Page 33 - Sports Energy News, Cornwall, Issue No 70

www.sportsenergynews.com Issue #70 September 2018 33

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Eric Lindros recently spoke at the ‘See the Light’ concussion symposium
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at Western University.
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Lindros said, “It’s time for the NHL to seriously think about

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removing body contact from the game.”
What do you think about this statement?
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Gilles Gaudet - Sports Enthusiast - At first blush ex-NHLer Eric Lindros speaking at a symposium about eliminating contact in
hockey would be akin to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau refusing a photo op. It’s a bold statement coming from someone who made
a living by intimidating hockey players with his thunderous hits. At 6’4” and 240 lbs, body contact and hitting were a big part of his
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game. In fact when he entered the NHL in 1991 he was an outlier of sorts. He was the first big power forward who could hit, skate,
shoot, and handle the puck. As an added bonus he had a mean streak that caused fear in his opponents. How mean, 1,398 penalty
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minutes worth of mean! Nevertheless, at age 33 he was done, the result of at least 5 concussions that robbed him of his career. Sure he
is still a Hall of Famer, but he could have been the best ever. So when Eric wants to take hitting out of the game, people should listen
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and take heed. The NHL, like the NFL is under a lot of pressure to do something about concussions and the effects of CTE. Let’s be
clear, most of the pressure isn’t coming from the fans, the pressure is being generated by former players. There are multiple ex-players
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who are suing the NFL and NHL because of their health issues. Some of the statistics that are coming forward indicate that concussions
can triple the risk of suicide. Other issues such as; headaches, nausea, depression, disturbed sleep, moodiness, and amnesia have been
attributed to concussions. The list goes on and on. My prediction, within the next five to ten years the NHL will have eliminated most
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of the hitting and fighting that we see today, for the betterment of the players. It’s about time!
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Jake Lapierre - Conditioning Coach - I believe Eric Lindros statement has a lot of merit; head injuries and concussions in hockey due
to body contact are a serious issue. Some would argue the fighting is the major cause of these injuries but statistics show different; fighting
might account for five percent of concussions in hockey.
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Coach’s Corner might argue, leave the kids start body checking fresh out of diapers so their ready for the big hits later on; kids are gonna get
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hurt regardless.
I believe it is time for change, but how does the NHL make such measurable changes without losing fans? The game is entertaining; players
are fast, many are magicians with the puck, the game consists of strategic plays and continuous motion; these guys have talent and they’re
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fun to watch.
The NHL front office needs to get rid of the old boys’ club living in the past, bring in a fresh mindset of people to come up with timely strategic
changes that’ll transform the game without losing its lustre. All the tools are there; they just have to be utilized. I’m sure there will be a lot
of gripe from the old boys’ clubs especially from Coach’s Corner, but with some imagination and strategic timing the game of hockey can
continue to be fun to watch, safer, and gain acceptance with the new generations of players and fans.
Jim Riddell - Seaway Karate Club - The NHL game has evolved over the years with the average shift length now being more than
25% shorter than in the 1980’s. This makes each shift more of a sprint with the game being played at a much faster pace. With two
hundred pound athletes carrying an extra fifteen or so pounds of equipment flying around at high speed, collisions will happen and
players will get injured. Taking contact out of the game is an option that would definitely help to reduce concussions, but one that may
cause some initial fan backlash. As one sports’ reporter commented – “taking contact out of the NHL would be like the NFL going to
touch football”.
A few other options would be 1) to enforce Olympic rules with a 10 minute penalty for a hit from behind, an automatic misconduct
for headshots with a match penalty if the other player is injured. 2) Equipment changes – impact testing using redesigned shoulder
and elbow pads have produced very favourable results. 3) Consider transitioning to the international 200 x 100 ft. sized ice surface.
The extra 15 feet in width may not seem like very much, but the additional 3000 sq. feet of playing area may shift player focus from
finishing a check to not being caught out of position. Concussions have become a serious problem and the NHL needs to look at all
available options in addressing this issue.