If you’re a hockey fan and you live in the 21st century, there is no doubt you have heard what Mario Lemieux of the Pittsburgh Penguins had to say to the National Hockey League concerning the circus that was last Friday’s game in Long Island. While Mario has many valid points that I would make, he missed the bigger picture. No, I’m not just talking about employing Matt Cooke; I’m talking about a lesson that should have been learned seven years ago.
When the New York Islanders stepped on the ice last Friday they were hungry for blood. Their actions were bad for hockey. I cannot condone what they did, but I certainly understand why they did it and knew that it was coming. As I am neither a Penguins fan nor an Islanders fan, I didn’t watch the game. I was in Chicago for the Chicago Pucks Cancer event watching the Hawks blow a lead and lose in a shootout while eating deep dish pizza at Pequod’s for the first time ever. Oblivious to the situation at hand, upon hearing the whole story I was not shocked or outraged at the players; this game was something bigger than that, something even Mario couldn’t see.
Back before the lockout my faith in hockey, the league, and humanity in general was forever shaken. Seven years ago, on February 16, 2004 Steve Moore of the Colorado Avalanche made a legal, but dirty, check on Canucks Captain Markus Naslund. Many Avs fans criticize me for this, but I’ve watched the play time and time again. I cannot condone when my team makes dirty plays, I cannot stand by and criticize cheap shots yet refuse to place my own team under the same microscope, if not a harsher one. The hit was dirty; Moore repositioned himself to clip Naslund in the head. For me, there is no ‘He saw it coming’ or ‘That’s hockey tough sh*t’. To me, you can make excuses or you can expect integrity. You cannot expect clean play if you refuse to look in your own house. While Moore did something that was legally allowed, the same Avalanche fans that defend him will attack Matt Cooke’s hit on Marc Savard or Mike Richards hit on David Booth. This does not work folks. They’re either all dirty or all clean. And in my opinion, they’re all dirty. The NHL did not suspend Steve Moore for his dirty but legal hit, and the Vancouver Canucks made it known they would seek revenge. Gary Bettman and Colin Campbell attended the next game at the Pepsi Center and nothing happened, therefore they didn’t attend the following game in Vancouver. On March 8, 2004 the game got out of hand. The refs did the best they could but the Canucks would not stop fighting, headhunting, etc. Many Canucks fans tell me that Tony Granato is to blame, that he shouldn’t have left Moore on the ice in the final minutes given the game. I honestly do not believe Granato, or anyone for that matter, believed what transpired next would happen. The sucker punch Bertuzzi threw driving Steve Moore’s head into the ice before fracturing in three places ending his hockey career and almost killing him is a dark day in hockey history. As a fan I wanted Bertuzzi banned, I loathed him, and held onto my hatred for him until last year, when I finally started to come back to hockey. It took me over six years to realize it wasn’t Bertuzzi’s fault, that this incident was an undetected symptom that was plaguing the NHL: Lack of respect. Not just amongst the players, but the coaches, the GMs, and the owners. Back then Coach Marc Crawford asked his players to take out key Avalanche players to avenge the hit on Naslund, Brian Burke had harsh words for Moore and Brad May put a bounty on Moore’s head. How is it not Bertuzzi’s fault? Well, when the environment you work in fosters this kind of hate and disrespect of other players, it’s not hard to lose perspective. Bertuzzi was the unfortunate player who snapped; fueled by anger and adrenaline he made a mistake that will haunt him forever. Do I condone what Bertuzzi did? NEVER. Do I finally understand it and realize why he did it? You better believe it.
What happened almost seven years ago happened again last Friday. The league refused to take action against a club that employs a habitually dirty player. The previous game when the Penguins had a few questionable plays but were not reprimanded for them the Islanders did what the Canucks did. They took matters into their own hands because the league is refusing to protect its players. Did they do something atrocious? Yes. Was it despicable? Hell yes. Was it completely their fault? No.
Until the NHL decides to actively protect their players they will be faced with revenge games like this. My frustration with Mario Lemieux is that he’s refusing to clean out his own house, take the blame for his players being catalysts for this revenge game as well. He has the power to ensure hockey on his side of the fence isn’t dirty. When Bylsma and Cooke blamed the victim it showed me the true colors of the Penguins organization, and it’s something I was honestly surprised to see. As for Shero, the reason your team has so many fighting penalties? Guys around the league are sick of Matt Cooke’s antics and even more frustrated about the league refusing to penalize him. I wish that game never happened, but I honestly can’t say I wasn’t expecting it.
