Headshots in the NHL
So, I am sure all of you that follow hockey have heard about the some players, coaches, GM's, owners, and of course the media talking constantly about what should be done about headshots. It is a big issue and isn't likely to go away anytime soon my friends, as I believe it will be hard to come to a consensus on what should be done. Some people say to look at football, but I don't think you can. They are not even close to being the same sport. Football is a much slower paced game with constant breaks, 4-5 second plays, an average of 5-6 minutes of actual in motion gameplay, and of course, people aren't on collision courses going 25-30 mph each.
Look at some of the big hits this year, the Crosby incident with Steckel, Chara's ridiculous hit on Max Paciorett, and a slew of Matt Cooke's, who is quite possibly the dirtiest player in the league right now. But let's start with Crosby and Steckel. Where was the malicious intent? Where did he even lean into nailing Crosby? He turned around and started skating up ice, which is completely normal. This type of incident happens all the time, it just usually doesn't end up with a player hitting another player's head. I agree with the NHL and no suspension for this play, you cannot start suspending players because a star got hurt, or because they made a legal hockey play and made no attempt to make contact with another players head. I just do not see where the outrage is about this play, there wasn't an ounce of dirty in this, Steckel isn't even looking at him.
Now for Chara, and I will say this first; I played hockey for 14 years, when I was near the benches going toward center ice, I was fully aware of my surroundings. Yes the game is fast, and no this wouldn't be an issue if Max didn't get put into a partition, but that's just it, Chara is turned completely, the puck is not in the area, and he knew exactly what he was doing. Did he intend for the outcome to be that bad? I doubt it highly. But as for whether or not he knew the partition was there and Max was going to get drilled into it, I'm pretty sure he did and this was absolutely a malicious play. Can't agree with the NHL here, not sure what they're looking at.
For Cooke... wow. Are there many players right now as dirty as he is? I mean, come on. Your team strongly voices their opinion on this type of thing, and you do that? Against the Rangers, could that elbow have been any more planned and labeled for his jaw? I doubt it. That is poor hockey. That is not what fans want to see. If you do want to see it, you are watching the wrong sport, as that type of play has no place in hockey. This should be completely outlawed, and severe penalties should be imposed, just as Cooke received.
To finish this up, I don't think all headshots should be eliminated, reason being that it is a fast game and hits like Steckel's happen. Hits like Chara's and Cooke's cannot use the "it's a fast game" excuse. There was malicious intent there. The current rules are fine; don't aim for the head, don't leave you feet, and don't play maliciously with intent to injure someone's head, or anything for that matter. But if a player ducks down at the last second, why should another player be responsible for that? Ask yourself that question and think about the situation, and that should help clarify some things for you.
