Canucks D Aaron Rome’s hit on Bruins RW Nathan Horton during Monday’s Game Three of the Stanley Cup Final and the punishment for it “raised questions about violence in the sport, about whether the NHL can leave some of the fights and bone-jarring hits behind,” according to a front-page piece in today's BOSTON GLOBE by Shira Springer, who writes under the header, “Hockey’s Black Eye.” The NHL “entertains and attracts fans as much with its fast, skilled players as with physical play that sometimes crosses the line.” Rome’s hit “crossed that line, according to the NHL, and the season is over for both players.” The NHL “suspended Rome for four games, covering the remainder of the series,” while Horton “will miss the remainder of the series” due to a concussion. Springer notes Canucks LW Alex Burrows “bit Bruin Patrice Bergeron’s finger in Game 1 but he was not suspended,” and the “inconsistency of punishment meted out by the NHL … sends mixed messages about what crosses the line” (BOSTON GLOBE, 6/8). Also in Boston, Christopher Gasper writes the “line between entertaining and endangering is getting as muddled as the minds of those who have fallen prey to hits to the head that have left them unable to play.” Gasper: “If losing the game’s biggest star, Sidney Crosby, for half the season to a severe concussion wasn’t a signal to the NHL’s tastemakers and players that they need to make some alterations to the fabric of the game, then perhaps having a riveting and compelling Stanley Cup Final taking a back seat to another brain-rattling blow should be” (BOSTON GLOBE, 6/8).
ATTEMPT TO CUT DOWN ON CHIPPINESS: NHL Senior VP/Hockey Operations Mike Murphy yesterday indicated that the “taunting and chippiness that has marked this series," which has included several players sticking their fingers near the mouths of their opponents in reference to Burrows biting Bergeron, was "garbage.” Murphy: “I will be speaking with both general managers and coaches before the day is over about what we are seeing, the garbage that is going on.” In N.Y., Jeff Klein notes Murphy is “in charge of discipline for this series because the league’s chief disciplinarian, Colin Campbell, has recused himself.” Campbell is the father of Bruins C Gregory Campbell (N.Y. TIMES, 6/8). In L.A., Helene Elliott writes anyone “looking to Mike Murphy to save the NHL’s integrity while punishing” Rome for the hit “got a mixed message” (L.A. TIMES, 6/8). SI.com’s Stu Hackel wrote, “After letting this stuff build up, you have to wonder if even the four-game suspension to Aaron Rome will tame this angry Stanley Cup Final” (SI.com, 6/7). Murphy yesterday said the suspension was for “the lateness (of the hit) combined with the injury.” But in N.Y., Jesse Spector writes the NHL “must be proactive rather than reactive.” The suspension “sent the message that plays like the one Rome made are not acceptable,” but it “came with the canard that maybe it’s not so bad, as long as the other guy is able to get up and dust himself off” (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 6/8). L.A. Times columnist Bill Plaschke wondered, “Where is Gary Bettman in all of this? If you have any kind of controversy in any other big sport, you see Bud (Selig) out there, you see (Roger) Goodell out there. Where’s Bettman? I haven’t heard from him, seen him” (“Around The Horn,” ESPN, 6/7).
WELL HANDLED: ESPN.com’s Scott Burnside wrote under the header, “Finally, NHL Clear On A Tough Decision.” Burnside: “For one day, at least, the NHL gave us a shining example of how the process should work: clear, concise and transparent; one person making a difficult but ultimately just decision” (ESPN.com, 6/7). The GLOBE & MAIL’s Rory MacGregor wrote under the header, “Rome Hit Wakes Up The NHL: In Punishing Canuck, League Finally Displays Awareness Of Growing Public Revulsion At Head Shots” (GLOBE & MAIL, 6/8). However, THE HOCKEY NEWS’ Ken Campbell wrote, “Some will see this suspension as a portent of things to come from the NHL, but the reality is that if there was any doubt the NHL absolutely needs some sort of standard for supplementary discipline, it was completely put to rest when Murphy came down with his sentence” (THEHOCKEYNEWS.com, 6/7).
A FINE LINE: ESPN's Tony Kornheiser wondered if the Cup Final was "about to get out of hand or ... about to get great" amid the hits and antagonistic actions. ESPN’s Michael Wilbon said, “Both, and I think out of hand is part of what makes for a great Stanley Cup series when you have physicality and the threat of violence. ... But I also think the league took some necessary steps here to sort of keep it from escalating too far out of hand.” Wilbon added, "At some point you want to concentrate on two really good teams being out there. And this is your showcase product. You don’t want all the attention to be on sideshow stupidity. You want to get back to hockey” (“PTI,” ESPN, 6/7).
