Hockey Newsletter - Mar. 16, 2000
NHL's eyes wide shut?
The most surprising thing is that it doesn't happen more often. Bryan Berard's tragic eye injury reminds us that the game of hockey is a delicate balance of speed, skill and luck. Or lack of it. And that in a blink of an eye, a career can end. The play that brought Berard down in a pool of blood wasn't extraordinary. In fact, it was a routine play where a player takes a swipe at the puck while in enemy territory. Marian Hossa did not pull a McSorley.
Already the debate has started again about mandatory visors, and not the half-shields either. The NHL forced helmets into the league 20 years ago, though when players don't tighten their chin straps, what good are they? Will the NHL and the NHLPA rethink the visor situation? We hope so. As Berard's eye specialist, Dr. Rob Devenyi, said, there has never been one case of an eye injury when a full visor is used.
Remember earlier in the season after Trent McLeary almost died when a puck hit his neck? At that time the league said "we can't have the players out there in armour." Well, maybe we should.
CTVSportsnet.com's Steve Milton thinks the NHL and the NHLPA should make some changes to protect the players in this faster, bigger hockey league:
"From the beginning, players understand they are accepting a certain amount of risk when they contract to play for money. The game is too fast, the money too great, the pressure too intense, the travel too debilitating, the players too big, the puck too hard, for injuries not be an everyday fact of life. But no one has ever agreed, inherently or otherwise, to the loss of an eye. To a lifetime of searing headaches. To being bushwhacked from behind."
Read more at:
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Day traders
Okay everyone, take a valium. The trade deadline came and went (yawn.) It was a little anti-climactic because the biggest deals happened earlier in the week: Bourque to the Avs, Gilmour and Gratton to Buffalo. Which isn't to say nothing happened on Tuesday. There were a couple of deals of some significance, one that may end speculation of who will win the east, and another that leaves Sens fans scratching their heads. The Devils picked up Alex "the Enigma" Mogilny and sent under-used Brendan Morrison to the Canucks. It's a good trade for both teams. Imagine, the trapmaster Devils with a pure goal scorer in the lineup! And Morrison is going to be a great player some day. He'll get a chance to play every day, and at least for a short while, he'll learn from one of the best in the game, Mark Messier. The other deal of note of course was the Tugnutt for Barrasso deal. Huh? No, we don't get it either. When news came out about a big deal in Ottawa, we thought "they're finally unloading that deadbeat Yashin." Nope. Ron Tugnutt. For an often moody, self-absorbed Barrasso. Oh ya, and they threw in Janne Laukkanen as well! Barrasso has won 2 Cups. We suppose that's why the deal was done, but honestly, we can't begin to analyze this trade, because we just don't get it!
For a review of all the trades, visit:
(retired link)
Who's hot...
* Colorado Avalanche. They haven't been healthy all year, until now. They haven't had a team leader on the blueline, until now. Colorado is 4-0 since a March 6 trade brought Bourque to Colorado from Boston. So maybe our poo-pooing Raymond's move was a little premature. Looks like the Blues and the Wings WILL have to take the Avs seriously afterall.
Who's not...
* As much as we hate to, we have to put the Montreal Canadiens back in the CTVSportsnet.com doghouse. But when you beat the odds and fight your way back into a playoff position, you CAN'T lose to teams like Boston and Tampa Bay. And yes, insult to injury, Koivu and Linden are out AGAIN... both for the remainder of the season, but this is the big time, kids, and we play no favourites!
In the corners
A little Classics lesson now in honour of poor Saku Koivu, who missed 40 games with a shoulder injury, only to come back and tear the MCL in his left knee, ending his season. Something from the ancient Greeks:
The Greek hero Atlas was condemned "To bear on his back forever The cruel strength of the crushing world And the vault of the sky. Upon his shoulders the great pillar That holds apart the earth and heaven, A load not easy to be borne."
Here are some NHL soldiers who are down and out with shoulder injuries:
Guy Hebert
Gord Murphy
John Grahame
Michael Peca
Cory Stillman
Aaron Ward
Viktor Kozlov
Eric Fichaud
Tom Chorske
Richard Persson
Tyrone Nash
Jan Bulis