NHL Ready to Use Common Sense?

March 28th, 2010 by Emanuel Roussos Leave a reply »
Headshots are front and centre once again in the National Hockey League. Recent incidents have spurred the league's general managers to push for a rule change banning hits to the head, and polls seem to show strong fan support for such a change.

And in the wake of Boston’s Marc Savard being knocked out by a hit to the head from Pittsburgh’s Matt Cooke on Sunday, NHL general managers unanimously approved a new penalty at their meetings in Florida.

The new rule which needs to be reviewed by the competition committee and passed by the board of governors before it goes into effect, bans all "lateral, back pressure or blindside" hits where the head "is targeted and/or the principal point of contact."

Cooke’s hit on Savard on March 7, coming on the day the league’s general managers were convening in Florida to discuss headshots, rejuvenated the debate on predatory headshots and led to the GMs drafting a new rule to make such hits illegal and subject to suspension. Cooke did not receive a penalty, never mind a suspension, for the hit since technically he did not break a rule.

But as with any potential new rule, there are ...

Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
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