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NHL Chief Promises Harsher Penalties For Hits On The Head
Source: Agencies |
June 3, 2011, Friday
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NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman promised harsher penalties for violence next season and introduced the league's new chief disciplinarian Brendan Shanahan.
Bettman used his state of the league address ahead of Game 1 of the Stanley Cup final to announce that Shanahan would be taking over the most thankless job in ice hockey.
A tough as nails former player, Shanahan replaces Colin Campbell, who had been in charge of dispensing NHL supplemental discipline for 13 years but had come under increasing criticism for what was viewed as wildly inconsistent punishment.
The league continues to struggle to find a balance between player safety and removing the physical component of the game, which is at the heart of the sport and its appeal.
Concussions and the hits that cause them have become the hot button issue in sport this year, particularly in the NHL, and Campbell's uneven suspensions created the perception the league was unconcerned, sparking an uproar among fans and sponsors. Bettman said Campbell had approached him and suggested a change.
"Collie and I believe it is time to take a fresh look at the standards that we use and if we are going to move to harsher discipline that change needs to send a clear message and we think it would probably be best to do it on a clean slate," Bettman told reporters.
"I know this was one aspect of Collie's job that he hates, it could be the most thankless and worse job in hockey, particularly after enduring it for more than a decade."
Bettman used his state of the league address ahead of Game 1 of the Stanley Cup final to announce that Shanahan would be taking over the most thankless job in ice hockey.
A tough as nails former player, Shanahan replaces Colin Campbell, who had been in charge of dispensing NHL supplemental discipline for 13 years but had come under increasing criticism for what was viewed as wildly inconsistent punishment.
The league continues to struggle to find a balance between player safety and removing the physical component of the game, which is at the heart of the sport and its appeal.
Concussions and the hits that cause them have become the hot button issue in sport this year, particularly in the NHL, and Campbell's uneven suspensions created the perception the league was unconcerned, sparking an uproar among fans and sponsors. Bettman said Campbell had approached him and suggested a change.
"Collie and I believe it is time to take a fresh look at the standards that we use and if we are going to move to harsher discipline that change needs to send a clear message and we think it would probably be best to do it on a clean slate," Bettman told reporters.
"I know this was one aspect of Collie's job that he hates, it could be the most thankless and worse job in hockey, particularly after enduring it for more than a decade."
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