Press Begins to Argue for an End to Head Shots

Although Wyshynski is right that visors should be mandatory and seamless glass should be eliminated, he's on the wrong side of hockey history when he writes: "Not banning hits to the head across the board is, ultimately, a good thing, because it would severely limit the physicality with which the game is played. The NHL did the right thing by drawing a line in the sand and saying the cheap-shot plays that target a player's head gotta go."

Wyshynski's more recent posts have been counterproductive.

The truth is that it is wrong to ask the referee to decide about the player's intention in any particular hit. It's even worse to ask the corrupt Colin Campbell to make that judgment.

He does get some interesting posts (and a lot of profanity) when he asks readers if violence made them consider quitting the NHL.

Recognizing the need for change

Back in the real world, The Montreal Gazette says that hockey's management "isn't using its head": "No suspension for Boston's Zdeno Chara, nada. Once again the National Hockey League had a chance to send a strong message to protect its players, and once again it blew the call. It's a miracle this decision, or non-decision, didn't launch a modern day version of the 1955 Rocket Richard riot in Montreal. Then again, in a sense, it did."

This after hockey's general managers decided not to ban head shots -- but did call for longer suspensions.

One former general manager and current blogger for The Hockey News called for the league to recognize a distinction between the violent and the dangerous, saying that the league needs to eliminate danger, not violence. Dangerous hits -- those that can end careers -- include hits to the knee, ankle, and head. Player can come back from bruises and even broken arms but the league has recognized that head and knee injuries can end a career (the league has failed to crack down on ankle injuries).

Journalists outside of the profession are quicker to call for change. Bob Herbert of The New York Times said that the NFL needs to protect players' heads.

It seems possible that the NFL will act before the NHL does and if that happens -- the NHL general managers will take the blame for failing to crack down on danger and for failing to fire Colin Campbell.