Get the Violence Out of Hockey

It's not often that I agree with Jeffery Simpson of the Globe and Mail. I find his frequent "Toronto is the Centre of the Universe" mindset a tired cliche, and it infects far too much of his writing. I also disagree with a lot of his opinions on politics. He often demonstrates far too cozy an attitude with the powers that be. That said, I do have to agree with his recent article on hockey violence.

Violence and hockey have a long and intertwined history. In fact, it wasn't so long ago that a player position called a rover existed. The rover's unofficial purpose was to seek out and incapacitate the other team's players, primarily through the use of the rover's stick and the target player's head. Blood on the ice was a common occurance during games in the 1920s and earlier, and revenge was an institution. The kind of men who would gun for you in those days would have made Don Cherry in his prime shake in his skates.

Today the problem with hockey, particularly in the NHL, is an unofficial love of violence, because officials and owners seem to believe it brings in the audience. Of course they deny it, and they react with mock horror when extreme examples of hockey violence, like Todd Bertuzzi's recent attack on Steve Moore occur.

If the NHL really wants to stop incidents like Bertuzzi's from happening then they have to crack down on all instances of violence. Simply making examples of specific incidents and particular players, while allowing other incidents to go unremarked and the players unpunished, will do nothing to stop the problem.

Our game should be about skill, not about who is the toughest most violent bastard on the ice. The NHL should not be allowing the kind of headhunting of top players that takes place when the opportunities present. The Bertuzzi incident has its roots in Steve Moore's hit during an earlier game on Markus Naslund, the Vancouver Canuck's and the league's top scorer. Naslund was out for a week with a concussion, and Moore faced no punishment.

Moore's actions certainly don't justify Bertuzzi's reponse, but the lack of action by the NHL underscores its acceptance of violence as a part of the game. It certainly seems odd to me that a professional league would allow its most skilled players to be targeted by professional thugs.

The question Canadians and the NHL have to ask themselves is: What kind of game to we want? Do we want the lie of the admirable tough guy out to use his fists to control the game? Is that kind of violence necessary for the enjoyment of our favorite sport? Or do we want a game where admiration is reserved for skilled play: the beauty of a dead-on pass, the thrill of a break-away.

The Don Cherrys and the other goons in hockey, who make their money promoting and using violence and mayhem in the game, need to be drummed out of the sport.