Friday, October 14, 2011

Brendan Shanahan

Brendan Shanahan is entering his first full season as the NHL's Vice President of Hockey and Business Development and head disciplinarian.  And while his job is one of power within the league, it is perhaps the most unenviable job the NHL has to offer these days.

The league is in the middle of a massive crackdown on headshots, and Shanahan is the one who has to enforce the new rules.

He has to walk the fine line of keeping the physical aspect of the game intact, but at the same time protect the players from concussions.

Shanahan has implemented a video system where he gives an explanation for his suspensions.  Here is an example.


And while Shanahan has taken a lot of heat since taking his new job, I think the league is going in the right direction with these explanation videos.

As a longtime fan of the game, my biggest concern was seeing a legal body check warrant a suspension based on how hard of a hit it was.  But after watching the Leafs and Senators battle it out on CBC the other night, I realized that Shanny and I are on the same page.

Ottawa Senators rookie Stephane De Costa cut across the blue line with his head down, and Dion Phaneuf drilled him with one of his signature hits that has made a name for himself in this league.  Here is the hit.


There is no question that Phaneuf caught a piece of his head, as the helmet went flying off right after the hit.  But the initial point of contact was at the chest level, and I commend Shanahan for not suspending Dion in this situation.

As for De Costa, he is a rookie who learned a valuable lesson, and he will think twice about doing that again especially with Phaneuf on the ice.

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Sidney Crosby cleared for contact

The world's best hockey player is one step closer to returning to game action.

On Thursday, TSN reported that Sidney Crosby had finally been cleared for contact for the first time since his concussion suffered on Jan. 6.

Crosby's concussion has without a doubt been the most highly publicized injury in the NHL's recent memory.  But for some, it got too much attention.  On Tuesday night, the always outspoken Jeremy Roenick sounded off on the NHL network about the constant updates about basically nothing.

There is still no timetable for his return, but this is positive news for all fans of the sport.  Before Crosby got injured, he was playing at a level much higher than any other player in the league.

Despite being out since early January, Crosby was still ranked at the top of the list in TSN's top 50 players in the NHL.

If there's any silver lining in all of this, Crosby's injury raised awareness to an issue that has dominated sports headlines recently.  The awareness he raised led to action, and the NHL has implemented a serious crackdown on headshots since.  In early September, Crosby spoke out against headshots in the league, and said he wanted them completely taken out.  Clearly the league listened to what he had to say.

The Pittsburgh Penguins are still a very good team without Crosby and Evgeni Malkin (who is currently injured), but when these two are in the lineup they are the NHL's best team.  The HockeyNews posted their preseason predictions, and had Pittsburgh right at the top.

The hockey community has long awaited the return of Sidney Crosby.  And while there is no timetable, fans have to be patient.  For someone who has already won a World Junior Championship, Olympic Gold Medal, and a Stanley Cup, the most important thing for Sid now is to stay healthy.