Checking from Behind Must be Stopped

I know what you're thinking:  Kind of cliché to say that checking from behind has to be stopped.  I agree.  But part of me feels that the NHL does not do enough to cast aside this dangerous act.

According to Rule 44.1 of the Official NHL Rulebook, “A check from behind is a check delivered on a player who is not aware of the impending hit, therefore unable to protect or defend himself, and contact is made on the back part of the body. When a player intentionally turns his body to create contact with his back, no penalty shall be assessed.”  Pretty cut and dry.  So why is there still such a problem in today's NHL?

The easy answer is that players get too involved in the game and that they get carried away, forgetting the consequences of their actions.  But I feel it goes deeper than that.  The fines and suspensions are just not harsh enough.  Some players have seen three or four games and a fine, but these reactions by the NHL just may not be what it's going to take to thwart this problem.

Don't get me wrong; I am one of those guys that jumps out of his seat when he sees a monster hit or a big fight.  Hitting is a part of the game that needs to stay in order to stay interesting and entertaining.  But hitting someone from behind is cheap and unneeded in today's game.  If you want to deliver a big hit or crunch someone into the boards, do it clean.  Dion Phaneuf is a great guy to model after.  His hits are bone-crushing, yet shoulder to face or hip-to-hip.  Very rarely will you see Phaneuf hit someone's front side into the boards.

But Ryan Hollweg is someone that will never be a poster-boy for hitting.  After numerous suspensions, the 5'11” forward has not seen any interest from any of the 30 NHL clubs for his bogus and shoddy hitting techniques.  Hollweg, currently spending time with the San Antonio Rampage of the AHL, is not a stranger to hitting from behind.  Just last year, Hollweg saw a three-game suspension for his questionable hit on young Blues defenseman Alex Pietrangelo.  After gathering the puck up in front of his net, Pietrangelo went into the corner with some speed and threw the biscuit up the boards and out of the zone.  With his back turned, Hollweg came in full steam and nailed Pietrangelo, sending him to the ice and the IR for the next 6 games with head and neck injuries.  Hollweg received a 5-minute major for the hit, along with a 3-game suspension. 

Obviously, having this be the fourth time that Hollweg was suspended, this slap on the wrist is simply not working for the tough guy.  The best way to stop this atrocious style of play could possibly be to lengthen the suspensions.  If Hollweg gets suspended for 15 games without pay, he will think twice about stuffing someone into the boards the way that he has been known to do. 

Another problem with the way that suspensions are handed out is that the NHL takes into consideration if the victim of the play was seriously hurt or not.  While this affects a team's lineup in many ways, the injury should not dictate how long a player is suspended or how much he is fined.

The best example of this happened Tuesday night.  The Atlanta Thrashers and Montreal Canadiens were in a real battle all game, sending the game to overtime with a 1-1 tie.  Scott Gomez and Brian Gionta of Montreal kept swarming the Atlanta zone, until a very unfortunate play occurred.  An Atlanta player cleared the puck from the front of the crease and Gomez pounced on it on the far boards.  As he was digging to throw the puck behind the net, veteran Vyacheslav Kozlov followed him and maliciously threw Gomez's body into the boards, causing an immediate whistle from referee Eric Furlatt.  As Kozlov tumbled on top of Gomez, the Canadien laid on the ice.  After a few seconds, he ripped his gloves off and started punching Kozlov for payback to the hit.  Kozlov received a 5-minute major for checking from behind and a game misconduct, while Gomez was assessed a 2-minute roughing penalty. 

Gomez got his licks in on his culprit, but that should not be enough.  Just because Gomez was okay after the hit and was able to participate in the shootout (which ended up being one of two Montreal goals to win the game 2-1), should not be a factor when figuring Kozlov's punishment from the league.  The expected punishment for Kozlov will be a 1 game suspension without pay and a possible $5,000 fine. 

Does that seem like enough?  NHL players are paid in the millions nowadays (Kozlov alone makes $3.66 million this season), so $5,000 is not that much money.  Even though Kozlov is not considered a cheap-shot artist by any means, would suspending him 10 games and fining him a higher amount not set an example for all the players that make a living by delivering cheap hits? 

It is hard to say whether longer suspensions or stingier fines would eliminate the problem or just hush it for a season or two.  But one thing is certain; something must be done to calm these hits. 

But Ryan Hollweg and Chris Simon are not in the league anymore.  I guess that is one step in getting rid of cheap hits.