Not Perfect. But Better.

BOSTON--It's an improvement, which means it's a start. Then again, we've had false starts before. A bunch of 'em.

Still, this time there was no secret memo produced to excuse this bit of on-ice thuggery, no attempt to try and give playoff games more value and thus produce a suspension of fewer games. Instead, we apparently have the longest suspension ever handed down for an incident in the Stanley Cup final.

Four games for Aaron Rome? It's meaningful, and while a 10-game minimum for this kind of head shot would be better, this is at least a tacit acknowledgment by the NHL that the old days of "better keep your head up" and "don't admire you pass" are, thankfully, over. When people dreamt up those phrases they didn't understand the damage that head injuries cause, both short-term and long-term. The notion that if someone has their head down they deserve to suffer a brain injury is at best quaint and at worst absurd and dangerous.

Just after 2:30 today, Rome released the following statement:

"I want to express my concern for Nathan's well being and wish him a quick and full recovery. I try to play this game honestly and with integrity.  As someone who has experienced this type of injury I am well aware of its serious nature and have no desire for another player to experience it. I will not take away my teammates' focus on the task at hand and intend to speak at an appropriate time in future."

Given that Nathan Horton may have suffered an injury with long-term effects - see Eric Lindros, Pat LaFontaine, Marc Savard, Sidney Crosby - there's a very good chance that we may look back and still see this suspension as insufficient. Remember, Joe Thornton and the San Jose Sharks screamed bloody murder over a two-game ban to Thornton for his headshot on David Perron of the Blues last fall, which, now that we know Perron missed the rest of the season, was clearly a miscarriage of justice.

In these cases, the NHL must find a way to bring a measure of balance between a serious foul and long-term repercussions. Perhaps in a case like this, there needs to be a further review when the suspension is over to see if more games are necessary. Just an idea.

Still, Rome is out for the Stanley Cup final, and that's meaningful for a journeyman player not known to be dirty who may never get a chance like this again. You almost feel sorry for him until you realize that 90 per cent of the players in this league don't try to make that hit, and don't make that hit. Almost all of the time, it's checkers and depth players deciding to execute these marginal hits on top players, and so you end up with situations like this, where the loss of Rome from the Vancouver lineup cannot possibly equate Boston's loss of Horton. Moreover, there will always be a bit of doubt in cases like this as to whether the league would have been as tough on a higher profile player, if Ryan Kesler or Alex Edler would have got four games for the same indiscretion. Like Thornton getting two for wrecking Perron's season.

That said, Vancouver is now down two defencemen - Dan Hamhuis doesn't appear to be returning any time soon - and either Keith Ballard or Chris Tanev will have to suit up for Game 4, putting more pressure on Kevin Bieksa, Sami Salo, Edler and Christian Ehrhoff.

Let's face it, the Canucks had been dancing on this wire for a while. Raffi Torres should have been suspended for at least as long as Rome. Maybe Alex Burrows should have got a game for his bite on Patrice Bergeron in Game 1 of this series. This time, a Canuck goes down, but the team percentages still aren't bad. Morever, now that some form of significant justice has been applied, it's more difficult for the Bruins to band together against the cruel, uncaring world as it was for Chicago in the first round when Torres walked for concussing Brent Seabrook.

You have to feel for Rome in one respect. He was coldcocked by Jamie McGinn of the Sharks in the Western Conference final and McGinn walked away with no suspension. Part of the problem for the NHL is that fans and media can point to so many incidents where the punishment doesn't seem to fit the crime, and then wonder why a player like Rome gets hit so hard and is out of the Cup final, destroying his hockey dream.

Then again, he took Horton's dream of playing in the final away with a dumb, dirty act. There's a price to be paid for that.

Boston's Andrew Ference had a measured, useful response when asked about the Rome suspension. "Even though we have taken some of those hits as a team, we understand as  well  as  anybody that it is a very fine line," he said. "A hit like that doesn't mean the guy  is a bad guy or anything.  They are split-second decisions. But  they're  split-second  decisions  that  obviously can affect lives, as we've seen."

This was Mike Murphy's call, not Colin Campbell's, but you will still get hysterical suggestions from Vancouver that Campbell, whose kid plays for the Bruins, is behind all of this, and that referees who don't rule in favour of Boston are risking their jobs. It's utter nonsense, but you will hear it. Some in Vancouver are already upset to hear that Brian Burke was one of the people Murphy consulted with before making the decision. These people will read conspiracy into anything.

The only chance to possibly get off this merry-go-round is that when Brendan Shanahan takes over the role of hanging judge next fall, he institutes a much tougher set of rules and suspension minimums to signal a clear break from the past. If every suspension brings up "What about Chara's hit on Pacioretty?" it's impossible to estabish any kind of intelligent guiding philosophy behind the NHL's justice system.

Before this suspension, the longest ban for an incident in the Stanley Cup final was one game (Jiri Fischer 2002, Ville Nieminen '04, Chris Pronger '07). So this is a historic decision, to some degree.

In this case, do I believe Rome wanted to injure Horton? No, but we all know intent is in the eye of the beholder. What I do know is that Rome did injure Horton with a patently illegal hit, and that he has paid a substantial price, even if it's not quite substantial enough.  

 

 

 

Comments

[Realist]

Hockey is a contact sport where injury is always a threat. Unfortunately in this case Nathan Horton failed to protect himself from a perfectly legal hit, and was injured. This happens in sport, and is unavoidable. The hit was not a “blindside hit.” Horton was looking to his left admiring a pass, rather than protecting himself from an oncoming player, who made shoulder-to-chest contact with him less than a second after Horton released the pass. That means it was also not a “late hit,” as has been suggested. Horton’s injury was caused by his head hitting the ice after the hit.

The bottom line is that the four-game suspension against Rome is a political decision from the league, due to pressure placed on it by people like Damian Cox. It does nothing to protect players, as it was administered for a hit that is legal under the letter of the league’s rules. If the league doesn’t want anyone who does not have direct stick-to-puck control to be hit, it should say so in its rules. Otherwise, it’s just delivering unfair punishment to an individual who delivered a hit that has ALWAYS been encouraged by coaches an applauded by fans, up until the unrelated head-hit controversy arose in recent hears. And I repeat, Rome’s hit on Horton WAS NOT a “head shot”; which is clear to anyone who carefully watched the replay.

[Geoff]

It's a shame it wasn't actually a head hit Cox, unless you call the ice part of Rome's body.

[Jason]

The hit was late therefore illegal and punishable. What don't you people get about that?

Sure Horton shouldn't have watched the play too long, but last i checked, that's not illegal. Stop making excuses.

I want to watch the best players play every night. Imagine how much a difference having Savard and Horton in the Bruins lineup would have made for them and the pace of these games. And this is coming from a Canucks fan.

[Charade]

A truly just suspension would have been the rest of the post-season plus the first twenty games of the next. I could have lived with the first ten.

Just another reason I've tuned out of the NHL in a major way. Watch a period here and there to chat about it with friends and co-workers but it won't be getting any money and very little time from me moving forward and you're talking about a guy who at his peak went to approx ten Leafs games a year and road-tripped to games etc...

[Billy Biroux]

Oh come on.
Hockey is a mans game.
When are we going to stop treating men like 10 year old girls?
When is the media going to quit acting like scared grannies?
Everytime somebody gets hurt, you media types start crying for suspensions.
LIke, the player Rome got 5 and a game.
It hurt Vancouver last night.
Ain't that enough?
Or do you want to shoot this guy at sundown too?
Enough already.

[Max]

Unreal how blinded by passion and loyalty some people (rabid fans) want to be. Take a look at the hit over at Youtube with a wide ice view (not close-up) and you can see it for your self over and over again to your inner-referee's delight.
You have to think as a player, even to judge by anticipation that the puck was about to be passed based on player formation and head tilt and angle , BUT!-,...even after that fact there is still clearly at least enough space for a step of a man in the gap between the two players even as the puck reaches the stick of the player passed to. This means enough time to decide to avoid a collision.

[Steve Buist]

There's an interesting side issue at play here that also deserves attention. Prior to the hit in question, video was shown of one of the Bruins' slack-jawed Neanderthals standing next to the Canucks' bench yammering at Rome, who wasn't even on the ice. That was allowe. Apparently, that's still part of the ridiculous hockey "code." Did that lead to the hit a few minutes later? Who knows? What I do know is that the game is still filled with lots of cheap shots, face washes, trash talk, and blatant stickwork. All carried out with impunity. I watched one player last night - it doesn't matter which team because it goes both ways - get two gloves shoved simultaneously into his beak after a whistle by two different opponents, then liberally roughed up, all while the ref stood by watching.
The refs allow this kind of nonsense to proliferate and the players have absolutely no respect for each other.
It's a lethal combination and frankly, it's why hockey is a dying sport.

[Pat]

It's true, it was not a head shot. The rule is .05 of a second to finish a check, he hit him at .08. I've seen a lot later hits than that and last night the Bruins were running (charging) the Canucks players and there were no calls. The message that the refs are giving here is that anything goes, then someone gets hurt and all hell breaks loose. It was not a dirty hit and Rome is not a dirty player.

[mel]

ya, head shots suck and the damage is bad. But.....he didn't target his head, the only blindside part was Horton's skating like a blind guy!! 4 games is too much for a late hit.

[Stop Making Sense]

Cox, you have got to stop arguing for this two-tier punishment. If you actually want to stop headshots in the NHL, there needs to be a very stiff punishment for every headshot. Don't make serious punishment contingent on an injury. Most headshots don't lead to injury. If you only give serious suspensions when a headshot injures someone, players know they can get away with it most of the time. This is the basic psychology of deterrence.

The reality is that you can throw fifty hits with your shoulder high and only hurt a guy once. Now, that once is enough - you never want that to happen, but when it does you can think 'oh, I just got unlucky that time, he didn't pop right up'. If you hand out punishment when someone gets hurt, people won't change. Deterrence doesn't work that way.

Look back at Bertuzzi's suckerpunch of Steve Moore - that should have been the end of punches to the back of the head in the NHL. But I still see people punching the backs of guys heads every week. Problem is, most of the time, a punch to the back of the head doesn't cripple the guy. Maybe the angle is bad, maybe you didn't get everything behind it. But a slightly different angle, a touch more pressure, and who knows what could have happened? The point is that unless you punish things every time, not just when the consequences are bad, players are never going to adjust their behavior.

[Dave So]

A late hit is still an illegal hit.. Personally I do feel it was an intentional hit to the head, but that's my opinion. In the replays I've watched you can pretty clearly see him raise his left elbow as he's "finishing" his check. Whether or not I'm right about that is irrelevant because the hit was still late and therefore illegal. There's a whole heap of things wrong with the league right now. A combination of goonery, coaches that endorse goonery (when it's against the other team only though), a lack of training when it comes to players keeping their head up, the ridiculous "pads" they wear that could almost stop bullets at point blank range... But most of all, I think it's the mentality of the players who believe that taking a player out of the game (as opposed to taking a player out of the play) is alright and the best thing to do if they get the chance. Hey, if you see a guy skating with his head down, by all means put him on his ass and teach him his lesson by scoring on him while he's sitting on the ice having been taken out of the play. When you intentionally take a player out of an entire game or serious by intentionally causing severe injury, in my eyes, your win is tainted. Not because you won against that team when they were short a strong player, but because you are the reason that team is short a player. To me, it's basically a dishonest win.

[Michael Scott]

Damien, I understand your frustration at the feedback you get from some Vancouver fans when they dare respond to your strong opinions. You feel their opinion is stupid and worthless - blatent homerism that should be ridiculed and disregarded. You may even be right much of the time - this fanbase sure has some moronic loudmouths.

But please, for the love of God, stop poking the tiger through the cage and then pointing at it and claiming the high ground when it foams at the mouth. Your viewpoint on league and hockey matters is almost always insightful and your position is firm and defensible - some of the time I even agree with you. In short, as a critic and chronicler of the game, you are admirable and valuable.

But as a person who seems to get a real kick out of waging war with "lowly" fans and painting Vancouver fans with the same brush, you come across as a sniveling infant - no better than those you abhor, just with a bigger banner behind your by-line.

Grow up.

Sincerely, Mike Scott twitter: @vancitymike

[Bob Holden]

If and it is a questionable if the NHL wishes to curtail brain injuries it MUST make contact with the head illegal and automatically punishable.
What makes this issue so difficult is that in many of the games i have watched this spring, hits dirtier than Rome's or Torres' have been ignored. The devastation of the result seems to attract the most controversy. The hitter has very little control on whether the hittee scrambles up and continues or is laid low.
Head hits are potentially very dangerous and the only way to create a somewhat safe environment is to make them all illegal.
Also, any time any player sticks his finger or hand on another players face, I believe he should be out of that game.

[Mike]

This is plain nonsense!! The hit was not even close to a "head shot", it was shoulder to chest. Gimme a break Cox, stick to watching your beloved tennis where there is no contact. Just because Horton had to skate and admire his pass is his own fault he got rocked. The game will, and continue to be, a "keep your head up" type of game. Players are taught this back in house league. I would only hope that by the time you make it pro, you have learned this rule. hockey is a contact sport, you will get hit in it. Rome is a 5th or 6th line D-man, no intention at all in that hit. You could almost say if, Thornton was such a loud mouth and was chirping the Vancouver bench as he skated by this might not have happened. But, like I have been told before, if you mess with a bull, you'll get the horns. Thornton did exactly that with his little chirp show. 4 games is way too much for this thing. I do admit I hope Horton recovers quickly, but also, he keeps his head up next time and stop admiring passes.

[Sam]

Damian, you can't punish someone based on the degree of injury they inflict. Hindsight is always 20/20.

[red5]

All the apologists for Rome are exactly why the game is getting worse. It was a bad hit, with a horrible result. If you want to see people bashing other people's heads in, watch something else. The game does not need hits like that.

[probert]

Realist ... I would look at the video again. Rome's shoulder clearly planted on the chin of Horton constitutes head hit. While this used to be a legal hit if Horton had possession of the puck it is no longer allowed especially as late as it came. Unfortunate for both teams and fans as this is a great series and would be even better with Horton and Rome on the ice for game 4.

[HabStuckinTO]

Interesting perspective, Damien, but let me be the first, if I may: "What about Chara's hit on Pacioretty?"

[Dave So]

Mike: You cannot say there was no intent in the hit and then go on to say that if Thorton hadn't been chirping at Rome on the bench then the hit might never have happened... You're implying in the second part of your statement that this is the reason why the hit happened. You can't have it both ways. Yeah, Thorton shouldn't have been all lippy and whatnot, but trash talk has always been part of the game, and certain things are deemed acceptable (we're killing you guys, you suck, etc) while others are not (racial, sexaul taunts). Either way, being pissed because some guy was trash talking you doesn't give you the green light to go lay out a member of the oppposing team with an illegal hit.. The league has deemed the the hit illegal, most posters I've read willingly admit that the hit was late. I think if you actually go watch the replay you'll see that there was in fact contact with the head as you can see Rome lifting the elbow as he finishes his check. Regardless, you have contradicted yourself by claiming the hit was unintentional and then going on to say that Thorton brought it upon his team mate.

[Max]

You probably set out to try to write a good article but along the way you got tripped up by wearing your distaste for "hysterical" Vancouver fans on your sleeve and seeing any hint of influence between Colin Campbell and Mike Murphy's as outlandish.

Uh Damien: they work across the hall from each other. Campbell is Murphy's boss. Hard to see how there could be any influence in that set up.

Until there is consistent logical enforcement of infractions, anyone's guess is as good as yours as to the source and relationship between crime and punishment in the NHL.

When your friend "Colie" is on public record as to his opinion of Alex Burrows, it is not surprising that fans are connecting the dots when Canucks are punished and Bruins are not.

[NuckNation]

A pro reporter reports the facts of a story without bias Mr Cox. The hit was clean but a fraction too late if at all. If you want to blame someone, blame Don Cherry who blatently called for the Bruins to play goon hockey and make Vancouver pay. How is that working out for you Don - happy now? I think it is time that you, Mr Cox, to take your buddy Don Cherry and ride off into the sunset. Oh, and stick your bias where the sun don't shine (does it).

[2nd Guess]

If the puck had been anywhere near Horton, there might actually be grounds to debate Rome's suspension. It was a true shoulder hit -- not a forearm shiver -- and directed toward Horton's chest. Take away how indisputibly late the contact was, and the issues would be: 1) how severely should an incidental head shot be punished (which has to be done, albeit minimally, if the NHL is really serious about taking them out of the sport); 2) how much of a consideration is the degree of injury sustained by the victim?

Completely lost in the ruckus over Rome's devastating cheap shot was Lucic's sucker punch on Burrows late in the contest. Yes, Burrows is a pest who had just slashed Thomas, and he managed to walk away from the incident -- which undeservedly minimized the kind of blindside blow on a distracted, defenceless opponent that was reminiscent of the Bertuzzi affair and Domi's attack on Samuelsson. And it doesn't even get a second look from the league office.

[puckhead]

Man, this is getting ridiculous. Was Rome's hit late? Yes.
Was it a headshot? No. Should Rome be hung in a public square? No, but we'll do it virtually these days anyway...
And for the record, the Thorton on Perron hit is a perfect example of all this media-generated, yes...media-generated, nonsense. Thorton stepped out of the penalty box, tucked his elbow at his side, and watched Perron skate head-first into his shoulder. Yet, it's been labelled a "headshot" routinely all year & cited in Cox's personal manifesto above.
Ahh...the hockey reporter no longer exists. We only have editorialist's with personal agenda's.

[Pots and Kettles]

Whats wrong with bringing up the Chara Pacioretty hit??? Yes, it wasn't the Stanley Cup final but it was still in this year and still broke Pacioretty's neck and ended his season and Chara got nothing either at the time or after from the league.Who knows what a difference Pacioretty might have made in the playoffs.

To quote one of the papers at the time

""The most interesting first round match-up in the playoffs will be Montreal vs. Boston. Two Original Six teams who really don't like each other that much. A big reason is Zdano Chara checking Max Pacioretty into the center glass at the Bell Centre on March 8th. The hit broke vertebra in Pacioretty's neck and knocked him out for the season. No suspension was given to Chara."

No team is exempt from players delivering suspect hits as this article on the Boston Montreal series clearly points out. At least neither this Boston or Canucks team!!!

Has anyone stepped back from the Rome Horton tragedy long enough to look at what actually goes on all over the league??? Remember Chara received nothing for crippling a man.
Not to mention the hit Mcginn laid on Rome in the Canuck Sharks series where Rome received a concussion and Mcginn walked with nothing.

Pots and kettles man, pots and kettles!

[Jon Martin]

Consulted Brian Burke? I wasn't a conspiracy theorist on this, until now. Bertuzzi, Burke, and Crawford were co conspirators in the Steve Moore mugging. Now, I think the Canucks deliberately took out the Bruins' playoff hero. Add the biting, taunting, and demolition of Nathan Horton to the Moore affair and it seems something is rotten in the Province of BC. It's the Broad Street Bullies minus the restraint.