Matt Cooke, possibly the most violent player in the NHL's modern era, has apologized for his elbow to the head of Ryan McDonagh. The apology came after he was suspended the remaining ten games of the regular season and the first round of the playoffs. Forgive me if I find it hard to believe his sincerity.
"I realize and understand, more so now than ever, that I need to change," Cooke told Pittsburgh reporters Monday night. "That's what I wanted my message to be.
"I'm fortunate that Ryan McDonagh wasn't hurt," said Cooke. "I don't want to hurt anybody. That's not my intention. I know that I can be better. ... I made a mistake, and I'm the one who's accountable for that. And I take full responsibility for it."
How can you not intend to hurt someone when you deliver a flying elbow to their head? Of course he meant to hurt McDonagh. When Cooke meant to say is that he didn't intend to end McDonagh's career, although he must have known it was a possibility. McDonagh did not actually sustain significant injury, but that shouldn't matter anyway, and who knows if he's hiding concussion symptoms to continue playing. What should matter is the intent, the elbow, and the player's repeated violent activities that fall outside of the rules and expectations of the sport.
The suspension is deserving, and Cooke's words are meaningless.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Monday, March 14, 2011
NHL fumbles on Chara hit
It's been an interesting week in Montreal since Boston Bruins defenceman Zdeno Chara rode Canadiens' forward Max Pacioretty into that hazardous part of the glass between the benches. Some people say Chara was just finishing his check like all good NHLers do and some say he intentionally pushed Pacioretty into the wall of glass at the end of the Bruins' bench. It's impossible to know what Chara was actually thinking so let's look at some of the facts.
The game is fast, but Chara's hit was late and surely a Norris trophy winner is thinking quick enough on the ice to know that he was putting Pacioretty in danger.
The Bell Centre is not known for being one of the safest rinks to play in. The padding that Pacioretty hit looked like it was about an inch think, and when you travel as the speeds hockey players travel at a one inch think piece of foam is as useful as using a pillow to catch a skydiver whose chute failed to open.
Chara isn't known as one of those players that goes around hurting people, but he is a giant and it takes less effort from him than others to do damage to people. I saw a lot of him when he played for the Senators, and while I agree he is not a violent offender, nor is he going to be a Lady Byng candidate anytime soon.
The NHL is desperately trying to reduce head injuries in the NHL. Air Canada has threatened to pull their sponsorship and who knows how many other companies will follow suit if the problem is not resolved. I know NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman's response to Air Canada was that there are a line of potential sponsors, but even so it's just bad business to look weak on the head injury front. With this in mind it becomes difficult to understand why the NHL would not suspend Chara.
Suspensions should not be decided on the damage caused. The body is both frail and durable at the same time which makes it capable of sustaining great damage from minor collisions and minimal damage from major collisions. Suspensions should be decided based on the act and the intent. Chara pushed Pacioretty's head into a wall of glass while travelling at high speeds long after Pacioretty had passed the puck, even if he didn't mean to hurt him a suspension is warranted. And why should it be no games or 20 games, as was suggested by Don Cherry?
I think they should give him five for hitting Pacioretty into a dangerous part of the boards well after he had passed the puck. It's not going to hurt the team significantly, and it lets fans and sponsors know the NHL is working on reducing injuries, and it lets the players know that they have to try to avoid hurting each other out there.
Probably as a result of the NHL's decision to not suspend Chara, the Montreal police are now investigating the hit. It's a typical passionate response, but not one that I think will lead to anything further.
Instead the Canadiens, who could meet Boston in the first round of the playoffs, will take matters into their own hands and either start a number of fights with the Bruins when they next meet, or they'll hurt one of the them.
I've said it before on this very blog that the NHL's system with dealing with offenders is poor. Here once again they have failed, and who knows what the repercussions will be in the long run this time.
The game is fast, but Chara's hit was late and surely a Norris trophy winner is thinking quick enough on the ice to know that he was putting Pacioretty in danger.
The Bell Centre is not known for being one of the safest rinks to play in. The padding that Pacioretty hit looked like it was about an inch think, and when you travel as the speeds hockey players travel at a one inch think piece of foam is as useful as using a pillow to catch a skydiver whose chute failed to open.
Chara isn't known as one of those players that goes around hurting people, but he is a giant and it takes less effort from him than others to do damage to people. I saw a lot of him when he played for the Senators, and while I agree he is not a violent offender, nor is he going to be a Lady Byng candidate anytime soon.
The NHL is desperately trying to reduce head injuries in the NHL. Air Canada has threatened to pull their sponsorship and who knows how many other companies will follow suit if the problem is not resolved. I know NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman's response to Air Canada was that there are a line of potential sponsors, but even so it's just bad business to look weak on the head injury front. With this in mind it becomes difficult to understand why the NHL would not suspend Chara.
Suspensions should not be decided on the damage caused. The body is both frail and durable at the same time which makes it capable of sustaining great damage from minor collisions and minimal damage from major collisions. Suspensions should be decided based on the act and the intent. Chara pushed Pacioretty's head into a wall of glass while travelling at high speeds long after Pacioretty had passed the puck, even if he didn't mean to hurt him a suspension is warranted. And why should it be no games or 20 games, as was suggested by Don Cherry?
I think they should give him five for hitting Pacioretty into a dangerous part of the boards well after he had passed the puck. It's not going to hurt the team significantly, and it lets fans and sponsors know the NHL is working on reducing injuries, and it lets the players know that they have to try to avoid hurting each other out there.
Probably as a result of the NHL's decision to not suspend Chara, the Montreal police are now investigating the hit. It's a typical passionate response, but not one that I think will lead to anything further.
Instead the Canadiens, who could meet Boston in the first round of the playoffs, will take matters into their own hands and either start a number of fights with the Bruins when they next meet, or they'll hurt one of the them.
I've said it before on this very blog that the NHL's system with dealing with offenders is poor. Here once again they have failed, and who knows what the repercussions will be in the long run this time.
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