The Pussy(cat)
Bob McKenzie has a very thoughtful piece on the Darcy Hordichuk hit that injured Jared Boll.
I am not saying the Hordichuk hit was malicious or that was off-the-scale dirty. That’s the problem, though. He felt like he was just doing his job, but I would maintain that if you hit someone from the blind side and he suffers a significant head injury as a result, there should be a price to be paid…
So, yeah, maybe I would have felt a little better if Hordichuk had been suspended by the NHL, but not much. Because the larger issue for me is how accepted a hit like Hordichuk’s has become. I would suggest the NHL community – from the league’s hockey operations to the managers to the coaches to the players to the Players’ Association – should at least bat around this notion of what type of hitting is acceptable and what’s not. Is it really the end of the world as we know it to perhaps consider that the hitters need to exercise judgment before they deliver their hit? Or has the game become so much about hitting and “finishing the check” that it’s done with no regard whatsoever on the consequences?
The other big problem now is that it’s difficult to even have a responsible dialogue about this subject. The minute you do, the reaction from the traditionalists and hard-liners is that ”you’re going to take hitting out of the game.” It’s a knee-jerk reaction to avoid having to talk about the issue and if that fails, the next step is to challenge the machismo of the person raising the issue.
In general, I agree with McKenzie. Darcy Hordichuk did not have to hit Boll – nothing was changed in a hockey sense – and had Darcy exercised judgement he could have passed on the check simply to respect Boll’s safety. Suspending Hordichuk would be setting the suspension bar a lot lower than it is today simply because as McKenzie points out, the hit was neither malicious or off the scale dirty. In fact Hordichuk appeared to let up a bit. I don’t think that was a suspension given today’s standards, but I would happily sign on to a change in the standards.
As to the larger issues, McKenzie does miss a key point when he wonders why this type of hit has become so accepted in the game. It is not because the game has become more about hitting and “finishing the check”. It is because the game has become more about winning. Nothing else matters. Players are expected to do absolutely everything they can to win. We expect it. We demand it. We snicker if a good guy cheats and gets away with it. The only unacceptable behaviour is losing. When winning is the only thing, there is no room for things like fair play, sportsmanship, or respect for the safety of opponents.
Why can’t we at least discuss the issue? Why can’t we have a debate without labels or hypocrisy? I think that’s an easy one, too. Money. There is no appetite for change because the league believes – probably correctly – that violence sells and more violence sells more. In a difficult economic environment the league is not prepared to accept any change that might result in a game that is any less physical. A decision has been made. The fix is in.
The league doesn’t want a responsible dialogue about that decision. They don’t want a dialogue at all. They want Bob McKenzie to zip his lip. If he doesn’t, there are plenty in the NHL community who are prepared to shut him down by incorrectly framing the debate (“taking the hitting out of hockey”) and by calling him a pussy(cat).
Like with fighting, money talks and the subject is closed, at least until we see the next catastrophic injury.
It’s pretty clear actually; just downloaded the latest NHL demo for XB360. First thing they show you? How to shoot. Second? How to deke and shoot. Third? How to fight. I knew they had a new fighting mode or something, but I was surprised to see the emphasis they put on it…
On a side-note, you then have to learn how to poke-check, then how to lean against the board, using a combination of button presses and sacrificing a goat at the new moon. That’s when I decided to go back to Forza. There are only so many hours in a day, after all…
It is because the game has become more about winning. Nothing else matters. Players are expected to do absolutely everything they can to win.
It has always been thus, has it not?
The league doesn’t want a responsible dialogue about that decision. They don’t want a dialogue at all.
tom, you are always reliable for heaping responsibilty for every problem on the league. It occurs to me that Colin campbell (the NHL point man for matters of this sort) was advocating a discussion on topics of this sort (violence, respect, etc.). The manner in which the game is played is the province of the players and, to a lesser but still significant level, the coaches. Those two groups are the ones responsible for the “culture” of the game.
All that being said, I, like you, would be more than happy to sign on to a different, less hell-bent-for-leather standard. I enjoyed hockey just fine before the “finish your check” fetish began to pollute the game, before coaches started with their “playing responsibly” mantra, and before NHL players decided that they need to get their equivalent of the NBA windmill jam “Sportscentre Moment” – the crushing open ice hit or blast into the boards (a guarantee to get you on TSN or, praise be to God, Coach’s Corner).
It has always been thus, has it not?
No. At one time we had the quaint idea that it was not whether you won or lost, but how you played the game. The change was gradual, but I think it was Vince Lombardi who really put the nail in the coffin and made winning the only thing. Partly it does come from the teams and athletes because winning means so much more money these days, but fans have changed too. We have no patience or empathy for losers. No excuse is acceptable. We’ll forgive almost any behaviour from winners.
It was not always this way. Most fans in my generation grew up making excuses for losers. Today we reject reasons as excuses and exorciate the unsuccessful.
tom, you are always reliable for heaping responsibilty for every problem on the league. It occurs to me that Colin campbell (the NHL point man for matters of this sort) was advocating a discussion on topics of this sort (violence, respect, etc.). The manner in which the game is played is the province of the players and, to a lesser but still significant level, the coaches. Those two groups are the ones responsible for the “culture” of the game.
The league is responsible for the way the game is played although the players are now supposed to have some control via the player’s committee. If the league wanted to change the culture, they could simply by re-interpreting the rules like they did with head shots. They can’t change the culture that relates to winning, but they can – and have – changed the standards for penalties and suspensions. They’ve ignored the wishes of the players before in this respect and they could do it now. (And in fact, Kelly did want something done, but the idea was rejected by the GMs.)
Blaming the players and coaches is the same as doing nothing. I’d like the players to demonstrate more respect for each other, but Darcy Hordichuk’s job is to hurt and intimidate people. That’s the way he helps his team win and he would not pass on that hit even if it risked a suspension.
As long as Gary Bettman – and his bosses – believe there is more money in fighting than not, there will be fighting. The second they come to believe there is more money in a game without the gratuitous violence, they will crack down. Do you doubt that?
I think the simplist change would be to enforce interfence after the puck has been passed/shot. Bascially – call ‘finishing your check’ for what it is – interference.
I’ve posted Dryden’s article on this off and on over the past few years – it just makes a lot of sense:
http://battleofontario.blogspot.com/2007/03/finishing-your-check.html
This might be the simplest change, but I don’t think I would go nearly this far.
In any case, I was responding to the other questions raised by McKenzie – why have we come to accept hits like Hordichuk’s as normal and why those who want to question it get called pansies.
Good work ,good blog
I think that hit on Darcy Hordichuk was not that bad.I seen worst and so have you …
Jared Boll did get hurt …but this is hockey….people get hurt…..
Is it worth a fine …MAYBE IN AMERICA..IT IS
Just my opinion