The memo has gone out. The National Hockey League is going to crack down on hits to the head.

To those who want to scoff, the material is there. A memo? Big deal.

Increased suspensions? So it went from three games for Tom Kostopolous to five games for Thomas Pock. Again, big deal. Many say the penalty should be 20 or 30 games … or more.

But to those who understand the way the NHL works, the recent shift is indeed a big deal.
First of all, it’s safe to assume that the standard suspension for a deliberate head shot is now five games, not three. So the length of the suspension has increased by 67%.

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Furthermore, you have to consider the NHL’s justice system in the same light as any other justice system.

If the penalty for running a stop sign is $100, a judge can’t arbitrarily decide to fine the next offender $10,000 just because he feels too many stop signs are being ignored.
If you want to increase the standard penalty for an offense, you have to first inform the potential offenders and second, do it in stages.

So the potential offenders were warned when the memo went out. It told the players that the league is concerned about the problem and is going to take a dim view of such offenses. Second, the standard suspension has been increased by two games and it’s safe to assume that if the headshots continue, suspensions will become even longer.

The problem the league faces is that it can’t just arbitrarily announce an automatic offense for a blow to the head. Some players are tall and some are short. Legal checks can result in a blow to the head.

And some players bend over, thereby putting themselves in a vulnerable position.
There’s also the fact that under hockey rules, a shoulder to the head is legal; an elbow to the head is not. So a blanket rule wouldn’t work.

The people who run the game don’t want to take away its physical nature. Fans want to see the hits, and it is for the fans that the game is played.

It has to be accepted that there will be injuries. Hockey is a fast game played by big strong people in a confined space. But the injuries must be kept within certain parameters. They must not endanger a player’s ability to function normally once he is out of the game.

With all these considerations in mind, there is a very active movement going on behind the scenes to make significant changes in the game prior to next season.

The players are being polled by the NHL Players’ Association to find out their views. Equipment manufacturers have been put on notice that the league might prohibit the armor that currently passes for shoulder pads. The general managers are considering ways to punish intentional head hits without reducing the dynamic nature of the game.
All the answers are not yet in place. But hits to the head are universally seen as a serious problem that must be addressed. The memo was just the first step.

Can Tocchet do it?

It was a glorious summer for the Tampa Bay Lightning with its new ownership, the top draft pick, the locking up of superstar Vincent Lecavalier and the acquisition of a bunch of free agents to act as a supporting cast.

But it quickly turned into a winter of discontent with Barry Melrose behind the bench and interference from all levels of management.

Barry Melrose did not work well with Tampa Bay’s meddling ownership group. Can Rick Tocchet handle it? (Doug Benc / Getty Images)

Can Melrose’s replacement Rick Tocchet turn it all around and give the Lightning a semblance of respectability? Hockey people think he can.

Tocchet is highly organized and possesses significant hockey knowledge. If his superiors try to meddle as they did with Melrose, they’ll soon discover the error of their ways. Even though assistant Wes Walz is new to the coaching ranks, he is considered to have an excellent understanding of the tactical side of the game. It’s not surprising for someone who played for Jacques Lemaire.

The other assistant, Cap Raeder, makes an excellent psychologist/nursemaid who will listen to the players’ concerns and attempt to address them.

Granted, these people were in place before the Melrose departure, but Melrose didn’t utilize them. It’s clear, for instance, that Tocchet thinks that top pick Steven Stamkos should be given plenty of ice time to strut his stuff. Melrose, on the other hand, felt that Stamkos should have been sent back to junior hockey and used him sparingly.

It’s a big hill to climb for the Lighting and the task may be too daunting, but Tocchet will get this team turned around and heading in the right direction.

Where does it hurt?

The NHL steadfastly continues its stupid policy of refusing to detail injuries. Worse still, the team won’t issue a time frame.

Don’t fans buying tickets to Minnesota Wild games, for instance, have a right to know if they’re likely to see Marian Gaborik in the next month? Apparently not. The team won’t issue such a time frame.

As usual, fans are treated with disdain. Millions of people enjoy participating in hockey pools, but they’ll just have to guess whether or not an injured player should continue to be protected.

The league says it refuses to explain the nature of injuries to prevent players targeting one another.

First of all, players know the nature of the other team’s injuries. It is only the fans who are in the dark.

Second, the incident most mentioned by the league in justifying its action is the headshot delivered by Gary Roberts to Johan Franzen who had just come back from a concussion in Game 2 of last season’s Stanley Cup final.

Excuse us, but if Gary Roberts is delivering headshots to injure an opponent, then wouldn’t it make more sense to punish Gary Roberts than the game’s fans?

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