New rule on head shots getting results?

Here is an article by C.C. Tigers beat writer Joe Pasley of the Colorado Spring Gazette that was in yeterday's Gatette; the newspaper article has some interesting tidbits that you might want to take a look at. Personally, I found some of the comments by Greg Shepherd and Bruce McLeod to be interesting as well. While there were only 27 five-minute majors for contact to the head were recorded, how many of them were missed?

Gazette.com --- Only 27 five-minute majors for contact to the head were recorded this past season, though it seemed like far more were called.

“The perception is there were a lot more,” said Greg Shepherd, the league’s head of officials. “We did a good job making sure the coaches and players were aware, especially during the first month.”

Tigers coach Scott Owens knew the problem had to be addressed and was happy with the new rule and how it was handled.

“It’s had a positive impact,” he said. “The officials spent time explaining it to (the coaches) and we passed it on to the players. They made a lot of calls early. It’s definitely a problem. When you look at the (NHL Channel news) ticker, at least a third of it deals with concussions.”

Here something else from the article that I found interesting.

The severity of the five-minute major, which included either a game misconduct or game suspension, proved an effective, immediate deterrent that also made things easier for the league office. Whether a player missed the rest of the game or the rest of that game and the next was up to the on-ice official, which is how the league wanted it.

Head shots...

I am not sure why this doctor Dr. Charles Tator is picking a fight with Hockey personality and hockey legend Don Cherry? I have watched Don Cherry on the Coaches’ Corner for over 25 years and I have never heard him out there promoting hitting the opposition in the head. If anything I have heard the opposite, I have heard Cherry blast thugs like Ulfie Samuelsson that play the game cheap. During many shows I have heard Cherry speak against using some of the hardened equipment that players use today. Listen to video and what Cherry has to say, he isn't promoting head shots.

Recently, at the Regina workshop, I indicated that the "rock 'em, sock 'em" type of hockey espoused by commentators such as Don Cherry can no longer be the culture that dictates our game. We need to depart from the "win at all costs" mentality and return to the game when players had respect for their own bodies and respect for their opponents.

This message has been given by many others, such as the McMurtry report on amateur hockey violence in Ontario in 1974. In my book on sports and recreational injuries published last year, the cost of all sports and recreational injuries in Ontario was estimated at about $3 billion.

However, the costs in terms of grieving families and suffering athletes is much more important and of even greater magnitude than we had imagined, as demonstrated by the work from Boston University reported recently in the Star. This report included the case of former NHL player Reggie Fleming whose brain had major damage after repeated concussions.
[The Star]

Daniel Briere suspended two games.

Flyers forward Daniel Briere is the last to be punished by the Colin Campbell's wheels of justice. The hit to the head is at the end of the video. All levels of hockey are trying to eliminate hits to the head. It would appear that some are not getting the message. The thing that really stuck out with me is that Briere makes more in two games than a lot of people make the whole year. You can also see the hit better on this clip. It's a dirty hit

TORONTO -- Philadelphia Flyers forward Daniel Briere has been suspended for two games, without pay, as a result of a late hit on an unsuspecting opponent -- Avalanche defenseman Scott Hannan -- during NHL Game #335 in Colorado Monday night, the National Hockey League announced today.

The incident took place at 9:06 of the second period, immediately following Hannan's goal.

Under the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, and based on his average salary, Briere will forfeit $67,357.52. The money goes to the Players' Emergency Assistance Fund.

Briere will miss games Nov. 25 against the New York Islanders and Nov. 27 at Buffalo. He will be eligible to return Nov. 28 at Atlanta.

Interesting perspective on head shots.

Here is an interesting article about head shots and the league and the players association going after the offenders that are committing these fowls. Mike Peca has an interesting perspective on head shots. You change your opinion of them once it happens to you a few times. Peca is almost saying, "I was for them before I was against them."

Hunting the headhunters- Mike Peca will admit it: Early in his NHL career, when it came to hitting and concussions, he was the one who played hard and fast and wasn't overly worried if the opponent he'd just hammered in the head needed help getting off the ice.

Then it started happening to him — the head shots, concussions and all those lingering effects — and now he has a different view on what has become the primary safety issue among the NHL's more than 800 players.

"Once you receive a couple [of concussions], it kind of changes your perspective on what the rules should be in the game," the veteran Columbus Blue Jacket said. "In our game, a lot of stuff is reactionary, but there are a lot of hits where guys have plenty of time to make a decision … should I check the puck back or should I pulverize this guy regardless of the position he's in? And far too often, it's the latter."

While many in and around the game vigorously debate the merits of fighting after the death of senior hockey defenceman Don Sanderson, the majority of NHL players are concerned with how to reduce the number of head shots that have crumpled the likes of Patrice Bergeron, Simon Gagné and Andrei Kostitsyn, to name just a few.

I think one of the biggest issues in the NHL is a players lack of respecting for their opponents when they are in a vulnerable positions. The Jones hit on Bergeron last year concerns me, Jones could have let up in that situation instead of hammering his opponent into the boards. Jones got a 2 game suspension, Bergeron was out for the rest of the season.

I think the NHL league office should start hammering the players harder in the wallet and suspending the players that don't back off the head shots before they get way out of hand. There is also the old saying live by the sword and die by the sword eventually a dirty player gets what is coming to him. You just hope that guy doesn't ruin a couple of players careers on the way.

Some guys intentionally go for the head shot, but I think its bad karma," Vancouver Canucks forward Darcy Hordichuk said. "You know, what goes around comes around. I try not to hit anybody when they're in a vulnerable position, and I'd hope that guys respect that with me if I'm ever in a vulnerable situation."

"There's no place for it," Eric Nystrom of the Calgary Flames added. "You've got to put yourself in the other guy's position."