Concussions: A Real Head Case

Seems like the hottest topic in today's NFL is headshots - stars went down left and right with concussions during the season. Fines and suspensions were handed out and, supposedly, everything is going to be alright. Well, the NFL isn't the only league that has concerns about its players' safety. The NHL has been dealt with a rash of concussion-related injuries over the past couple months.

The severity of the injuries varies quite a bit. You'll have a guy who takes a hit the wrong way, has headaches for a few days, then comes back fine. And then you have a guy like Boston Bruins veteran Marc Savard. Poor guy. He's had 3 concussions in the last 2 years. I don't even want to know how many games he's missed due to these injuries. Even worse, he's been shut down for the rest of the regular season and the playoffs (again!) this year. The (again!) was because the same thing happened to him last year.

When Savard's not seeing stars, he's a pretty solid player, playing at a touch-under-point-per-game clip. And this is where the NHL needs to start getting worried about head contact. The point in time in which star players start to get lost for the season should mark the point where little 3-and-4 game suspensions don't cut it anymore. Just a few days ago, we saw (repeat offender) Matt Cooke of the Shitsburgh Pittsburgh Penguins turn himself into a Fedor (Fyodor? but that's a different story...) Tyutin-seeking missile, launching himself off the ice and into the back of the Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman. That action got him a 5 minute major for charging and a 4 game suspension from NHL disciplinarian(?) Colin Campbell. More than one pundit has asked if that was enough, and suggested that if Tyutin had been injured on the play, Cooke might be sitting for a lot longer than the next week or so.

While I wholeheartedly agree with more severe penalties for both repeat offenders and injury-inducing actions, I have to say that I think most of the blame for these injuries needs to be placed on the NHL and other, lower-level hockey organizations. For instance, I'm a USA Hockey referee. The one rule I dislike is the "Checking From Behind" rule. The rule states that a 2 minute minor and a 10 minute misconduct shall be called. However, if a player is "injured", the referee must impose a 5 minute major and a game misconduct.

But therein lies the problem. What exactly constitutes an injury? I actually did encounter this in a game a few weeks ago: a kid got hit from behind and laid basically motionless for a couple minutes. I talked with my partner and assessed the '5 and game' penalty. Soon after I escorted the assailant off the ice, the player who had been hit got up and skated to the bench under his own power. The team whose player had just been ejected's coach called me over for a chat. When I explained why I gave the player the '5 and game', the coach suggested that from now on when his players were hit from behind, they should lay on the ice for a while to get a more severe penalty called.

I looked at him dumbfounded, and could mutter nothing more than "Well, that's a moral issue, but there's nothing stopping you." That's when I started to realize what's wrong. If a play, like checking from behind or head contact, wants to be removed from the game, penalize it more strictly at the lower levels of hockey. Teach the kids that they can't do this early on. Take away the option for the '2 and 10' penalty and make every hit from behind a '5 and game'. And then also give the referees the option of adding on additional discipline if they see fit. I'd like to see how many kids hit from behind after that.

The other issue, however, then becomes what do you do with players who are injured by freak plays? Take the most prominent case currently in the NHL, Penguins (ironically) star Sidney Crosby. First and foremost, if you know anything about me you know that I can't stand Crosby. But I can relate to what he's going through now, and I really do feel for him. His concussion occurred either by accidentally colliding with a Washington Capitals player (I can't recall who) or by being bumped, and I do mean bumped, into the boards by Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman. The point is that it was a freak injury. He didn't get leveled from behind, didn't get blindsided, didn't get cheapshotted. Both were clean plays, one was an accident.

I played hockey all through high school, and ultimately stopped playing because I had 3 concussions. After the third, I had headaches for days and went through intermittent bouts of vomiting. It wasn't fun. But I couldn't get mad about it, because I got all 3 on clean plays. The players who checked me did nothing wrong. So what are we supposed to do about cases like these? The answer is obvious: nothing. There's nothing you can do. As the saying goes, shit happens. Sometimes, in a physical sport like hockey, injuries happen. We can't penalize clean plays. Unless you're an emotional hockey mom, in which case the referee is ALWAYS wrong.

So what is the end result of all the above? Well, we will likely never get head injuries completely out of the game - both NHL and NFL. But we can do something to decrease the likelihood that one will occur. Getting the reckless stupidity out of the game, and respect for other players back into the game, at an early age is imperative. Plays like the one Matt Cooke made the other night cannot be tolerated. Some steps have been taken, like the little "STOP" signs that some teams sew onto the back of their jerseys, but clearly not enough.

I don't want to see the day when star players, yes even Crosby, have their careers ended because they've had their bell rung once too much. Sadly, I think that era may be starting this year. I hope Marc Savard recovers fully and quickly, and hope that the NHL starts taking things a lot more seriously. Somehow, though, I'm doubtful that either will happen.

The JoHaTrick

It's one of those rare events in sports. The odds of witnessing a hat trick in hockey are reportedly (and odds vary, depending on where you look) 1 in 18. Off the top of my head, I've seen maybe 10 or so. And I can guarantee that I've watched more than 180 games. So I question that. But I digress.

The hat trick is one of few moments in sports in which both players and fans actively participate. The hats rain down from all over the arena. Players celebrate the feat. Then, local charities are provided with those hats tossed onto the ice. It's a win all around.

What's even more rare is seeing a player eclipse a hat trick. While watching live games either on TV or in person, I've only seen it happen 3 times. I remember watching Sergei Fedorov score all 5 goals for the Red Wings, including the game winner in overtime, back in 1996. He also scored 4 goals the previous year, but I don't remember that one. The other two I've seen, one in-person and one on TV, were by the player we lovingly call the Mule.

Johan Franzen quickly became my favorite player a couple years ago after signing a long-term contract with the Wings. His dedication to the team and city, along with his hard-nosed yet finesse style of play is endearing. He goes to the net hard, but can still snipe with the best of them. Ken Holland made him a career Wing after having to choose between him and Marian Hossa. Hossa's a great player, but I think Holland made the better choice.

Franzen is an absolute beast when he's not injured "on". The two performances that stand out are obvious - a 4 goal, 1 assist performance against the San Jose Sharks in the playoffs last year, and last night's 5 goal blitzkrieg against the Ottawa Senators. Granted, he got a little help with an empty netter at the end, but it's 5 goals! He is the first player in the NHL to score 5 goals in a game since 2007.

What's even more impressive about those two performances is the situations in which they came. The Wings nicknamed Franzen "Mule" because he would do the dirty work. Well, he's earned it for another reason. He puts the team on his back. The 4 goal, 1 assist game came when the Wings were on the brink of being swept out of the playoffs last year. He wasn't going to let that happen. Last night was the first game back after the All-Star break. Most of the Wings, defensemen and goalie chief among them, looked slow - a product of having a long break. Not Franzen. He was flying, and decided that his team was not going to lose. He also had a monster playoffs 2 years ago, scoring something like (off the top of my head) 24 goals in 18 games. With a couple hat tricks tossed in, for good measure.

Thanks to the un-human-like play of Franzen, Wings fans now have terms for these 4 and 5 goal games. The boys over at the blog Winging It In Motown (a blog I frequent and recommend) coined the 4 goal performance a "Mule-trick", and last night's 5 goal bonanza the "JoHaTrick". So next time your favorite player goes off for 4 of 5 goals, make sure you honor the man who does the dirty work. He quietly appreciates it.