HAVE GM’S TAKEN TOO MANY HEADSHOTS? 

Steve,

You present your argument well and make some logical conclusions, however I still completely disagree with you. To me, this was CLEARLY an intent to injure and it wasn’t the first time he’s done it either. Watch the other video of him doing almost the exact same thing to Artie Anisimov.

Secondly, remember that ultimately this is a game. Bottom line though is that it’s a game being played for money. That doesn’t mean that this needs to turn into some sort of Roller-Ball on ice. You can still have a hard-hitting, exciting game without hits that might potentially be crippling or worse, deadly.

In terms of the Olympics, the slew foot by Dan Boyle was and is totally unacceptable. The game was in Canada though and there was no way that it was going to be called against a Canadian player by refs who were afraid they’d get killed on the way out. Trust me, if it went the other way and Boyle were on the receiving end of it, the Refs would have called it in a second. It was a shameful play by an otherwise excellent player and he should have been suspended for the rest of the tournament for doing it.

Let me get back to my previous point and that is that there is a gigantic difference between hard-hitting action and shots that are too risky and dangerous. Hits from behind, blows to the head and things along those lines MUST to be removed from the game before someone gets killed. Read Bill Guerin’s feelings about it at TSN. I would suggest to you personally thought if hockey isn’t violent enough for you that if you haven’t already, then you should look into being a fan of MMA and UFC… It sounds like that’s the kind of thing that you would really enjoy.

As for me, I’d rather watch a hockey played like they do in the playoffs or at the Olympics, where those kinds of things just doesn’t happen because, for the most part, goons like that are not on the ice. I prefer to watch the best skills of my team beat the best skills of yours. I have zero interest in some sort of Darwinian slug fest.

But the bottom line here is a lack of consistency by the front office and the referees in prohibiting things that are going to cause some person to get maimed or killed.

In my opinion, Cooke should be removed from the game immediately for a long suspension. Just because a rule isn’t in place to bar hits to the head, it doesn’t mean that it shouldn’t be within the Commissioner’s prerogative to suspend a player from crossing the violence line. The same has been done, and rightly so, for players who’ve put hits on players like Patrice Bergeron and others who’ve caused serious injury with reckless hits. The complications associated with these hits stay with the injured player the rest of their lives. To me, the bigger picture, the rest of the player’s life, has FAR more value and import than whether or not the game is tough or violent enough.

I hope you won’t read this response as being condescending or angry. As I stated, I thought you stated your case well. I just completely disagree with you about it. The bigger picture here is worth more than just hits, goals and assists. These are, for the most part, young men; human beings playing a game for money. If there are no standards other than, “Well, Player A can hit Player B and potentially crush his skull and ruin the rest of Player B’s life” or the poor bastard might score a goal… You know what, there’s always a chance to score another goal or win another game, even if it’s next year. Compared to the damage it can do to a human life, I think I’ll make the FAR better choice and take that kind of hit out of the game.

Incidentally, I didn’t mention it in the piece, but I will here; where is the Players Association in all of this? You would think they’d be the first ones to stand up and want to look out for the well being of the players themselves.

Anyway, despite not agreeing with you Steve, I’m glad that you posted your opinion.