The NHL – The National Hypocrisy League

After a two-week suspension for commenting on Craig’s frumpy wardrobe, I am back to talk about the state of Bruins as they head into one of the bigger games they will play this season. Not because tonight’s Bruins-Flyers game has a high level of importance because of playoff positioning, but because I will be there. What more motivation do the Black and Gold need? In fact, I may even bring my equipment if the B’s need a fill-in on the top line.

Where else can you start when talking about the Bruins than the cheap shot Marc Savard suffered on Sunday in Pittsburgh? Well, let me take back “cheap shot” and call it a well-timed, thoroughly legal check. Because apparently that is what Matt Cooke’s hit was according to the referees and NHL disciplinarian Colin Campbell. Despite the player on the receiving end being neither in control of the puck at the time of the hit or in any position to defend himself, there was no penalty on the play. Four days later, after a chance to review the whole incident, Campbell determined no suspension was necessary.

The circumstances surrounding this play make the fact that Cooke is not sitting for a while laughable. As you read this masterpiece, the NHL’s general managers are in Florida discussing hits to the head. Players disregarding their colleagues’ health has been an epidemic this year and action needs to be taken sooner rather than later. As Steve Begin wondered this week, does a player need to break his neck – or worse, die – on the ice before headshots are taken seriously?

Here is the most hilarious part about Cooke getting away scot free. On the same day Campbell announced there was no suspension, he outlined plans for suspension on just that type of play beginning next season. At the GM meetings, the managers announced a recommendation that “a lateral, back pressure or blindside hit to an opponent where the head is targeted and or the principal point of contact is not permitted” would at least be a penalty.

Almost immediately after that announcement came word that Cooke would not be suspended for ending a player’s season with a late, dirty and unnecessary hit. Across the league, hockey people had to follow suit with Campbell’s decision because there is no rule against contact to the head with shoulderpads. Unfortunately, it is hard to take Campbell serious if he doesn’t know the difference between a shoulder and an elbow. There is absolutely no doubt that Cooke came in with his elbow cocked and just ran through Savard. Campbell is clearly covering his tracks here, attempting to back the refs who missed the call.

However, the refs aren’t to blame. The hit came so far after Savard took his shot that they did what they are supposed to do and follow the play. The fact that Cooke came in two seconds after the play moved on shows how egregious the check was. I am sure if you asked any official on the ice, they would say they went with the puck towards goal and then turned to see a guy unconscious on the ice. That is not the zebras’ fault.

Leagues have people in Campbell’s role to take care of discipline above and beyond the officials. It is assumed that when incidents like this happen that a smart man with access to information will make the right decision. Campbell has again failed to meet those assumptions.

There have been a lot of comparisons between the Cooke hit and one Mike Richards put on Florida’s David Booth earlier this year. However, those comparisons should end with the fact that the player hit got messed up real bad. Booth was going through the neutral zone with his head turned away from Richards and made a back pass at the same time Richards engaged for what should have been a clean hit. Booth came down hard on his head and was out. Richards received a five-minute major for interference (huh?) but no suspension. In that case, Campbell couldn’t make the disciplinary decision because his son plays for Florida. Still, he felt it was okay to compare the two hits and say because Richards wasn’t suspended, that he couldn’t suspend Cooke.

So the gist of the situation is everyone agrees it was a vicious hit that was not needed by a player with a documented reputation as a dirty player. Seriously, Cooke has been suspended numerous times in his career. If this type of hit happens next year, that player will be suspended. Not this year, however, because the nitwits running the NHL are afraid to make an example out of a player. I could write 1000s of words on how dumb this decision is. However, I will leave you with one thought.

The best thing the NHL could have done, even if just for Cooke’s own personal well being, was to sit him until after March 18^th because the Bruins and Penguins play that night. The B’s will be without their best player and Cooke will be in the lineup. At this point, justice has been lacking twice. I doubt someone on the Bruins will let it pass a third time. And that is what the NHL really needs to be worried about. As Claude Julien discussed today, the league is still dealing with the fallout from Todd Bertuzzi’s attack on Steve Moore from 2004 that was in retaliation for a hit in a previous game. Hockey is a passionate and emotional game. Allowing players to take matters into their own hands to defend an injured teammate could lead to another Bertuzzi-Moore incident. If the NHL had come down on Cooke and showed its players that endangering another skater needlessly will be punished, then vigilante justice would not be needed.

Oh, and as for tonight’s game. These are important points for the Bruins. They currently sit in eighth place with 70 points. They B’s trail 7^th-place Montreal by two and sixth-place Philadelphia by four. A win tonight for the Black and Gold closes the gap on Philly and also allows the Bruins to pull away from the mediocre pack behind them hoping to snag the final playoff spot. Savard is out, obviously, and Zdeno Chara is a game-time decision at the point. Without Big Z, the B’s had trouble with Toronto. Imagine how difficult handling Jeff Carter, Claude Giroux, Simone Gagne and Mike Richards will be. Nevertheless, I will be there, in my Lucic sweater. Wish me luck.