Perhaps one of my most read article on this site is the one I wrote about the role of fighting in the NHL. I hypothesized that the reason for this was because people who might not follow hockey so closely (or even people who are avid fans of the game) want a better understanding of why our sport is so violent. So in that article I tried to bring some light to the matter of this controversial topic.
Well the debate continues.
Paul Kariya recently announced his retirement from the NHL. He played 15 NHL seasons and averaged EXACTLY a point a game (989 points in 989 games). He was one of the most respected players in the league. The perfect combination of speed, skill, leadership, and love for the sport. He won 2 Lady Byng Awards for displaying proper sportsmanship while competing at a high level of play, he was in the All Star Game 6 times and even won the Olympic Gold Medal with Canada in 2002. He was a fan favorite in the cities he played in (Anaheim, Colorado, Nashville, and St. Louis) and demonstrated his skill throughout his career.
Unfortunately, Paul Kariya's career was filled with dirty hits and cheap shots that left him concussed multiple times in his career. He even openly criticized the NHL about their discipline for these matters. He even had to sit out the 2010-2011 season because he wanted to rehabilitate from the concussion symptoms he had from this unnecessary dirty elbow from Buffalo's Patrick Kaleta. Doctors told him his brain function was down to 50 percent at the beginning of the year and that led to the decision to sit this year out. But at the end of the season, doctors told him it'd be best to retire completely from the game. "After two-and-a-half months, I saw a 40-50 per cent improvement, but the scans were still showing braining damage. After five months, I was up to 80 cent. As spring came around, and teams started calling, I went back to the doctor, but he said, ‘Paul, there’s just no way you can play again. You’re still too vulnerable to another concussion.’”
Kariya went on to explain how concussions are unique injury in the sense that there are no visible problems with the person. The player can very easily say "I feel fine and I want to play" and there'd be no way of knowing if he was really in good enough condition to play (as evident to Nathan Horton this past Stanley Cup Final game 7).
Now the NHL did make a rule change a few weeks ago. They changed the wording to a rule to try to make the game more safe. The rule now says “any hit resulting in contact with an opponent's head where the head is targeted and the principal point of contact is no longer permitted.”
But Kariya still isn't satisfied. Patrick Kaleta didn't even receive a suspension when he injured Kariya. “If you start at 10-game suspensions and go to 20, that sends a message to the players. But if you start fining the owners and suspending the coach, then it’s out of the game.”
To me Kariya is the perfect example of someone who has to work in the NHL office. He's been abused in the league for his size and has been on the wrong side of too many dirty hits (1998 from Gary Suter). And now he wants to change the game to make it more safe.
My fondest memory of Paul Kariya came in the 2003 Stanley Cup Finals when his Mighty Ducks of Anaheim were taking on my New Jersey Devils. In game 6 with his team facing elimination, Kariya was decked by Scott Stevens in a controversial hit (according to the rules nowadays, it was a legal-ish hit. While it was late, and Kariya didn't have the puck, the rule book states "the circumstances of the hit, including whether the opponent put himself in a vulnerable position immediately prior to or simultaneously with the hit or the head contact on an otherwise legal body check was unavoidable, can be considered." Kariya was tracking the puck after he passed it leaving him in a totally vulnerable state and he paid the price.). Well Kariya returned to the game after several minutes in the locker room and what he did can't be expressed in words.
Simply one of the most magical moments in hockey fully equipped with the memorable "OFF THE FLOOR! ON THE BOARD" call.
Well to sum it up, I would not be surprised if Kariya gets a job in the NHL offices to help deal with head shot issues. The NHL already has former NHL star Brendan Shanahan in the disciplinary committee and if Kariya joins him, a lot of good will be done for the league.
Hockey is already a dangerous sport. Hopefully Kariya will help make it less dangerous.
Well the debate continues.
Paul Kariya recently announced his retirement from the NHL. He played 15 NHL seasons and averaged EXACTLY a point a game (989 points in 989 games). He was one of the most respected players in the league. The perfect combination of speed, skill, leadership, and love for the sport. He won 2 Lady Byng Awards for displaying proper sportsmanship while competing at a high level of play, he was in the All Star Game 6 times and even won the Olympic Gold Medal with Canada in 2002. He was a fan favorite in the cities he played in (Anaheim, Colorado, Nashville, and St. Louis) and demonstrated his skill throughout his career.
Unfortunately, Paul Kariya's career was filled with dirty hits and cheap shots that left him concussed multiple times in his career. He even openly criticized the NHL about their discipline for these matters. He even had to sit out the 2010-2011 season because he wanted to rehabilitate from the concussion symptoms he had from this unnecessary dirty elbow from Buffalo's Patrick Kaleta. Doctors told him his brain function was down to 50 percent at the beginning of the year and that led to the decision to sit this year out. But at the end of the season, doctors told him it'd be best to retire completely from the game. "After two-and-a-half months, I saw a 40-50 per cent improvement, but the scans were still showing braining damage. After five months, I was up to 80 cent. As spring came around, and teams started calling, I went back to the doctor, but he said, ‘Paul, there’s just no way you can play again. You’re still too vulnerable to another concussion.’”
Kariya went on to explain how concussions are unique injury in the sense that there are no visible problems with the person. The player can very easily say "I feel fine and I want to play" and there'd be no way of knowing if he was really in good enough condition to play (as evident to Nathan Horton this past Stanley Cup Final game 7).
Now the NHL did make a rule change a few weeks ago. They changed the wording to a rule to try to make the game more safe. The rule now says “any hit resulting in contact with an opponent's head where the head is targeted and the principal point of contact is no longer permitted.”
But Kariya still isn't satisfied. Patrick Kaleta didn't even receive a suspension when he injured Kariya. “If you start at 10-game suspensions and go to 20, that sends a message to the players. But if you start fining the owners and suspending the coach, then it’s out of the game.”
To me Kariya is the perfect example of someone who has to work in the NHL office. He's been abused in the league for his size and has been on the wrong side of too many dirty hits (1998 from Gary Suter). And now he wants to change the game to make it more safe.
My fondest memory of Paul Kariya came in the 2003 Stanley Cup Finals when his Mighty Ducks of Anaheim were taking on my New Jersey Devils. In game 6 with his team facing elimination, Kariya was decked by Scott Stevens in a controversial hit (according to the rules nowadays, it was a legal-ish hit. While it was late, and Kariya didn't have the puck, the rule book states "the circumstances of the hit, including whether the opponent put himself in a vulnerable position immediately prior to or simultaneously with the hit or the head contact on an otherwise legal body check was unavoidable, can be considered." Kariya was tracking the puck after he passed it leaving him in a totally vulnerable state and he paid the price.). Well Kariya returned to the game after several minutes in the locker room and what he did can't be expressed in words.
Simply one of the most magical moments in hockey fully equipped with the memorable "OFF THE FLOOR! ON THE BOARD" call.
Well to sum it up, I would not be surprised if Kariya gets a job in the NHL offices to help deal with head shot issues. The NHL already has former NHL star Brendan Shanahan in the disciplinary committee and if Kariya joins him, a lot of good will be done for the league.
Hockey is already a dangerous sport. Hopefully Kariya will help make it less dangerous.
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