When I was 8 years old, I witnessed a possessed Ron Hextall use his goalie stick to try and decapitate Chris Chelios, a then-young Montreal Canadiens defensemen. At the time, Hextall’s actions were seen as reprehensible, but excusable. 17 years later, the NHL and hockey leagues everywhere are having to deal with more and more Hextall-like incidents and the public is no longer willing to excuse them.
Facing a recent downward spiral in revenue and popularity, especially south of the border, the NHL reached a new height of exposure one dreary night in March. Televisions from Moose Jaw to Omaha were tuned in to watch over and over again the pre-meditated assault on the unsuspecting Colorado forward Steve Moore by Vancouver forward Todd Bertuzzi. Since that incident, we have seen several more heinous acts including Hamilton Bulldogs forward Alexander Perezhogin doing his best Ron Hextall impersonation, forcing the AHL to dole out the longest suspension ever: one that will see him sit out the entire 2004-05 season.
Both Bertuzzi and Perezhogin received stiff penalties, but by no means do I think they will act as a sufficient deterrent for other players. Whether you like it or not, the way Canadian hockey has been played, it promotes a certain type of player. This player must retaliate, this player has to throw down the gloves, and this player has to start head locking the opposition if he lightly touches your goalie.
The way hockey players are coached – they are conditioned to be lean, mean fighting machines – is dangerous to the health of others. It is this mentality that has to change.
Though I have never played one game of ice hockey, I still remember attending many bantam level games that my best friend took part in. The police had to be called on several occasions to intervene. This left me with the distinct impression that on-ice violence, more than a symptom of the game, was often seen as a way to solve problems.
It is simple; hockey players are taught that once you are on the ice, morals and any sort of conscience don’t apply. That’s why we should not be the least bit surprised that blood begins to boil when someone is being cross-checked incessantly in the heat of the moment, and it is only a matter of time before another Todd Bertuzzi is on the front pages of our newspapers.
-D.S.
Is violence really becoming an increasing epidemic in the modern game of hockey, or is there just increased media coverage on the issue that makes it seem so? There is certainly enough of column B, but column A is growing by leaps and bounds. It is time for the law to step in and save lives.
If the recent Alexander Perezhogin stick swinging incident and the Todd Bertuzzi sucker-punch and face-plant showed us anything, it is that the modern game of hockey needs to find stricter punishments for violent offenders. If they don’t, someone will end up dead on the ice. If hefty suspensions are not enough to scare players straight, then perhaps it is time to bring in the police.
Most citizens would be locked up in jail for a considerable amount of time for fracturing the bones of another man’s face with a large piece of metal. Hockey players should not escape prison just because they do these things on ice in the context of sport. There has to be some understanding and leeway since they are involved in an occupation where controlled aggression is acceptable; however, if one crosses the line and enters life-threatening behaviour territory they should be subject to the law just like the rest of us.
Stick incidents and blows to the head are arguably the most violent actions in hockey. One way to stop these quickly is to tell players that they face immediate ejection and possible criminal prosecution. No player would take the risk of jail time. On the contrary, players would be more cautious in making sure their elbows and sticks stayed down.
Severe suspensions alone are not enough of a deterrent. Perezhogin received a one-year ban for his actions, which is what Marty McSorley got a few years ago for clubbing Donald Brashier over the head with his stick. Obviously this prior incident with McSorley did not scare the young player enough to make him keep his cool. Throw in the possibility of serious criminal prosecution and things may have turned out differently.
It would also help if leagues were to set strict punishment precedents and actually uphold them, regardless of the injury that results. It does not help to give one man a year suspension for stick swinging and give another only six games for a similar infraction. This is what happened with the aforementioned Perezhogin and Cleveland Baron Garret Stafford, the former receiving a lengthy suspension for severely injuring the latter and the latter receiving a minor suspension because he did not hurt Perezhogin. This does not make sense, since they both took a swing at the other’s head.
Knowing that there is no tolerance for vicious actions, regardless of injury to another player, would keep players in better control of themselves and their equipment much more often than they are now, and would consequently lower the amount of serious injuries suffered each year in hockey the world over.
-M. S.
