Devil May Care

Canadian major junior hockey player Patrice Cormier is in a spot Todd Bertuzzi can relate to. Maybe during Cormier’s suspension and Bettuzi’s off season, they can commiserate with each other about how the Commission was unfair to them.

Back in January, Cormier delivered a Pronger-worthy elbow to the skull of Mikael Tam of the Quebec Remparts that sent Tam into convulsions on the ice. The dude’s going to be okay, but how scary would it be to think that you might have permanent brain damage? (prithee, DON’T watch the clip)

NHL players even chimed in saying it was one of the worst hits they’ve ever seen and some even went so far as to comment that Tam didn’t have the puck, his head wasn’t down and Cormier was definitely going for a blatant head shot.

Cormier has been suspended ever since the hit and he will face sentencing in July, which could result in up to 18 months in prison as he has been convicted with assault causing injury.

When interviewed, teammates from the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies said Cormier wouldn’t intentionally injure another player and that the incident was merely unfortunate.

So, once again, we are drawn back into Bertuzzi-land. Where do we draw the line between a clean hit, a dirty hit or an accident? The Bertuzzi incident is a classic example because it was clearly a dirty hit, whereas a lot of Pronger elbows could be interpreted as accidents, depending on the context.

From there, we get into the armor issue. The Marines should be kitted out this well! As player protection becomes more and more sophisticated, it has encouraged the guys to hit each other harder, faster and more often. But when that hardware strikes an unprotected head, teeth will fly, blood will flow and brains will be bruised.

It’s an age old discussion. How much responsibility do players have for monitoring one another and deciding when retribution should be necessitated? When do the guys decide the on-ice officials aren’t doing their job and take matters into their own hands? Exactly when does the coach decide to release the Kraken?

**sigh** I know I’m preachin’ to the choir, but I’m getting tired of watching guys getting taken out on stretchers.

What’s the solution? Naked hockey! Well, not quite naked. The guys get helmets, skates, gloves and sticks. The goal tender gets a cup. Everyone else will be swinging in the wind. Let’s see how much checking goes on if there’s a chance their junk might touch.