Written by Chantal, AllHabs.net
The NHL has been in the headlines a lot this off-season, and many times, sadly, for all the wrong reasons. You’ve read about it: a player dies, a player is forced into retirement because of post-concussion symptoms, the face of the game is having setbacks, and on and on. The staggering amount of head injuries in the league has everyone talking about violence in hockey. As more and more of these cases surface, the “ hit to the head ” deniers may run out of ammunition one day soon.
Fellow writer Robyn recently wrote a piece on players who have been affected by head injuries, and its impact on their careers. It inspired me to have a little chat with my go-to guy on this issue, Adam Proteau. Columnist for The Hockey News, Adam has been pegged as a peace-keeper, a pacifist, you name it. But in reality, Adam is just spearheading a message that more of us need to get behind : Fix The Game.
I wanted to know what prompted Adam to start speaking out against fighting/violence in hockey ? Was there a particular moment or incident that influenced his view?
Here’s what he had to say :
“There was no one event or moment that made me decide to be vocal about my feelings regarding fighting and violence in hockey. As a journalist, I tried to gather as much information about the overall picture before writing any opinion-based stuff, and to be honest, it didn’t take too many years of covering the game to understand something was seriously off-kilter.
In the book I just finished, I wrote about my experiences as a young kid playing amateur hockey, being one of the bigger, more aggressive kids on my team. I was the goon back then, and I was suspended and threatened with a lifetime suspension for a stick-swinging incident on the ice. That helped shape my perspective on how the game encourages players to be aggressive, but it isn’t the only reason I feel the way I do. There are perfectly viable business, medical and moral reasons to oppose what the NHL product has become, and I’ve always wanted to focus on those, rather than my own background.”
His upcoming book, Fighting The Good Fight (scheduled to be released in December) will be a must read if this issue hits home with you as a fan of the game, or to get a better grasp on how serious this problem has become in the NHL.
“The book is something I put together in a few months this past spring, and consists of interviews with NHLers, former NHLers and management members who are all progressive minded and, to one degree or another, believe the time has come to make the game safer for all who play it.
The book doesn’t just look at fighting – it’s also about concussions, visors and NHL discipline – but fisticuffs will be the main focus. I get called a pacifist all the time, which is a way I think people like to marginalize and/or dismiss my arguments rather than address them head-on. But I’ve never said the NHL could or should totally “ban” fighting. All sports have it, but no league or sport excuses and legitimizes it the way hockey does.
That’s why I think that hockey violence is so over-the-top and unnecessary. I think it’s very similar to the massive amounts of salt that go into fast food products: you could certainly make the food without it, but those who make it obviously believe the product wouldn’t sell without it. Same goes with certain elements in hockey: people honestly believe that fans wouldn’t watch games if there were no fights. And I think that’s just about the biggest load of horseshit I’ve ever heard. If you really wouldn’t watch hockey without fights, you’re a fight fan, not a hockey fan.”
Some people, including members of NHL management and certain players, will argue that it is a physical game and players are aware of the risk of brain injuries involved in fighting/blows to the head but that these are normal, and acceptable collateral damage. Can this “culture” be changed ? And how ?
“I think the culture can be changed, but it will take a concerted effort and courageous leadership to get it done. You need people at the top of the NHL to provide the example for the rest of the sport. This idea that change can start at the grassroots and work its way up is nonsense. Kids emulate what they see in the NHL and nothing will change that.
In terms of specific change, I think it has to be a combination of things: educating players, coaches and managers as to the real long-term dangers of concussions; much harsher punishments to hyper-aggressive players; and more forgiving equipment.”
As we all know, many NHLers have been forced into early retirement because of post-concussion symptoms. Pat LaFontaine is one of them. Regarding head shots, he publicly declared : ” ..the league has made some strides, but I want to see zero tolerance on head shots.” In theory, these rules already are in the NHL rulebook, which prompts the question : why so much interpretation ? Why aren’t these rules just simply applied ?
“Glad you brought this up, because I address this in the book with former referee Kerry Fraser. He said all the rules necessary to adequately police the game have always been in the rulebook. But they aren’t applied to the fullest degree, simply because NHL owners don’t want them applied to the fullest degree. The league wants to have it both ways – to claim they’re interested in protecting players, but also to allow those players to attack each other with little in the way of repercussions. It’s a corporate decision that doesn’t affect those corporate businessmen, and it’s absolutely wrong.”
The league recently formed the Blue Ribbon Committee to study the issue as part of their ongoing program to help make the game safer, or so they say. Can anything come of this ?
“I like all the people involved with the committee, but until I see actual changes from them, I’m going to be skeptical that the creation of the committee was anything more than an exercise in public relations. It’s easy to say you’ll study something, but the truth is that concussions have been happening for more than a decade now. Study time should be over. Action time should be now.”
Seven ex-NFL players, headed by former Chicago Bears quarterback Jim McMahon, are suing the league for (amongst other things) ignoring for decades the link between football and brain injuries. Can a similar action by ex-NHLers help move the process along ? Will it get to that point ?
“Yes, I think a player lawsuit would force the NHL into making serious changes. We may get that anyway with the Todd Bertuzzi/Steve Moore civil case, but if you look at the league’s past history, you’ll see that they often need a push from a legal source to correct things. When the NHLPA was disgraced by Alan Eagleson, only a lawsuit cleaned things up. It’ll probably be very similar in regard to this issue.”
I’m not a fan of bringing the law into the game, but if that’s what it takes to clean it up and perhaps save a life, I’m all for it. Ironically, Matt Cooke’s recent declaration offers a glimmer of hope: “It’s a mentality, it’s how I’m going to approach the game.”
The game has changed. Players have outgrown it. If other leagues can adjust to new realities, surely the NHL can too.
I want to thank Adam for his time and generosity. You can follow Adam on twitter via @TheHockeyNews , or his personnal account @Proteautype
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Excellent article my dear. I do totally agree that there needs to be changes in the game, but not drastic changes.
This here is my opinion only.
Fighting has always been part of the game, however there has never been the amount of injuries like there is now, and there are 3 reasons why.
The first reason is that there are too many Players that don’t deserve to be in the league and that is the reason of the Bettman expansion in every damn city in the US. There are too many teams in the league and that forces teams to pick up players that don’t have the talent to be in the NHL. the Islanders Trevor Gillis, is one of them IMO. He can barely skate, plays about 3 minutes a game and does stupid things on the ice. The NHL needs to get rid of about 5 or 6 teams, and then players like Gillis, Cooke, Avery, Tootoo and other cheap shot artists will be gone.
The second reason is that since Mr. Bettman (notice I’ve been nice calling by his name.)applied the instigator rule, players on the ice have lost respect for their opponents. Players, like Matt Cooke, Jordon Tootoo and others take runs at players with no regards and worry, cause they know that nobody will jump on them and beat the daylights out of them. In the 60’s to early 90’s, if you would of connected Gretzky with an elbow, you knew that if you pulled a Matt Cooke, you would be in trouble cause someone was going to settle it right away. Players played with respect and knew that consequences where coming.
Finally, is the lack of consistency by the NHL in suspensions. How many times did Matt Cooke deliver vicious elbows to the head of a player before they gave him 10 games? Too many times. The NHL needs to stop looking at the offender, and look at the crime. Trevor Gillis should not got 10 games for the same hit that Zdeno Chara will only 1 game or a fined. There needs to be consistency.
Until the players learn to respect each other again on the ice this will always be an issue and I’m afraid it’s too little too late.
Sorry Chantal for going off here, but you know how I feel about this situation and needed to get this off my chest. Excellent article and very well written. Keep up the great work :-)
Great post. Action needs to be taken. Clearly, only a smoke-screen interest in protecting players to a point. Reminds me somewhat of NASCAR where they tout safety of equipment and facilities but then encourage drivers to drive into each other. NHL beefs up the equipment so the on-ice violence can continue with clearer conscience.
Good write up Chantal, but i think fighting is not really a key issue.
The beefed up equipment is key i think!
The NFL and NHL have all kinds of new protective equipment and both leagues are seeing tremdous amounts of head trauma.
Do other contact sports without the kevlar and plastics protecting the combatents, such as Rugby, Basketball, or even MMA have an issue with increasing concussions, even with bigger and better trained athletes nowadays??
I would bet not?
Don, you’re right. Equipment is part of the problem. Adam would like to see it be more forgiving.
Now, you give the NFL as an example. The difference between the two leagues is that the NFL has taken clear steps to minimize head injuries. The rule was put in within 48 hours of them discussing it, and is applied during games.
That’s where the NHL fails.
Great comment Serge.
I’m not sure i agree there are too many teams in the league, but i agree certain players may be there to fill holes, with minimal hockey skills. On the upside, they seem to be a slowly dying breed.
The instigator rule; i understand where the league was coming from putting it in, but it hasn’t brought anything to the game, and even the players want it out.
Consistency in repercussions has been a struggle for years in the NHL, indeed. There needs to be a clear cut line when it comes to certain hits, and not a case by case interpretation depending on offender, victim, team involved, etc. A punishable hit should always be a punishable hit without the option of ruling hockey play or unfortunate incident…
Thanks, as always, for reading, commenting, and the nice words. Much appreciated. :)
@ sportsattitudes
That sums up part of the problem, very well said. Thanks for your feedback, much appreciated.
So, looks like i’m going to say in English what I’ve been saying on Chantal’s Facebook page. Here we go.
Maybe i’m not going to make any friends with this next comment but I will defend my points no matter what people are saying because yes, this subject touches me a lot but i’m not throwing stuff emotionally, I think my points are logical.
Unlike Mr. Proteau, I was, and still am, a playmaker, a finesse player. The type that has a lot of credit but has to deal with hits, illegal stick checks. The type that has to deal with facewashes, little cross checks from behind or slashes behind the knees… I had to deal with some headshots, no concussion but neck spasms, dizziness, eye pain however, i’m not against a clean straight forward head blow
What i’m against are headshots in blind spots or straight forward headshots done with everything but the shoulder. I don’t think the NHL is trying to find a way to make the fans believe fights are important to the game. I say that because there are a lot of rules surrounding them. All the real enforcers are, generally, fighting each other with a mutual consent because the NHL has one of the most ridiculous rule in all sports : The Instigator rule. People are saying that the game could be great without fights, because there are no good reasons to fight anymore!! A few years ago, fighting was not only to showcase your toughness but to proctect your star players, give momentum or calm the other team. Am I the only one to see that there are not a lot of fights anymore, not a lot of great enforcers but more cheap shots and suspensions??
Fights are not necessary but they keep away some players from doing dirty hits because there will be someone ready to reply. I agree with Proteau on the fact that if you really wouldn’t watch hockey without fights, you’re not a hockey fan. But, if I want to see fights, it doesn’t mean i’m violent and don’t understand the positive of a good fight, for the team and the game itself.
Kinda sick of everybody calling the players a bunch of heartless, stupid and savage people. NHLPA accepted the motion against blindside hits but the NHL and the refs aren’t doing their jobs properly. Who’s to blame?? The players or the people who are supposed to apply the rules?? If I drive at 200 km/h on the highway, there are more chances to crash but if the cops see me and don’t do anything or give me a 20$ fine, will I learn the lesson??
Of course, people are going to tell me the traditional “We will have to witness death to see some changes” If the rules are not applied and if the NHL decides to give 1 or 2-game suspensions for dirty hits or blindside hits, the answer is yes, we will have to witness death to see changes. Players are aware of the risks, they lie to the doctors and they are pushing their bodies to the max, that’s the mentality of a hockey player, people who need adrenaline boosts to push their limits night after night, pain or not. (In most cases)
Mr. Proteau wants a concerted effort and courageous leadership to see a change in the culture and he’s right but I personally think the players have to decide what’s best for them and for the game they play because they are the main actors and they are the ones putting on the show. Not always easy to understand their mentality.
You know Chantal, if I had the chance, I would have traded 4-5 concussions to have a chance to realize my dream to play in the NHL. It shows you how big it is to play in this league. And I guess i’m not the only one because a lot of players are trying to comeback from concussions and post-concussions syndroms each and every year.
My wish is to see an excellent program for players with concussion problems, retired or not. I want the NHL to help players through these problems and make sure that they’ll live a happy and healthy life when they’ll hang their skates.
Hockey, when it is played the way it’s supposed to be played (with what’s inside the rulebook) is probably the most beautiful sport to watch.
In the end, I don’t disagree with both of you I just believe in a good discussion with people for and against some topics in order to help make hockey a better sport.
Great work and sorry for the long comment.
Ok, reading this for the second time, i will say this :
Regarding fights, to quote Adam, he never said the league could or should ban fights. All sports have them.
You know how i feel about you being ready to go through concussions for a chance to play in the league. Now, I’ll also add that maybe the reason you feel this way is because ( knock on wood ) you’ve never suffered a serious concussion.
The idea that the league should have a better program to help players suffering from concussions is good in the sense that concussions will always happen in this sport. But, the idea is to bring the number of cases down, and rather than focus on helping guys fix the problem, how about they just focus their energy of making this problem go away ?
You say so yourself, if the rules are applied like they’re supposed to, this game is one of the best in the world. The rules are there. Time for the game to take over the politics.
Thanks Sim. And your english is really good!
Hit to the head should be banned from the NHL, even if is an accident. Those hits can end careers and should be taken more seriously. Fights in hockey are unfortunately necessary, but not in the way they are done now. I think goons fighting each other just for the show is useless, but what illegal hits are done, there must be somebody to defend the player, to avoid illegal hits. Unfortunately, players are forced to do the justice themselves since the NHL consider dangerous hits as a good way to give a good show and get more money, and then say those dangerous hits are no more than a hockey play. I’m not against hard hits, but theres a way to make those without seriously injuring anybody.
Alex, i believe many fans share your opinion. Thank you for sharing it.
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