Realigning Hockey's Concussion Problem

Image by Getty Images via @daylifeThe National Hockey League's Board of Governors recently approved a plan that would reshuffle the deck as far as divisions are concerned, a move made necessary by the transfer of the Atlanta Thrashers to Winnipeg.  Going from six five-team divisions to four eight-team conferences starting next season (pending players' association approval), the intent is to develop more geographical rivalries by placing all (or most) of the teams in one region in the same group while reducing travel time.

Realigning the league is an easier task compared to making sure the men who play the games stay healthy.  Lately, there's been a surge of concern over the number of concussions athletes in all sports, no matter what the level, have been taking.  This is very true in hockey, where having a helmet on will not protect you from banging your head on the ice or another hard surface, or for putting up your dukes for no good reason.

The New York Times recently reported that Derek Boogaard, the former Minnesota Wild and New York Rangers player who died in May of an accidental drug overdose, was found during a post-death autopsy to have had chronic traumatic encephalopothy.  CTE is in direct relation to Alzheimer's disease.  Since Boogaard was primarily known during his NHL career as an enforcer, he got hit in the head a lot through punches exchanged with the other team's enforcer, not unlike a boxer.  Having CTE also meant that Boogaard would have suffered from a form of dementia had he lived.

Boogaard was not the only one.  Former NHL players Bob Probert, Reggie Fleming and Rick Martin were also found to have CTE.

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has said there's no conclusive link between concussions and CTE.  The league's best and most marketable player, Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins, recently returned to the ice after suffering a concussion almost a year ago.  If that's not a wake-up call, I'm not sure what is.

You can add more padding inside the rink and make better helmets, but that's not going to stop those who insist on turning hockey into demolition derby.  Or a poor man's imitation of a championship fight.  Fighting and checking into the boards has been ingrained in hockey's culture since who knows when.  Really?  The NHL claims the rough stuff sells tickets and drives TV ratings, not the pure skating found in international and Olympic hockey (which might as well be figure skating).  Since when?

I've been watching hockey for a long time, either in person or on TV.  I never cared for the brawlers or the cheap shot artists who turn an otherwise well-played game into a highlight reel that's more likely to make "Sportscenter" and the network news than the winning goal.  That's why players like Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin of the Washington Capitols and their style of hockey need to be emphasized more than the Boogaards of the world (no disrespect intended), if the NHL ever hopes to grow the sport in the U.S.  If they don't, then they're going to end up with a bigger problem down the road, as we find out more about the effects of too many head knockings.