Why Injuries Are on the Rise – Part II

In Part I of this examination of why there has been a drastic increase in injuries to NHL players this season as compared to the same point in 2008-09, we looked at the increased size of players, the development in technology of players equipment, and the speed of the game as three reasons. In addition, there are three more main reasons which seem to be contributing to the IR list, as well as those players playing through injuries, AKA “the NHL’s walking wounded”.

In Part II, we will look into more reasons as to why NHL injuries have been increasing at an alarming rate:

4)  The NHL Schedule due to 2010 Olympics. There is a growing faction that believe the condensed NHL schedule is contributing to the ever-growing list of casualties in the 2009-10 season.  With the league-wide shutdown from February 15th until the beginning of March, 2010 for the players to be able to participate in the Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, there are two less weeks for teams to play their 82-games.  At first glance it doesn’t appear to be too much different than other years.  But when taking a closer look, there are four and five day gaps between games on each teams calendars.  This creates many more stretches where teams have to play three games in four nights, and this is the area where the problems lie.  I am not a big fan of NHL players being a part of the Olympics, and that sentiment is not getting any better as I see the effect this schedule is having on the NHL season as a whole.

5)  The changes in the obstruction rules. Yes, these post-lockout rule changes have opened up the game tremendously from the neutral zone clutching-and-grabbing that so bogged down most games. But with that positive of the added speed, skill and additional scoring chances comes a negative. Prior to the rule changes, when a defenseman went back to gather up the puck or even just to touch up for an icing call, their partner could get in the way of oncoming forecheckers and impede them from a free shot at full speed on the defenseman with his back to the opposition. That interference is now illegal and it will put your team down a man for two minutes. So what we end up seeing night-in, night-out is a defenseman going behind the net to garner the puck and usually at least one opposition player setting their sites on him as they accelerate into the zone and try to apply pressure to the puck-carrier. The forechecking player is hitting with such a ferocity it looks like he not only wants to separate the player from the puck, but also to seperate the head from the player.

6) A general lack of respect from one player to the next. Sure, the league boasts guys like Calgary Flames captain Jerome Iginla and Detroit Red Wing’s captain Nicklas Lidstrom, players that exude class, dignity and a respect for not only opposing players, but also for the game of hockey itself.

Players have always loved to go for the big hit, that hit that will be played over and over on all of the highlight shows and give them a tough-as-nails reputation. For whatever reason, some of those players cross the pencil-thin line between what makes a hit a clean, legal, hard check and something that becomes an intent to injure.

The infinite irony of it all is that those same players that are desiring to get that reputation as someone that’s tough to play against, someone any coach would love to have playing for him instead of against him, are totally destroying their reputation with the entire hockey community in the process.

But instead of a player that is zeroing in on another that is in a prone position letting up, it seems they are trying to take advantage of the other players disadvantage and instead going for the knock out.

Pittsburgh Penguin agitator Matt Cooke was suspended yesterday for this hit to the head of Artem Anisimov of the New York Rangers.

Cooke had just escaped the NHL’s long arm of justice by somehow ducking a suspension for sticking his leg out and causing a knee on knee collision with Ottawa Senators forward Shean Donovan on November 19th. The hit put Donovan out of the Sens lineup for up to 6 weeks and could be potentially career-threatening. Whether the play was intentional or not, Cooke has a reputation for these type of incidents and putting opposing players out with injuries for extended periods with borderline hits.  So why was he so careless to go for Anisimov’s head? Cooke went out of his way to make contact with Anisimov’s head (notice Cooke’s left arm in the replays) and is fast becoming the poster child for the NHL’s term of “repeat offender”.

I loved seeing Atlanta Thrashers superstar scorer Ilya Kovalchuk go back after Cooke when the Penguin pest gave him a questionable knee shot from behind.  What I didn’t love?  Kovalchuk being assessed the instigator penalty and given a game misconduct for defending himself.

More recent careless plays resulting in injuries:

Montreal’s Georges Laroque knee on knee hit on Detroit’s Nicklas Kronwall:

Philly’s Danny Briere high hit on Colorado’s Scott Hannan after Hannan scored against the Flyers:

Even one of the two “faces of the NHL”, Washington’s Alexander Ovechkin, has gotten into the action.  Every once in a while he has skated the fine line between big, clean highlight reel hit and an intent to injure.  In a two week period, Ovie had a hit from behind on Buffalo’s Patrick Kaleta that garnered a 5-minute major penalty but suspension-wise went unpunished:

…and another just last night against Tim Gleason of the Carolina Hurricanes.  This one was a knee on knee that resulted in a 5-minute major to Ovie for intent to injure, but this time the NHL additionally handed down a two-game suspension for the Capitals superstar earlier today.  Ironically, Ovechkin injured himself on the play and may miss some time with what may be a sprained knee:

With all of the factors that have been covered over the past two days, it seems that this aspect is perhaps the most disturbing and prevalent occurrence that is contributing to these injuries.

There will be incidents that arise from time to time that are borne of bitter rivalries between two teams that hate each other.  A classic example is Philadelphia’s Dave Brown cross-check on the Rangers’ Tomas Sandstrom back in the late 80′s:

There will be cheap shots delivered every now and then between league heavyweights that have a history, like Marty McSorley’s chop at Donald Brashear’s head:

There will be ugly incidents in such an intensely physical sport.  If the players can’t consistently respect each other, then it becomes the league’s responsibility to ensure that these incidents are just an unfortunate aberration.  And maybe the way to send a message to the players is by stiffer suspensions instead of what amounts to a slap on the wrist.

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