ANOTHER CRITICAL NHL COLUMN, SO DON'T READ IF YOU ARE TIRED OF THOSE

If you are one of these people who don’t like critics of the National Hockey League, stop reading.

I’ve tuned out this league for a full year now, but it’s almost unavoidable to know what’s going on because the coverage is everywhere (at least, in Canada). 

Last night as I’m watching the Blue Jays-Red Sox, they go to a break to the Sportsnet Connected desk and they provide an ‘update’ on the Ottawa-Montreal game; but the score was NEVER mentioned.  Just the fact that Lars Eller had been badly injured on a controversial hit and the Hockey Central panel would break it down for us during the show.  There was, absolutely, no focus on the actual game as far as the two people on the Connected desk were concerned.

I watched the hit on  YouTube and here’s my only thought:  if blindside hits are illegal, then so is this hit.  Whether or not Gryba hit him in the head before he made any contact anywhere else on Eller’s body is irrelevant to me.  The play happens at break neck speed so to say Gryba had intent to take Eller’s head off is impossible to say.  Did Gryba anticipate knocking an unsuspecting player to the ice with a punishing blow?  Absolutely.  Should that be illegal?  That’s not for me to decide. 

Here is what I do know:  in a league that takes player safety fairly lightly, it makes the most sense to leave all the rules as they are but reduce the equipment size worn by everybody.  In this day and age you should be able to make protective gear that is smaller and doesn’t increase the risk of injury.  What’s happened in recent years is that equipment has become a weapon rather than a deterrent to getting hurt. 

Smaller gear means players will be more careful out on the ice and won’t be launching themselves at other players like they do now.  I don’t think Andrew Ference sticks his elbow up at the Toronto player like he did the other night if his elbow isn’t triple enforced with what’s currently called an elbow pad.  Otherwise, he runs the risk of breaking his arm.  Smaller gear also means less bravery when it comes to blocking shots.  To me, shot blocking doesn’t sell entertainment.  It’s one of the worst things about hockey.  It’s great to dedicate yourself like that to prevent a goal, but as a fan I want to see goals, big saves, and exciting scoring chances.  Shot blocking takes all of that away.  Coaches can still coach shot blocking, but let’s be honest.  Less players will do it.  Smaller gear on a goalie means more net to shoot at too.  And, I’ve written, at length, about how I feel on goalie equipment.  I don’t know why an NHL team hasn’t gone to Japan, recruited a sumo wrestler and taught him how to skate and then armed him with goalie gear and ordered him to stand perfectly still in the crease.  It’s funny and stupid to think  this way, but if you really considered it; it’s perfectly legal and I think you would win a lot of games. 

All I know is that I watched the Blue Jays and Red Sox last night and then tuned in to Golden State-Denver (NBA playoffs) and was very much entertained with the finish of that game despite the Warriors’ incredibly sloppy play at the end of the 4^th.  To me, sports is about entertainment as much as it is winning.  Those that make the rules in the NHL have to come up with ways (and I think a reduction in equipment solves it all) to bring the thrill back.  Stephen Curry took over the NBA game last night in the 3^rd.  Other than Sidney Crosby (and even he doesn’t always have that ability), is there a single player in the NHL that can, similarly, do that? I think of Mario Lemieux, Wayne Gretzky, Steve Yzerman, Joe Sakic, Pavel Bure, Brett Hull & Adam Oates, Doug Gilmour, Al MacInnis, Paul Coffey, etc.

  I think the players today are every bit as good or better.  Don’t get me wrong.  But, I long for the days where we’d see a guy close to 100 points on almost every team.  Those days are over and, probably, won’t ever return.