NHL Needs to Loosen up and Let Em Play!
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Quick, what's the first thing you think of when I say hockey or NHL?
Was it fighting or hitting? I bet it was, if it wasn't, I bet you think of
fighting or hard hitting in the top two or three things. It's the most
exciting thing about hockey, especially for the casual fan. I think that's
why a lot of people either go to hockey games, or watch them on TV.
Now, the NHL is suspending people for doing what makes the NHL go!
When you're seeing highlights on TV from today's games, you'll see
the goals scored of course and the big hits and fights for the night.
That's about it. Just like any other sport, you see the big and "exciting"
plays. Why is the NHL trying to take away an appealing factor of the
game? A few weeks ago, the Islanders Chris Simon smashed an
opposing player across the face with his stick. Dirty play? Yes. Illegal
play? Yes. Exciting play? Well, it must have been because it got a
hell of a lot of air time on all the sports shows. It gave the NHL the
airwaves. Yet, the NHL suspended Simon for 25 games! Ok, he
should have been suspended, but not for that long! That's WAY too
harsh. To further my point, a couple nights ago, Nashville Predators
player Jordin Tootoo punched an opposing player in the face an
knocked him out. That too, got a lot of air time. Honestly, I don't
remember any other high lights from that game, or what the score was.
I do remember seeing that hit though. It was played all night long! The
NHL suspended Tootoo for FIVE games! That's absurd. It was a punch
in the face, something your game is known for. Handing out
suspension like candy on Halloween will deter players from the hard
hits because they won't want to lose games or paychecks. In turn, with
less fighting, the fans won't watch the games as it won't be "exciting"
enough and it can only HURT the league in general.
Baseball is known for it's homeruns, Football for it's long Touchdown
plays and hard hits, basketball for it's slam dunks and hockey for it's
acts of violence. The NHL is already struggling enough, I wouldn't
suggest suspending players for big highlight hits that get you air time!
Really, the NHL, the league known for fighting, needs to loosen up and
let them play!
