Wednesday's notes: Tootoo, realignment & fighting have the league talking
by Dirk Hoag on Dec 7, 2011 10:14 AM EST
in Nashville Predators News
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PrintThis morning's hockey notes center on three hot topics which are generating conversation not just here in Nashville, but around the entire NHL. We've got analysis of the Jordin Tootoo suspension, consideration of how realignment will affect the league, and the continuing concern around fighting and its possible link to brain damage, given the post-mortem diagnosis made with Derek Boogaard.
Of course, there's all that and a boatload more after the jump...
Saturday's game vs. Anaheim should be a sellout, but check out our Tickets page to find deals on the resale market!
Nashville Predators News
First off, I'd encourage you to surf through the other Preds blogs listed in the "More Predators Sites" box on the left-hand sidebar of the main page for a wide range of reaction to last night's loss. There's something in there for just about every Preds fan, whether optimist or pessimist.
Meet the new boss | mc79hockey.com
Tyler argues that Shanahan's suspension of Jordin Tootoo is an example of continued harsher treatment of lesser-known players than stars.
2010 Draft - Forwards and NHL Equivalencies - The Copper & Blue
Austin Watson is not having a strong year, to say the least.
Nashville Predators Better Plan for the Realignment - THW
I think Mike is overreacting here, portraying the Preds' new conference as too difficult to compete in.
Metro, Predators receive 4 more months to reach new lease deal - The Tennessean
The city and the Preds will take more time to negotiate the terms of their financial relationship going forward.
Nashville Predators like new realignment's travel cuts - The Tennessean
The major impact on travel will be in the playoffs, since the opening rounds will be within the 8-team conference.
Smashville 24/7: One more thing: Home woes a concern?
How times have changed. The Preds have lost twice as many games as they've won on home ice so far.
REALIGNMENT: is it duct tape, superglue, or a weld? - Predlines
Whatever it is, it's flexible enough to accommodate a number of future scenarios such as franchise relocation or expansion.
Realignment and the Nashville Power Play | Hockey Independent
David may have found the trio of forwards to keep Nashville's power play clicking.
Hockey Night in Nashville: Power play has been clicking for Preds
Hey, at least something's working these days.
Postgame ponderings - Predators Insider
As bad as things have been lately, at least the playoff pack isn't pulling away.
The Hotel O’Reilly closes - Predators Insider
Josh Cooper took the opportunity to check in with former Pred Cal O`Reilly.
Barry Trotz insists Jordin Tootoo wasn't trying to hurt Sabres goalie - The Tennessean
Assorted notes from the post-game here.
Around the Wide Wide World of Hockey
Bill Daly foresees few realignment issues with PA - NHL.com
The NHL's Deputy Commissioner doesn't see major obstacles to getting the NHLPA's agreement on the realignment plan rolled out Monday.
NHL realignment earns player approval - The Globe and Mail
It certainly sounds like the players interviewed here don't have major issues with it.
Cox: Why Derek Boogaard's death won't change the NHL - thestar.com
It's going to get more difficult for the league to ignore the mounting evidence regarding brain injures and the possible link to fighting.
Time to Think - Part One: Where's the Rage? - Hockey Wilderness
Brian wonders why the New York Times series on enforcers this week hasn't triggered stronger reaction around the NHL. Put simply - is the continued tolerance of fighting within the league causing long-term brain damage, even to younger players?
Bloodstained hockey cards celebrate NHL enforcers; bad timing? - Puck Daddy
A new trading card series focuses on enforcers. In today's environment, is that really such a good thing?
Listen to the Ryan Lambert vs. John Steigerwald radio battle - Puck Daddy
You know things get weird when Ryan Lambert is the one that sounds reasonable and respectable.
Forechecking and the Defensive Zone - Japers' Rink
Are the Capitals already engaging in a new style of play under head coach Dale Hunter?
Consol Energy Center: Why So Quiet? - PensBurgh
They certainly don't have any excuse with the hockey team they've got on the ice this season.
The Mario Tremblay vs Patrick Roy Saga – Who is to Blame? | All Habs
The anniversary of the Patrick Roy-to-Colorado trade stirs up bad memories in Montreal.
Front Line: The 'production' statistic - ESPN
This fantasy hockey column argues for Craig Smith as a savvy pickup, because he may just have earned himself a more regular spot in the Top 6.
Jersey Fouls Extra: Incredible chain mail San Jose Sharks sweater - Puck Daddy
This has to be seen to be believed.
The NHL's Most Interesting Name: Wrapping Up the 1970s - Arctic Ice Hockey
This may be my favorite installment of this long-running series. "Merlin Malinowski"? Seriously?
NHL 2012 All-Star jerseys appear to be in reruns - Puck Daddy
Um, maybe the NHL has been bitten by the recycling bug?
Trade Sam Gagner to the Chicago Blackhawks? Are you nuts? | Edmonton Journal
As Gagner is ramping up to speed with the Oilers, might they dare trading him out of town?
Game 27 Recap: Fine + Two Points - The Cannon
The Blue Jackets salvaged four points out of a four-game road trip with a win at Montreal.
Blues beat Red Wings; fans happily walk out of building with two points. - St. Louis Game Time
Don't look now, but St. Louis is creeping right up alongside Detroit & Chicago near the top of the Central Division.
Post-Game +/-: Islanders 5, Lightning 1. Again with the Scoring. - Lighthouse Hockey
It was a big night on home ice for the Islanders.
The Afterburners: Revenge; A Dish Best Served Cold. Jets Topple Bruins 2-1. - Arctic Ice Hockey
The Jets knocked of the defending Stanley Cup champs, ending a 15-game points-earning streak for Boston.
Avalanche At Canucks Recap ; Style Over Substance (6-0W) - Nucks Misconduct
The Canucks won the game, but a knee from Colorado's Kevin Porter took out David Booth.
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Did I miss it or did you have any of the stories on Matt Barnaby possibly being deported for using his Porsche as a trike?
Yeah, I had it yesterday or the day before
Managing Editor of On the Forecheck, SB Nation's blog covering the Nashville Predators, and founder of Hockey Gear HQ, a site devoted to helping you save on hockey equipment, accessories, and NHL apparel.
Don’t know if you saw the one today from the Buffalo News, but basically the guy equated it to the enforcer issue that we saw this summer and the downward spiral that has accompanied him. It’s a sad story.
http://www.buffalonews.com/sports/columns/bucky-gleason/article662934.ece
realignment
i was shocked to see florida and tampa bay in a conference not with carolina and washington.
not me.
had to put them into the conference with the cities all packed together to make the travel equal around the league.
I think it had more to do with putting butts in the seats in FLA than it did with equaling out travel. Lots of folks from up north like to visit FLA during the winter. People aren’t calling it the Snowbird conference for nothing.
by Melissa Vanderpool Wallace on Dec 7, 2011 12:34 PM EST up reply actions
I’ve said it on another thread, but I’ll repeat it here. There is no Snowbird effect for Tampa. (A) No problem selling out the arena under the current alignment. (if FLA’s resurgence lasts, that will be true for them as well.) (B) Losing 4 home games against WAS & CAR in favor of 5 home games against cities further away give very little boost. Lots of folks came south from those two cities, because it was a lot easier to do. Meanwhile, when was the last time you traveled to Canada for a game? (C ) Tampa and FLA have twice the amount of travel as anyone else in their conference under this plan.
If someone were to suggest that Nashville relied on Canadian and O6 visitors to sell tickets, lots of Preds fans would be up in arms. It shows a decided lack of information about the Tampa market on the part of the media who suggest it.
R.I.P. Belak, Rypien, Boogaard, Lokomotiv.
Part Predator, part Lightning.
"Breathe deep. Think of smiley puppies"--@FakeLindback
I kind of think thought they hit the jackpot landing in a conference with 4 O6 teams. How does raw Charge like the move? Not too popular?
by Marcus Newman on Dec 7, 2011 2:20 PM EST up reply actions
see for yourself. http://www.rawcharge.com/2011/12/6/2615259/welcome-to-conference-c-a-first-look-at-the-nhls-realignment-plan
R.I.P. Belak, Rypien, Boogaard, Lokomotiv.
Part Predator, part Lightning.
"Breathe deep. Think of smiley puppies"--@FakeLindback
Give 'em hell, CAustin!
I’ve seen differing reports on who the 4 teams were that voted against this realignment, but it seems both Florida teams voted against it. One report said the Canes did as well, but another said differently. I do know that most Caniacs are not happy about it (including this one). :(
Here’s something to consider: we currently, and this goes for most every other team as well, play the teams that will be in our new conference/division a total of 36 times in the regular season (I’m counting Winnipeg at 4 times a season, as that’s what it would have been under a more modest realignment next season). Under the new format, we’ll play that same group of 7 teams 38 times. How does this foster more “heated” rivalries?
The divisional playoff format of 20 years ago featured divisions of 5 (6 in the Adams division) teams, which meant you were playing each team in your division 7 or 8 times a season plus, unless you were one of the 5 teams that missed the playoffs (which my Penguins did often in the 80’s) a garuanteed matchup in the against one of them in the 1st and 2nd rounds. Under this format, you’ll have. 3 or 4 teams in your conference/division miss the playoffs, so the likelihood of having yearly matchups with the same team in the playoffs is very unlikely.
Except for teams like the Canes, Bolts and Panthers, this whole realignment changes very little except for helping TV ratings by keeping more games in the same timezone (which is a good thing), which is why the euphoria over this by many is curious to me.
Defense keeps you in games........offense wins them!
by Grizzledbear on Dec 7, 2011 2:47 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
Sorry about the bad edit job in paragraph #3……..got interupted numerous times (people).
Defense keeps you in games........offense wins them!
by Grizzledbear on Dec 7, 2011 2:51 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
I’m not necessarily against the new plan as a whole. I think it probably saves Columbus as a franchise and makes Dallas far more viable in the long term. It also provides some flexibility for dealing with the PHX situation, should that become necessary. I just feel that TB and FLA are being asked to shoulder more of the burden than other teams in their conference, placing them at a disadvantage.
From what I’ve read of Jeff Vinik’s position, he believes that it’s good for the league even if it’s tough on his team. He may very well have voted for it, since he was given assurances that the league would manage the travel schedule for TB to make road trips efficient.
R.I.P. Belak, Rypien, Boogaard, Lokomotiv.
Part Predator, part Lightning.
"Breathe deep. Think of smiley puppies"--@FakeLindback
It definately helps Dallas, Columbus only in that it keeps the Wings in their division. But wouldn’t Columbus being in the EST with the Pens in their conference/division have been even better? But hey, now ever Eastern conference team gets us and Columbus in their building every year……..I’m sure they prefer that over seeing the Bruins and Rangers twice instead of once a year. :/
As I said on a different website, this seems to much like a guy who undertakes a big renovation project in order to gain only a few extra square feet of space.
Defense keeps you in games........offense wins them!
by Grizzledbear on Dec 7, 2011 4:06 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
Columbus benefits in the same way Detroit benefits re: time zones. Fewer West Coast games, more schedule predictability for TV, slightly lowered travel burden. Yeah it would have been better for them to be w other ET teams, but I think there’s enough give there to make a real difference for their fans and thus, hopefully, for their franchise.
R.I.P. Belak, Rypien, Boogaard, Lokomotiv.
Part Predator, part Lightning.
"Breathe deep. Think of smiley puppies"--@FakeLindback
Really?
the likelihood of having yearly matchups with the same team in the playoffs is very unlikely.
Gotta disagree with you here, Griz. For the foreseeable future, the Predators, should they make the playoffs, will be playing the Wings and/or Hawks every year, unless one or both of those teams are decimated with injuries. I personally prefer the possibility of seeing a team in the playoffs that the Predators will not have already played 6-8 times in the regular season. Realignment to reduce travel is all fine and good, but it could have been accomplished without changing the present format.
The truth is neither libelous nor slanderous.
Reason and logic instead of hope and faith.
Pro athletes--it's not what they say, it's what they do.
General managers--it's not what they say, it's what they do.
by shoot the puck on Dec 7, 2011 5:20 PM EST up reply actions
That's a big if though.
Sure, if the same 4 teams keep making the playoffs year after year, then you would have those familiar matchups, but Detroit and Chicago are the only two teams in our conference that I would expect to be there year after year. Sure, we’ve been a pretty consistant playoff team since the lockout, but that will be difficult to retain with this new conference we’re in (we’d be in 6th place right now).
Defense keeps you in games........offense wins them!
by Grizzledbear on Dec 7, 2011 8:38 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
Exactly the point I was making
Detroit and Chicago are the only two teams in our conference that I would expect to be there year after year.
The other two teams from our conference will have to play the Wings and/or the Hawks every year. Which means, more than likely, the Hawks and the Wings will be playing each other in the 2nd round, year after year, until one or both come back to the rest of the pack.
The truth is neither libelous nor slanderous.
Reason and logic instead of hope and faith.
Pro athletes--it's not what they say, it's what they do.
General managers--it's not what they say, it's what they do.
by shoot the puck on Dec 7, 2011 10:02 PM EST up reply actions
But the “other two teams” will be any two of 6 teams. So how does that make it more likely to meet the same team in the playoffs every year (if you aren’t Det & Chi, who don’t really need any help hating one another.)
R.I.P. Belak, Rypien, Boogaard, Lokomotiv.
Part Predator, part Lightning.
"Breathe deep. Think of smiley puppies"--@FakeLindback
Exactly what I was getting at. Preds/Wings and Blues/Hawks one year followed by Jets/Wings and Stars/Hawks the next doesn’t exactly get the playoff rivalry thing going, except for the Wings and Hawks.
Defense keeps you in games........offense wins them!
by Grizzledbear on Dec 8, 2011 12:54 AM EST via mobile up reply actions
The bottom line for any change amongst those with the money is how much more money can be made with the change. Every other benefit is a sop to the masses. How many eons does it take to learn this simple fact?
"I am you, you are me, and we are all together" Beatles
As the saying goes, follow the money trail.
Defense keeps you in games........offense wins them!
by Grizzledbear on Dec 8, 2011 11:25 AM EST via mobile up reply actions
If someone were to suggest that Nashville relied on Canadian and O6 visitors to sell tickets, lots of Preds fans would be up in arms
Not really. Nashville relies on all the Michigan transplants in the area to sell tickets. And Florida has a lot of transplants from New York. Can’t hurt.
That’s not what people are saying, though, Sam. They’re not saying that people who live there are going to go to one more game than they otherwise would (which is a strange little argument anyway). They’re saying people will be traveling to Florida to go to a game, which is good b/c tix that wouldn’t get sold will now get sold to those visitors. They’re saying that without people flying in for a weekend in the winter, Tampa can’t sell tickets to home games, which is patently untrue.
The transplants are there whether there are 3 home games with Boston or 2. Also, remember that the New York City area teams aren’t in this new conference. It’s TOR, OTT, MTL, BOS, and BUF. Why would people who retired from NYC to Tampa pay to see Ottawa play the Lightning unless they already like the Lightning?
I’m saying that there’s a reason that Section 303 has never organized a trip to Vancouver but has organized trips to Columbus and St Louis). They’re much closer and much easier to get to.
R.I.P. Belak, Rypien, Boogaard, Lokomotiv.
Part Predator, part Lightning.
"Breathe deep. Think of smiley puppies"--@FakeLindback
I think you're going to be wrong
Now if they were taking one game trips to see their other conference bretheren, you would be right. But taking a road trip within the conference against the Rangers, Islanders and Devils would add what… 50 miles total over 3 games?
the average distance between conference opponents for the Florida Panthers and the Tampa Bay Lightning under this plan is 1050 miles. Average distance for the rest of the conference (again—within the conference): 583 miles. That includes each of the other teams’ distances to Florida. That’s a difference of approximately 530 miles or about what the average distance between any other team and its conference rivals comes out to. So tell me again how this adds 50 miles to a road trip? Especially given that the teams currently travel now from one road game to another relatively close road game.
Btw, NY and NJ aren’t in the same conference as the Florida teams. It’s BOS, OTT, TOR, BUF, MTL. Vinik has been given assurances that the travel will be managed as efficiently as possible, but to say it’s not a HUGE difference is incorrect.
R.I.P. Belak, Rypien, Boogaard, Lokomotiv.
i am in tampa this week
and the reaction is not very favorable, as you would expect
by predsbelonginblue on Dec 7, 2011 6:04 PM EST up reply actions
Re: The Enforcer and CTE
What the typical non-scientific reporter, in this case Cox of The Star, don’t understand is the science behind determining a direct correlation and CTE. Boston University has examined fewer than 50 brains, many of which have exhibited some form of CTE. But they have not conducted blind studies of brains from those people who lead non violent lives to determine if the “average” person might also suffer some degree of CTE just from living a normal life.
I am not one to say there is no direct link to CTE and fighting in the NHL, but Bettman is correct in saying the data is too premature, limited and non-scientific in the way it has been presented.
Go look for articles on this subject which got rolling over the last year or two related to football. The guy who discovered CTE did exactly that, comparing brains of people from “regular” backgrounds to see if they showed the same types of brain trauma.
There’s more info here, with links out to some of that background info:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chronic_traumatic_encephalopathy
Managing Editor of On the Forecheck, SB Nation's blog covering the Nashville Predators, and founder of Hockey Gear HQ, a site devoted to helping you save on hockey equipment, accessories, and NHL apparel.
Virginia Tech
Has been studying data from head impacts of football players at the university and then using that data to rate helmets and get the best possible gear for their players. They actually found out that the helmets that they were using were not the highest rated and switched. It is an absolute travesty if the professional leagues, and players unions, are not funding this program or one like it. They are actually measuring the impacts the players take during practices and games. If the player takes a hit above a certain point, he is then immediately evaluated by the medical staff. The staff is alerted by a paging system that a player has absorbed one of these hits.
Here is a link to an article with a broad overview of the study.
Da Vinci Code? Contra code? up, down, up, down, select
It should be noted that football players don’t drop the mitts and have fights the way NHL enforcers do, so this would suggest that any brain trauma would be the result of being tackled/checked hard as much as taking a fist to the noggin.
Defense keeps you in games........offense wins them!
by Grizzledbear on Dec 7, 2011 2:18 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
I know it’s a day late but I got back on our realignment discussion in Tuesday’s notes a few minutes ago.
by Marcus Newman on Dec 7, 2011 2:24 PM EST up reply actions
Bingo
While the spotlight is on fighting right now, hard body-checking in general could potentially be a cause.
Managing Editor of On the Forecheck, SB Nation's blog covering the Nashville Predators, and founder of Hockey Gear HQ, a site devoted to helping you save on hockey equipment, accessories, and NHL apparel.
Which is why the fighting abolitionists need to be a little careful on jumping right to the ban fighting conclusion. Next it will be “ban checking”, and won’t that make for an exciting game. :/
Defense keeps you in games........offense wins them!
by Grizzledbear on Dec 7, 2011 2:53 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
Exactly!!
Ask Arnott about the concussion that he received from a one mister Radulov. I just find it strange that this kind of technology isn’t being used to at least study the number of times that a player incurs a head trauma above a certain threshold. I work in the nuclear medicine field and we are monitored for the amount of exposure that we receive. This is done solely for the protection of those of us in the field. It only seems that the players association would want to monitor this for the health and safety of their members. Not only in football, but in hockey as well.
Da Vinci Code? Contra code? up, down, up, down, select
not cause, but contributing factor.
60% of the time it works every time
by Creeping Death on Dec 7, 2011 11:53 PM EST up reply actions
also, what about boxers? They take repeated blows to the head all the time. I wonder if anyone has studied them. Plus what about when players didn’t wear helmets at all? I highly doubt any study would find hits to the head necessary and sufficient to produce the disease. At best the any kind of hit to the head could be a contributing factor and not the direct cause of the disease. YES! Grad school is finally paying off!! Only my first semester and I am already using my epidemiology! Anyone wishing to fund my studying, just let me know
60% of the time it works every time
by Creeping Death on Dec 8, 2011 12:00 AM EST up reply actions
Way back when
They didn’t wear helmets, not even the goalies. By all the studies, all these players should be jerking violently from the hits to the head.
I believe the imbalances are from too much x box, too much rap and too much exotic painkillers.
My hockey team is better than your hockey team
by Predator Don on Dec 8, 2011 12:13 AM EST up reply actions
maybe! The conclusion that being an enforcer causes CTE is a bit of a stretch so far. Not enough data out there to make that conclusion
60% of the time it works every time
by Creeping Death on Dec 8, 2011 12:25 AM EST up reply actions
I wonder if the NHL will let me do a study on it when I graduate… I would love to work on this!
60% of the time it works every time
by Creeping Death on Dec 8, 2011 12:35 AM EST up reply actions
Only if you sell your soul to Bettman. :D
The point about players back in the pre-helmet era is a good one. One thing that always strikes me when watching a game from the 70’s is how much more respectful the players seemed to be. It was funny watching the Red Army team leave the ice when Ed Van Iymp (or however his last name was spelled) hip checked one of the Russian players during their first trip playing an NHL team. That would be nothing in today’s game. The equipment players wear now has played a big part in the recklessness some of them show towards other players (along with a general lack of respect for others in society at large).
As some have pointed out, disallowing defensive players from slowing down oncoming opponents has also created mini-missles bearing down on players with the puck. A bad unintended consequence of opening the game up.
Defense keeps you in games........offense wins them!
by Grizzledbear on Dec 8, 2011 1:05 AM EST via mobile up reply actions
I don’t think hits back then were as powerful as they are today. Opponents were hit hard enough to move them out of the way but not to injure them-generally speaking. I’m sure there were deliberate hits for the sole purpose of injuring. Today, when a player comes clear across the ice and hammers an opponent with all the force of his body, the intent to injure is clear. And it happens way too often. Even though boarding gets penalties, players do it all the time and at least half the time, it appears that it is deliberate. I know it’s hard to tell if it is or not, but it appears to me that too many of today’s players’ sole intention is to put another player out of the game. I don’t think this was the orginal intent of hockey. If it was, then it still must be but I don’t prefer that approach. I always thought that’s what enforcers were for-to give the fans a little blood and then get on with the real playing of the game. But then, I’m female, and not much into wars of any kind. :)
"I am you, you are me, and we are all together" Beatles
Agree
The players also didn’t wear the same pads. I believe that the hard shell of the pads plays a huge role in the amount of head trauma that we are seeing today. The players are bigger, faster, and stronger than ever. The equipment they wear has also changed. I don’t think we are comparing apples to apples when looking back to the 70’s.
Da Vinci Code? Contra code? up, down, up, down, select
I assume you are talking about Dr. Bennet Omalu...
I am not aware of a double blind study involving a control group of noncombative athletes. Perhaps you could provide a link.
Regardless, hits to the head of all who participate in violent sports have to be an area of concern. I am constantly surprised how flimsily and slightly built hockey helmets are, especially compared to football helmets. I would think the correct design would be somewhere in between. But more importantly, hits to the head, especially bigger players on smaller players need to be more severely punished.
Hockey helmets only protect the player wearing it from skull fracture – they do not protect from concussion.
by XVIII on Dec 7, 2011 3:31 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
which is the crux of the problem. It scares the daylights out of me every time I see a player’s helmet going flying of as he is falling to the ice. There needs to be something done to improve the quality of the helmets the players are wearing.
Da Vinci Code? Contra code? up, down, up, down, select
For one thing, make the players tighten their chin straps
The truth is neither libelous nor slanderous.
Reason and logic instead of hope and faith.
Pro athletes--it's not what they say, it's what they do.
General managers--it's not what they say, it's what they do.
by shoot the puck on Dec 7, 2011 4:49 PM EST up reply actions
Here’s one. Obviously the field is still being investigated, but the basic notion that “regular folks” don’t build up CTE in this manner appears to be established.
In this study, funded in part by an unrestricted gift from the National Football League (NFL) to the CSTE, McKee found that when they died, all 12 athletes showed neuropathological evidence of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a progressive degenerative brain disease characterized by deposits of an abnormal form of tau protein and believed to be caused by repetitive head trauma.
In the three athletes with motor neuron disease, abnormal tau protein deposits were not only found throughout the brain, but also in the spinal cord. (See images here)
CSTE researchers also discovered that 10 of 12 CTE victims had a second abnormal protein, TDP-43, in their brains. Of those 10, only three had TDP-43 in the brain and the spinal cord, and those were the three athletes diagnosed with motor neuron disease. TDP-43 is also found in individuals with sporadic ALS although in the athletes with repetitive brain trauma, the TDP-43 pathology was more severe than found in sporadic ALS and was accompanied by extensive tau pathology. The brains and spinal cords of normal individuals show no TDP-43 or tau deposition.
Managing Editor of On the Forecheck, SB Nation's blog covering the Nashville Predators, and founder of Hockey Gear HQ, a site devoted to helping you save on hockey equipment, accessories, and NHL apparel.
read the last sentence.
Managing Editor of On the Forecheck, SB Nation's blog covering the Nashville Predators, and founder of Hockey Gear HQ, a site devoted to helping you save on hockey equipment, accessories, and NHL apparel.
its really a very poorly done study…. especially to tell you what should be obvious…. getting hit in the head is bad
60% of the time it works every time
by Creeping Death on Dec 8, 2011 5:31 PM EST up reply actions
fighting/ checking
Short of ending sports, there will never be a piece of equipment or a rule change which will end head injuries. I’m all for the studies, the advancements in equipment, etc, but injury will occur.
I also believe this is a personal responsibility issue. Elite athletes are paid millions of dollars to achieve championships but they also accept the possibility of serious injury. The Hammer received a concussion and considered leaving the sport for family and health reasons. Maybe what the NHL needs is a program which addresses the possibility thier chosen profession could leave them with health issues later in life.
So what do we do or how do we treat this new information about a “disease” caused by head injuries? Just like you can’t legislate away poverty, there is no rule, no equipment change which will end injury.
Be responsible. You only have one body. When you choose a profession, understand the risk / reward. Understand what the consequences could be.
My hockey team is better than your hockey team
At the very least, further study can shed light on how to best manage such injuries, and prevent premature return to action which can lead to further or more severe damage as a result. You’re right, though, I don’t see any way to prevent such injuries in total.
Managing Editor of On the Forecheck, SB Nation's blog covering the Nashville Predators, and founder of Hockey Gear HQ, a site devoted to helping you save on hockey equipment, accessories, and NHL apparel.
Study
Dirk, my fear is further study will eventually take the physical aspects of hockey away. My sport will become what it was when te NHL first implemented the no hooking and grabbing rules. Remember those first few games? Dmen were afraid to touch the offensive players. The corner play sucked because there was no body contact. It was bad hockey and it took an entire year to settle into some contact.
I don’t want anyone getting hurt. I don’t want anyone suffering later in life because of playing with pain or injury…….but we all make that choice, from the elite athlete to the guy playing softball on old knees. All that can be done is good research, advancements in equipment and education of the athlete. It’s up to the player to understand the risks and make a judgement.
My hockey team is better than your hockey team
by Predator Don on Dec 8, 2011 12:05 AM EST up reply actions
exactly Don! I don’t think we have to worry about the physical aspects of the game going away. It wouldn’t be fun for the players to play a non contact sport and it certainly wouldn’t be fun to the fans. As the dollars dropped I am sure the would change it back if they tried to take away the physicality of the sport
60% of the time it works every time
by Creeping Death on Dec 8, 2011 12:27 AM EST up reply actions
It’s up to the player to understand the risks and make a judgement.
And what’s changing now is that we’re learning more about those risks. How can that possibly be a bad thing?
Managing Editor of On the Forecheck, SB Nation's blog covering the Nashville Predators, and founder of Hockey Gear HQ, a site devoted to helping you save on hockey equipment, accessories, and NHL apparel.
So basically, we haven’t changed much since Roman times. We still love blood sports. But really, what is a game but war in which the people can be spectators instead of victims, the only victims being those that engage in the sport. I suppose we should be proud that we don’t require the losers to commit suicide, as the South American Indian empires did. I’m saying this because I too like these sports and that doesn’t make me happy with myself. But it does bother a bit to know that most people think it all just fine, and the more blood, the better. sorry, I’m rambling. I think I’ll just let you guys talk about this. One thing though, last week’s episode of “Harry’s Law” was on this subject and the studies mentioned here were mentioned also on that show. very interesting.
"I am you, you are me, and we are all together" Beatles
How about eliminating/major reduction in shoulder pads?
You will see less of the ferocious hitting if the hitter can be hurt too.
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Dirk Hoag is the Forechecker, churner of NHL stats & analysis, and managing editor of On the Forecheck.
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