years ago I worked with a former teammate of Stan Smyl and the rest of the New Westminster Bruins during their hay day in the 70's...

He went on to play in the WHA and told me the story of a game against Gordie Howe and his son...

It was an exhibition game and my work friend was lined up against Gordie's son...Every chance he got he laid a licking on Marty Howe and every time he sat down on the bench Pete Stempkowski who was his center man would plead with him to stop...

Gordie don't like you messing with his kids he would say....My friend would reply that he was playing a clean game and he kept on hitting Marty every chance he got...

Finally there was a play where the ref was in the opposite side of the net from Gordie with my friend in between...

Next thing my friend remembers is lying on the ice with his eyes watering from the pain of a Gordie How spear to the inside of his jock...

My friend looked up to see Gordie staring down on him and telling him to leave his kid alone which is exactly what he did for the rest of the game...

Retaliation back in those days existed, it was more back door type and not as instantaneous as it seems to be today...

Take care...

[Mickey107]

Great Story! Those were the days.
Gordie was telling my Dad such tales of legendary epic moments at of all things, Amway meetings just a few years later, go figure...

[Hockey Widow]

And players like John Ferguson patrolled the ice to make sure no one got out of line. Then there was Semenko protecting Gretzky. Now Lucic will protect McJesus.

It's always existed. But the rules allowed for on ice management by the players. If you have an instigator penalty use it, otherwise get rid of it.

[2Fingers]

They are already talking about another lock out, this league is really getting stupid.

http://www.tsn.ca/signing-bonus-laden-c ... t-1.528992

What other league constantly has issues because of the GM doing work arounds and then needing help to fix their problems. If there is another strike I hope it goes on for 3 years and the league folds, we get out lives back and then a new hockey league will form with 20 - 25 teams with only good players on it.

Yeah I know I'm dreaming.

[BladesofSteel]

You want your life back? You can start by taking that site off your favorites list.

Try it for the summer, at least.

[Hockey Widow]

Bettman denies link between concussions and CTE:

http://news.nationalpost.com/sports/nhl ... s-football

One of the main reasons he is denying this link is that hockey is different than football. I guess he means a concussion received while playing hockey is different from a concussion received while playing football.

[Mickey107]

Bettman denies link between concussions and CTE:

http://news.nationalpost.com/sports/nhl ... s-football

One of the main reasons he is denying this link is that hockey is different than football. I guess he means a concussion received while playing hockey is different from a concussion received while playing football.

This is very bad politics on the leagues part, stupid even.
Hockey is very different than football.
You don't start every play by running all out into each other.
Every play (except a TD pass) ends in a tackle, often a dog pile.
So, no, it's not the same except for the words, (contact sport).
Concussions are what they are though and they do happen in hockey.
Bettman's tactics are to try and get out of paying anything and man, that's gonna blow up in their faces.
An NHL player will have a high profile court case, they will win and a very high (precedent) will be the guiding light.
Big bucks!
He should be taking this on and finding a fair compensation method that could, one day, even be written as a guide line, into the CBA but no, he wants off Scott-free. Aint going to happen.
Many of us, if not sports, have had jobs that we were well aware could be causing us problems later in life.
The idea is to get to the point an agreement is in place for some compensation, a living wage type thing, from the beginning and like all disabilities, would have to be backed up by doctors reports.
I think we are at the point now where enough, not all, is known about the long term effects that something is in place.

[Cornuck]

Yeah, Bettman 'should' tackle the problem head on and create a policy to do with concussions - but the reality is that he represents the owners and their money. His job is to avoid paying out big lawsuits on behalf of the owners.

The NHLPA should be the ones making this a big issue and forcing something into the CBA.

As for risk / reward - most of us have the option of refusing to take a job that puts us at risk unless we feel the reward is high enough. Hockey players have this choice as well. They are very well compensated for the risk that they will have an injury that could last a lifetime - leg, knee, brain - whichever. But then there are many more players that risk the same injuries for little to no pay and they won't be affected by what the NHL does until the safety rules and equipment trickle down to their league.

[Topper]

Bettman said this because this allows the league to handle the issue of concussions within their own bounds. He is 100% correct in not admitting a connection between hockey concussions and CTE.

He is not a doctor nor a concussion specialist. He is a lawyer, and a very smart one, he does understand the liability such an admission opens the league to.

[Hockey Widow]

Not really NHL business but:

http://www.reviewjournal.com/sports/nhl ... er-analyst

We will no longer have General Fanager to go to. Now there's a program the NHL should have bought.

It's so much better than what they currently offer.