(First published June 17, 2011)
At a time when fans of the NHL should be celebrating an exciting championship final, I have a sense that the vast majority would rather just forget the whole thing.
The 2010-2011 season seemed to kick off with great promise. An original six champion set to defend its title, a rejuvenated Sidney Crosby exploding out of the gate and a ray of light for Habs fans, Carey Price earning back some respect from a cynical and bitter fanbase.
On paper it looked good, but all was not well in the NHL.
Just as the season began, a hit by Chicago Blackhawk Niklas Hjalmarsson on Buffalo Sabres' Jason Pominville cooled the early momentum. This was the first test of the NHL’s new Rule 48. Hjalmarsson received a two-game suspension, and it seemed the league was serious about how it applied the rule. But things did not change. Repeat offender Matt Cooke continued to target the heads of fellow players, despite repeated warnings and suspensions. Then the league lost arguably its most talented player in Sidney Crosby due to a concussion sustained in a head shot delivered at the Winter Classic. He did not return for the rest of the season.
Instead of stepping up its efforts, the league began to flip flop on its definition of an illegal head shot. This culminated in the most notorious decision of the season, the non-suspension of Zdeno Chara for his near career-ending hit on Max Pacioretty. This would unleash a firestorm of controversy, and the hit itself became a PR nightmare. The major news organizations jumped on the story and the NHL’s reputation as a league of abject violence was further cemented in the minds of the casual observer. For many of us, this became the turning point of the season, and the hockey was never quite the same.
The league’s disciplinary committee, which consisted mostly of Colin Campbell, whose son Gregory plays for the Bruins, and Mike Murphy, spent the better part of the season developing inexplicable, and at times indefensible, interpretations of Rule 48. The net result was a policy that was often inconsistent in its interpretation and confusing to many. Even as the league claimed it was concerned about change, mid-season meetings among owners, led by commissioner Gary Bettman, concluded there was no need to change the rule or apply it any differently.
The league’s inaction prompted Hall-of-Famer and Pittsburg Penguin owner Mario Lemieux to take the league to task after a penalty-riddled, cheap-shot affair against the New York Islanders. Lemieux also signs Matt Cooke’s paycheque. The statement resulted in a lot of name-calling and some of the most spectacular displays of hypocrisy and ignorance from coaches, league officials, hockey commentators and players. Meanwhile, the cheap shots and concussions continued unabated.
As the league lost control on the ice, the ownership situation of the Phoenix Coyotes went from bad to worse. The team, now owned by the league, was bleeding cash and a potential deal to sell the team to Chicago investor Matthew Hulsizer was circling the bowl. Hulsizer was demanding the city of Glendale pony up some of the $170 million purchase price in the form of parking revenues. Conservative think tank The Goldwater Institute, who adamantly opposes public money being used to support private ventures, threatened to go to court to block the move. In the end, the city of Glendale agreed to pay the league $25 million to support the team for one more year.
As this scenario played out, the league was forced to deal with the Atlanta Thrashers ownership situation, which was disintegrating even faster. With Winnipeg on speed dial, the league tried its best to spin the situation with a fictional ruse that it could somehow find a way to keep the team in Atlanta. Even as the story broke of a deal being reached between Thrashers ownership and Winnipeg-based True North Sports and Entertainment, the league (read Commissioner Bettman) continued to deliver denial after denial. When it was finally announced that Winnipeg was indeed the beneficiary of Atlanta's (and the league's) failure, Bettman felt absolutely no reason to celebrate the return of hockey to a hockey market, in a hockey-crazed country. His press conference in Winnipeg was a combination of Droopy Dog and a scolding first grade teacher. He warned that Winnipeg would have to sell out every game just to survive. Winnipeg's MTS Centre's capacity is just over 15, 000. Average attendance at Thrashers games this season was around 13, 500.
As if the NHL’s season of epic fails were not enough to drag professional hockey through the manure, we have to add the deplorable actions of a mass of meatheads tearing apart the streets of downtown Vancouver after Wednesday's game seven final. This sad scene was enough to prompt some in the media to suggest Vancouver, who had arguably the most talented and skilled team in the league, somehow did not deserve the Stanley Cup. Apparently the lack of intelligence and insight in the league’s head office is contagious. The goons win again.
As the streets of Vancouver descended into anarchy, a chorus of boos descended upon Bettman as he presented the Stanley Cup to Zdeno Chara, whose 2010-2011 highlight reel features an attempted decapitation of a fellow player. Chara then handed the cup to his colleague Mark Recchi whose Mensa-inspired statements this year included accusing the victim of faking. Class all the way.
One can only hope that next season will see some positive change. That the game’s integrity can be restored.
Are you listening Brendan Shannahan?
No comments:
Post a Comment