I'm really hoping Ryan Clark and Aaron Portzline start using any and all of their connections with the NHL to start a discussion on this hits to the head issue. I understand that the rules make it a judgement call for the officials, but I seriously wonder what directives are being provided to them to help with the call. At this point, I believe they make the calls based upon the star value of the player involved. I mean, a guy is down, he is motionless or tries to get up and falls down. He is bleeding. He had something hit his head. What more is needed to stop the play and allow the player to get medical attention? I wouldn't mind if they created a rule that said if they blow the play dead while a team is in control in a scoring area, that we have a faceoff and only the team that had control of the puck is allowed to participate. Seriously....I would have much rather have Calvert given immediate medical attention and then go strait to a PK situation than have him lying on the ice and open to who knows what. I credit the Blue Jackets for being bewildered as to why the play wasn't blown dead and even after they realized it wasn't being blown down, they kept puck movement away from Calvert.
The players need to make this an issue in the next CBA. If someone gets hit in the head, the play must stop. It's life issue. Too many plays left open to the ref's interpretation are resulting in players missing games. f*** any goals that may be scored. They are swallowing whistles and it is putting lives in jeopardy. Don't get me wrong, Gary Bettman doesn't believe in head trauma being linked to on-going problems but pretty much everyone else in the world can see the correlation. The NHL has shown they don't give a shit about player health, it is time for both the NHLPA and the NHL Officials Association to put the onus on the NHL to make this stuff black and white.
Good for him.
