I have said before I enjoy the physical aspects of the game-not necessarily the outright fights, but I enjoy watching a hard hitting, hardchecking physical game. But I do think the league needs to find a way to make the illegal, dangerous and deliberate attempts uncommon and make players want to avoid the punishments that come with making them (right now a couple of games and the salary loss aren’t that painful for many players). I think the league needs to look at ways to make the organization hurt (by not permitting the team to dress a suspended player’s substitute or having a team fine or something along those lines).

I do think we need to accept though that in hockey sometimes there are tragedies and people get hurt when there is a legal ht gone awry, but I think the league can make the deliberate hits something all the players want to avoid the consequences for.

There are several tragedies here.
First: Marc Savard. His potential as a hockey player is remaining unfulled. His goals in hockey are in serious doubt. Additionally his enjoyment of life in general, and further his abilty to enjoy his family – to say nothing about how his family now have to percieve him.
Secondly: his team mates ability to realize their potential as they are not able have the presence of a premier playmaker.

Thirdly: The Bruins fans as they are robbed of witnessing a premier talent employing his abilities in a quest for playoff success.

Fourthly: Play in the NHL overall is diminished as a superb playmaker is forced out and the likes of Matt Cooke remain in the game. Cooke make no contributions to the game of hockey.

Fifthly: Future generations of hockey players e.g. Tyler Seguin, Brad Marchand will never benefit from his accumulated wisdom acquired over the course of his career.

I truly wish Marc Savard a return to full health to realize the happiness to which he is entitled. As a Bruins fan, I would love to see Marc make a sucessful return to the team. Playmakers with his vision and accompanying talents are a rare breed and Hockey cannot afford to see them forced out of the game. Similarly, players such as Crosby (whom I do not particularly like – but would love to see play for the Bruins) are special talents that have to be protected just as any other player that arrives in the NHL. The fact that the NHL hierarchy tolerates goons and protects them through nothing penalties and inadequate suspensions speaks volumes about the characters themselves.

WHY does the NHL employ a person such as Colon Campbell and Mike Murphy to dispense justice when their entire hockey careers were undistinguished and of goon description? Guy LaFleur, Jean Ratelle and their sort would so much better be appreciated and be more credible to hockey fans.

I’ll be very sad if Savard’s promising career is ended this early. He had so much potential and may not have much to show for it.

Personally, I believe that fighting and team rivalry is a part of hockey. It’s a rough game, and players understand and accept the risk. What should NOT be in the game are the cheap shots by crooks deliberately attempting to injure. The NHL execs should recognize that if Crosby gets cheap shotted next season, and his career goes downhill, a major portion of the league’s recognizability will be lost.

Tru

In ancient Rome the emporers gave the general public spectacles in the forums. These could range from full fledged naval battles (by flooding the Colliseum floor, to gladiators fighting to the death, to having humans confront wild animals (and in time of christian persecution percieving that Christians were not recognizing the authority of the emporer and were therefore disloyal). The practice then became at times to force Christians that were found to be disloyal into the area and then half starved lions wet let loose. Of course as depravity followed depravity the general public became bored by the spectacle and therefore new extravaganzas of even greater depravity had to be devised. In much the same manner, these days, wrestling as an olympic sport to be more appealing degenerated to the shows we have to day where all sorts of “illegal” devices are being brought into the ring, boxing the original blood sport has now degenerated into Ultimate Fighting (more blood) and football as played in the 1920′s and 1940′s has become much more violent. People are becoming desensitized to violence.

My point is that the NHL honcho’s recognize that hard hitting hockey needs to become more violent if they are to compete with NFL and Ultimate Fighting for sports fans interest and there is therefore a tolerance allowed to the Ulf Samuelsons, Sean Averys, Otts and Cookes because of the mayham they bring and the raising of interest and awareness in the sport of hockey. If you watch Nashville’s promotional ads, they refer to Nashville as Smashville, and emphasize the fighting. Small US markets (minor leagues) regularly sell the fighting aspect of the game rather than the skating and scoring side.

My thoughts are that Hockey is a niche market game that developed in places which have a cold winter climate and people enjoyed outdoor winter activities either on rivers or ponds or man made ourdoor rinks. It is not reasonable to expect to sell a product to people who have not grown up in this environment and do not appreciate the skills involved and therefore have to be drawn in bu other approaches. Sorry, I am on a soap box.

tru, I’m guessing the reference is to when Romans fed Christians to the lions in arenas as a form of entertainment. My guess on the context is violence for others entertainment, but since the Christians were being executed in what was intentionally not a fair fight, I’m not sure how that applies to UFC or hockey.

MattK! Has anybody compiled a definitive list of players that have have had their careers ended through concussion. I know there were other players before the Lindros brothers and Bob Probert, there are several players who have taken a year off to help recover from a serious situation. But it would be interesting reading about who did what to whom; what punishments were exacted; the ages of the players forced to retire and what might have been the careers of the players if they had not been forced to retire; what those former players are doing now.

Concussions are the flavour of the day – finally. However, it is a wonder to me why the NHL tolerates deliberate violence of any sort against any player but particularly to its stars, the very players to whom the NHL looks to sell the game and broaden its fan base. It appears that the NHL demigods are debasing themselves to emulate the sleeze of Ultimate Fighting which is – in my opinion, akin the Christians versus the Lions .

It is really sad to see a career more than likely cut short. I am just not sure he is going to be able to come back from this one and there is a part of me that thinks it likely wouldn’t be worth the risk.

Awful news. It’s no longer about playing hockey, I hope the guy is able to recover and live a normal life.

Good luck, Savvy.

Poor guy… Matt Cooke ought to be kicked out of the league if Marc is done forever, and then subsequently hung by his genitals from the goalposts at Heinz Field.

This is so sad.