A Semblance of Order

For two days, the NHL has demonstrated it actually can get things under control, and the players have demonstrated that despite all the excuses those trying to shill for the game will attempt to offer up for them - new rules, the speed of the game, the bloody history of the sport, the intensity of the battle, etc - they are completely capable of generally respecting each other and not turning games into a joke.

What a revelation. And, interestingly, fabulous hard-hitting hockey ensued in the 2012 Stanley Cup playoffs on Wednesday and Thursday, and not a single fan stormed out of a rink in protest of the absence of head shots or fist fights. Its possible people even watched the games on television in significant numbers.

Extraordinary.

Now, that won't make up for the embarrassing opening seven days when all manner of goonish behaviour obscured some of the superb play on the ice, made league sponsors nervous, caused both players and former players to speak up against the mayhem and left a few more stars either concussed or in hospital. Last spring's playoffs had concluded with riots in the streets of Vancouver, and this year's seemed to start with on-ice riots. No police cars were overturned, but common sense and sportsmanship were set ablaze.

Looking back, it was like rookie sheriff Brendan Shanahan wasn't prepared for the opening day of the post-season, and it took a storm of criticism for Shanahan to rouse himself from his stupor and start exerting a firm hand. Ditto for the referees, who went from passively observing scrums and all manner of illegal play to handing out 10-minute misconducts like candy canes at Christmas for players who dared to try to incite pointless trouble after the whistle.

What happens when you shut down the goons? The good players start to shine and give the league something it can actually sell.

Mikkel Boedker. Braden Holtby. The detemination of the St. Louis Blues and the tragedy of the San Jose Sharks. Martin Brodeur bouncing back from a bad night to blank the Florida Panthers. Kyle Turris scoring the first truly big goal of his NHL career. The struggles of Corey Crawford. The champs in trouble. The Kings and Canucks proving they're not dead yet. Alex Ovechkin benched for all but 1:58 in the third period as the Caps successfully hold a third period lead.

And on and on. See what happens when you put the gorillas in a cage and let the talent breathe?

That doesn't mean the rats, predators and thugs are done. They're always out dragging their knuckles on the ice, hoping to give the game a black mark in the name of "policing" the sport and "finishing their check." Lord knows we've also once again learned the idiots in the game have legions of enablers dedicated to always obstructing progress, telling you to watch figure skating or tennis if you don't like it, demonizing the best players in the game rather than the unskilled, blaming the media (even when they're part of the media) and generally trying to pretend what's happening isn't really happening.

Which is what makes the Raffi Torres suspension in New York today important.

Just as Shanahan had an opportunity to send a strong message at the start of the playoffs by punishing Shea Weber for his WWE move on Henrik Zetterberg's head and whiffed, now he gets another chance, a nice easy curve that isn't curving down the middle of the plate, a simple chance to produce he's in charge and that crime will not pay under his watch.

Then again, it already has, hasn't it? Torres eliminated Marian Hossa from Game 4 and the Coyotes, who don't need Torres, won the game to jump ahead 3-1 in the series.

At any rate, this is another moment for Shanahan, who hasn't done well on these types of significant decisions all year.

He blew it when Milan Lucic steamrolled Ryan Miller, made the wrong call on Rene Bourque after his head shot on Nicklas Backstrom, fumbled Duncan Keith's head shot on Daniel Sedin and botched the Weber decision.

Every time Shanahan has been faced with a decision that matters, he either dismisses the one-ice crime entirely citing some circumstance or excuse, or produces an insufficient punishment. He's a good man, a bright man, who has been given a job he was ill-prepared for and made a host of mistakes.

But that doesn't mean he can't start doing it right, starting today.

Now, he gets another try, an opportunity to show he can be fair but tough, deliver a suspension that most, if not all, can clearly understand and shows a larger sense of the good of the game, not just the good of the player who screwed up.

Get this one right, and who knows? We may just keep talking about hockey in ways that those of us who truly love the game can be proud.

 

 

 

 

Comments

[Ron]

Well, I suppose it depends on whether the league will allow him to make that decsion. We all know who is pulling the strings and it isn't Shanahan just like it wasn't the refs who decided to put their whistles away during the first week of the playoffs. After hearing Brian Burke actually try to explain away what happened early on it is very obvious that the game has passed him and all of the other elder statesmen of the game by. There was no logic to his statements. He was pandering to a league that fines coaches for speaking the truth and continues to allow head shots as if it doesn't matter that many of the stars of the league have gone down over the past 3 or 4 years. I mean come on an average of 85 concussions a year and nothing is wrong with head shots.

[Wayne]

It's too late Damien. They lost me when the Rangers and rhe Devils dropped their gloves at the opening faceoff in the regular season. This nonsense is not hockey. I'll wait until the next Olymics comes along to watch hockey again. I am a lifelong hockey fan who has had enough of this league.

[Craig]

I second that, Wayne.

[Paul Busch]

The last two nights have been a huge improvement in watching hockey - with the exception of the Bollig - Bissonnette fight. It was meaningless in relation to the game and just added more fuel to Twitter on the NHL's image as a beer league. Why does BizNasty leave the dressing room without his sweater strap done up properly when he only has 1 job on the ice? Why does the NHL only give 5 minutes for punching each other in the face, but a game misconduct if you are not dressed properly?

Hopefully the NHL maintains control for the remainder of the playoffs and makes this an enjoyable Stanley Cup run. We should not lose fans because of the first week of disgraceful player's actions and poor officiating. On my blog I have posted some guidelines on how to send a message to the NHL and NHLPA that the game has to be cleaned up - http://itsnotpartofthegame.blogspot.ca/2012/04/take-back-our-game.html. Don't turn off the TV and don't get turned off by the sport. Add your voice to other fans who are trying to make a difference. Besides....I don't like tennis.

[Conn Smythe]

'It's too late Damien. They lost me when the Rangers and rhe Devils dropped their gloves at the opening faceoff in the regular season. This nonsense is not hockey. I'll wait until the next Olymics comes along to watch hockey again.' Are you kidding me? The NHL lost you when the Rangers and Devils fought??!!! Really? Not the cheap shot from Matt Cooke ending (?) Marc Savard's career with no call? Nor the countless other headshots, illegal body checks? The refs and Shanahan have dropped the ball these past play - off's. Cox is right on the mark. Enforce the rules we have in place!!! Warn both teams at the start of the game that any scrums after the whistles will be dealt with 10 minute misconducts. And give real suspensions!!! I like Weber, but he should have been suspended for a minimum of 10 games (and carry it over to next year if the Preds get eliminated).

[Rob]

Too little too late if Shanhan comes down hard on Torres. And it will look like their is a two tier system of punishment, one for the star players (Weber) and one for the goons.

[Richard G Cantin]

Interesting that the blog link to tell the NHL our feelings on the ongoing goon behaviour on ice appears to have been shut down!

Suspending a player for an illegal act (check the rulebook) which results in a serious injury to another player should result in the offending player being banned from hockey - without pay - until the injured player returns.

Bertuzzi should NEVER have been allowed to make MILLION$ after his sucker punch on Moore... and all the others! Tome to make hockey and SKILLED game again!

[Braco]

Who cares about punishment.Chicago lost game and best player.Who is going to punish idiotic refs.Who is going to punish Sutherland for missing clear penalty shot for Detroit.NOBODY!
Stern fined D. West $25.000 for "WetWilly"! He suspended one of the refs indefinetily a season ago.
If Stern was sommisioner of NHL half of the players would be in jail!

[Ryan]

Great hockey surrounded by a few bad hits. Never going to stop watching and it would seem by the ratings that I'm not the only one.

[norm gibbons]

thank you mr. cox......i have been watching nhl hockey since 1940,,,and sadly tthe game with pittsburgh and philly, the other night was the FIRST TIME in my life that i said to my wife,,,please change the channel to the blue jays game, i cannot stomach anymore of the goon stuff...now last night was a different thing i switched from jays in kansas to the hockey game in pittsburgh,,,what a breath of fresh air....the goons were hesitant to lift their paws off the ice and charge someones head,,,,so hopefully shanahan wont have to make another 25 game suspension if the coaches and ding a ling non hockey playing goon has the message.....cheers to the skaters and shooters,,,,lets get on with the good ole days of hockey and ......the odd little tiff with fists,,,,,,,

[Tom]

I LOVE HOCKEY!! I hate goons. I know that Raffi Torres can play gritty, tough hockey. I've seen that. But that hit on Hossa was brutal, cheap and totally unnecessary. I would much rather watch Marain Hossa play hockey than Raffi Torres, I'd rather have watched Sidney Crosby for the past year than David Steckel. Go ahead and suspend Torres for 25 games. There will be another "Torres" to take his place as long as management keep guys like this on the team to execute their version of "Bounty-gate". How did Chicago GM Stan Bowman feel about $5.3 million in salary lying prone on the ice the other night, laid there by a $1.7 million dollar journeyman. This type of metality will continue until the teams competative postiion is compromise for carrying guys like this on their roster. As a part of the next CBA, it should be decided that in addition to the suspension of the player a number of games, that the offending team should dress one less player for the duration of the suspension. When you can only dress 19 players for 25 games as in the case of Raffi Torres, management may think twice about carrying those types of liability players.on their roster.