Well what an exciting season it's been so far. Suspensions galore, Cherry offends, again, the Leafs off to a hot start only to see them falter, again, and the brand new old Winnipeg Jets are back. I've heard a great deal of negative feedback about the new Jets' logo, but I'm rather partial to it, not that I'm going to buy one or anything.
I like that the NHL is trying to cut down on headshots, but I'm not entirely sure they're going about it the right way, especially when it comes to goaltenders. I wouldn't say that Brian Gionta deserved a suspension for giving James Reimer 'concussion like symptoms', but Milan Lucic probably deserved one, he probably deserved a big one. The point of these suspensions is to prevent injuries. When Lucic is allowed to throw a bodycheck like the one he threw on Miller, who is still supposed to be protected while outside of the crease, it sends a message that the NHL is only looking to appear to care about head injuries. Had three NHL players not died in the off-season after new science was revealed about concussions leading to depression, would the NHL have instigated this 'crack-down'? The NHL puts on a fine show, but as fans we either have to get used to guys like Sidney Crosby playing limited years or hope the NHL gets much better in their attempts to stop players from rattling their co-workers' brains in the skulls like a six year with a Christmas present.
On a similar note, Don Cherry, whom I have come to dislike (mainly because of his asshole-like support of Rob Ford, Mayor of Toronto), had it all wrong when he called guys like Chris Nilan a puke. Personally I could do without fighting in the NHL, granted I'm not a fan of boxing or the UFC either. If I want to watch violence, I'll watch a Texas Chainsaw Massacre flick, where it's far more violent and nobody actually gets hurt. However, I understand arguments about how without fighting we'd see even fewer players of Crosby's talent on the ice, but then again where is Crosby, and Marc Savard, and Ryan Miller, and James Reimer, and well you get my point. Did you see Lucic's smile after concussing Miller? There's a puke for you Cherry. If fighting was just about two guys battling all night long, or even over a couple games in a playoff series, that get fed up with one another and drop the gloves I would prefer that it stay in the NHL, but that's not what it is. There are players in this league that stage fights with other 'fighters' and when they're not doing that they're looking to hurt people. Get those guys out of the game, and if you want to keep fighting, restrict it to emotional events that inspire teammates and fans, not this bullshit we see in today's game. Need help finding a solution? Here's my suggestion. Suspend every play that fights. I'm not talking ten games, just one or maybe two. Make it like a red card in soccer. Problem solved. Think Arron Asham would be making those gestures if he was about to be docked two games pay? Think they would have fought in the first place?
What's there to say about the Leafs? I love them, but man do they piss me off. They played Phoenix the other night and the announcer made a comment along the lines of the Coyotes being one of the hardest working teams in the league. Why the hell can't the Leafs be that team? I still have high hopes for them this season, specifically that a long overdue return to the playoffs will happen, but after losing five of their last six games, my concern and blood pressure are both rising like the mercury on Mercury.
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