I've already given my two cents. The NHL gave its explanation. Now, thanks to Yahoo, we hear from Rome on the hit.
Bottom line: he'd do it again. This is a player not known for dirty plays. A player that everyone agrees wasn't trying to injure. A player that knows firsthand the pain of a nasty injury because he himself sustained injury in the San Jose series.
This is a player who recieved an unnecessary and unprecidented suspension.
“I’ve got to step up. I’ve got to be physical,” Rome said. “That’s just part of my game. There has to be some accountability on the part of the player skating with the puck up the middle of the ice, maybe with his head down, not looking. If I had been half a second earlier, a quarter of a second earlier, I probably wouldn’t be in this situation.”
Two things he said that are great points. First, the accountability on the forward player. Totally correct. The other is something I noticed when Murphy delivered the sentencing. Rome speculated about the timing because he really doesn't know what the magic number is that would have saved him from the suspension. Murphy said that they use a formula in the NHL Operation to determine the lateness of a hit, but that information is not common knowledge.
Why not? Why the secret? It's putting players careers, playing time, and safety on the line. It would take a few season to get players used to the timing while playing, but it would eventually become easier to determine in a game situation by a player.
And I completely agree that it was a hockey play. Was it late? Sure. But it wasn't the type of hit where you would suspect such a nasty injury.
I've already spoken on this at length, so I won't bore you with a repeat. I will say the NHL should not change the rules in the middle of the playoffs. Use the actions as a catalyst for future change. That's fair.
Don't pick and choose punishment. Consistancy is key to successful behavior change. Remember Little Albert or Pavlov's dog from psycology class?
No?
Okay. So there's a little infant named Albert who isn't afraid of fuzzy things. Like mice. Because, hey, it's an infant and they haven't learned yet. Good old John Watson said he could condition the child to be afraid of mice.
So, every time the mouse or anything fluffy was introduced, he would do something to scare the kid.
No, not like that exactly. He would normally make a loud noise behind the child or something. Kid's not afraid of fuzzy mice. Add an element the child is afraid of, and he associates the fear with the cute things. Remove the negative fearful thing and tada! The kids scared of furry things without having to reinforce the emotions.
You see my point? Consistant reinforcement (positive or, in this case, negative) changes behavior. Like noises make kids afraid of mice. Or suspensions make players afraid of injuring heads.
The dog is more well know. Everytime the dog was about to be fed, they rang a bell. Eventually, the dog knew the bell meant food, so he would drool just at the sound of the bell. It was revolutionary. And looked a little weird.
That dog just knew DING, Dinner! Players should just know STRETCHER, Suspension!
Let me be perfectly clear though. Dog drool is disgusting.
You know what else is disgusting? When otherwise hot girls kiss dogs all on the lips and stuff.
Eww! Not cool, man. Not cool. Where was I? Oh yeah. Thinking about hockey rules and hot girls. And kissing. Let's tie them together in a much better looking picture of a girl kissing something. Perhaps something hockey related to tie it all together.
Aw, come on hot cheerleader from Heros Hayden Panettiere!
This is the holy grail of hockey greatness. This is the Lord Stanley's Cup. Older than the NHL itself, dating back to 1893. It's "heros" engraved in immortality on it's silver surface. A singular testiment to the sport of ice and blood. Of legends battling on the frozen surface.
This is the one and only trophy that no team has a right to. That no team has ever owned. That every championship player has his day with. That must always be re-earned.
This is the cup that has served as a chalice of every celebratory liquid known to man. It has served as a baptisimal font for goodness sakes Hayden.
I understand your modesty, so disguise yourself a little bit if you must, but show this silver legend the respect it deserves. It has earned a little more than a peck on the ring.
That will do.
...
What was I talking about? Oh yeah. Hockey rules and Rome's unfair treatment.
The NHL can learn something from Little Albert. Make it so players know what to expect without even having to wait for the rules people to merit out punishment. Then, low and behold, they will stop doing the bad things automatically. How can you expect players to change behavior when they don't have something to consistantly punish their bad behavior?
"Well, I just accidently injured another player by checking them oddly into the boards. I didn't mean to and it looks like he'll be out for a while. I wonder if I'll get suspended? That one guy did on the Bruins and nothing happened, not even a fine. But then that Canuck did it and it was 4 games. So, if it's any type of punishment whatsoever, I'm raising a stink. If he didn't get in trouble, why should I? Even if I get suspended, I won't change a thing about my play because I might not get suspended next time. Maybe, but who knows."
The punishments are so all over the map for similar incidents, it's a joke to think the punishment from the NHL Offices will in anyway resemble punishment from a similar, previous play. Players should be respectful of the rules committee, not indifferent to them. You want less head injuries? Have this scenerio instead:
"Well, I just accidently injured another player by checking them oddly into the boards. I didn't mean to and it looks like he'll be out for a while. I know I'm sitting out for the next 5 games. That sucks, but that's exactly what happened with that big hit in Chicago and then again in Philadelphia earlier this season. Luckily injuries are going down because we players don't want to be injured or, let's face it, risk accidently injuring someone else and automatically sitting out for 5 games."
I don't mean you should be harsh without merit, but figure out what is bottom line important. Is it head injury? Is it intent to injure? Is it spectacle? What is it? Figure out the bottom line importance, make rules that address those issues, select fair punishment to enforce those rules, and do not deviate from those punishments when a play goes beyond the established guidelines and violates the core issue pre-determined and written down.
If it's head injury the NHL is worried about as a bottom line "no-no", fine. Implement a rule that automatically suspends players for a set number of games if they create a play that results in a concussion. You already have a mini-version with the high sticking. If there's blood (regardless of intent to injure), it's a double-minor penalty as compared to a high stick without noticable injury which is just a minor penalty.
If it's just intent to injure (meaning that injury does not have to be the result and just because an injury happens doesn't mean it automatically violates the rules of intending to injure), fine. Figure out a system to measure intent. Distance traveled, jumping, points of contact, player history, whatever. I personally don't like this because every situation is different, but if that's what you want, do it and be consistant.
If it's the spectacle you don't want to lose, okay. Hockey is a violent sport. It's rough. And that is what makes it appealing. So if you want to keep it, keep it at all times. Don't forget your previous rulings just because it's the playoffs. A bad hit in the regular season is just as painful, just as serious to player health as it is in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals. Don't suddenly feel the pressure to change the nature of the game and publically distance yourself from violence when you have a documented history of allowing it throughout the regular season. It's two-faced and wrong.
Two prime examples from the world of hockey on this whole behavior modification working. The trapezoid and the puck over glass. For the first several seasons after these rules went into effect, you saw veterans struggling. Brodeaur kept getting penalty minutes for playing the puck outside the safe zone. And flipping the puck over the glass was a great way out of a bind. But not anymore. Now, it's a penalty. Players had to adjust. These days, you don't see it too much. And when you do, the offending player will generally skate to penalty box by himself (assuming it was clear and not a controversal deflection). So if it's known that it's an automatic suspension for injury, guess what, eventually those dangerous plays become less and less.
And, NHL, you should hire Hayden. For something. Anything! I hear she's a cheerleader for the Wildcats. Unfortunately, there's not a Wildcats NHL team.
Wait a second. Isn't Winnipeg getting a team that doesn't yet have a name?
Do the right thing NHL. Do the right thing.
TTFN
ps- Thrashers, RIP.
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