Based on the controversial hit by Boston Bruins defenceman Zdeno Chara on Montreal Canadiens forward Max Pacioretty, the poll found that a whopping 85 percent of Canadians are aware of the hit, and 25 percent say they will change their viewing habits because of it.
“Fans are fed up and they are signalling that they will change the channel if substantive changes aren’t made,” says Jaime Watt, chair and senior partner of Navigator Ltd, the Toronto-based public relations firm that conducted the poll.
“[The poll] not only reflects disgust at what happened in Montreal but an accumulation of frustration that likely began when hockey’s biggest superstar Sidney Crosby was sidelined after a dangerous play.”
Pittsburgh Penguins captain Crosby has been off with a severe concussion since Jan. 5 after being driven into the boards by Lightning defenceman Victor Hedman. He had also taken a hard hit a few days earlier on Jan. 1.
Pacioretty sustained a concussion and a broken vertebra on March 8 when Chara rode him into a support post by the players’ bench, leaving him unconscious on the ice.
Montreal Canadiens fans were so upset by the NHL’s decision not to fine or suspend Chara that they organized a protest outside Montreal’s Bell Centre on March 15 where they signed petitions against hockey violence and denounced NHL commissioner Gary Bettman.
Although there was rivalry between the two players, Chara, who is not known for dirty play, said he never intended to hurt Pacioretty.
“I pushed him a little bit, he kind of leaned and jumped a little bit, and just hit the glass extension. It’s very unfortunate,” he told reporters after the game. “I always play hard, play physical, but I never try to hurt anybody. I hope he’s okay.”
With a steep rise on concussions this season, some as a result of accidental contact and others because of an illegal hit, the incident has renewed calls for an end to on-ice violence and aggression and for the NHL to impose stiffer penalties for fighting and headshots.
Even Prime Minister Stephen Harper, an avid hockey fan, has waded into the debate. He told reporters on March 10 that he is “very concerned about the growing number of very serious injuries, and in some cases to some of the premier players in the game.”
In the wake of Chara’s hit on Pacioretty, Air Canada, one of the NHL’s major financial backers, is threatening to withdraw its sponsorship over the rise in violence in the sport.
With the NHL under pressure to take action, the league’s general managers have come up with several new rules to address the issue of player safety, including some changes to how head injuries are handled.
Fans, however, remain concerned.
A recent Canadian Press-Harris Decima poll found that 72 percent of respondents say the rules to prevent head injuries in hockey are too lenient. On the heels of that poll, a survey conducted for Maclean’s magazine found that 80 percent favour a complete ban on headshots in hockey.
Emphasize Skill, Respect
Bernie Pascall, a veteran sportscaster and author of a report on hockey violence commissioned by the B.C. government, says automatic suspensions for hits to the head would go a long way toward curbing violence and the incidence of concussions.
“If there is a headshot there has to be a rule that that player is automatically suspended, regardless if it’s a minor penalty or a major penalty. I think the National Hockey League and the pro league in particular have to look at that seriously.”
With a suspension of five to 10 games for headshots, players would “soon get the message,” says Pascall, who spoke at a recent medical convention in London, Ont., that examined the rising incidence of concussions in hockey.
“It may take some of the big hits out of the game and some people will be upset with that. But hey, they’re not there to hit each other—to injure—they’re there to show us their skills, their passing, their puck control, their skating and shooting.”
Bigger ice surfaces that allow more free-wheeling, such as those in Europe, would also help, as today’s players are bigger and wear more hockey equipment but in many cases are still playing on the same-sized rinks as 50 years ago, he says.
But what’s really needed, Pascall adds, is to put the focus back on skill and reintroduce respect into the game, something that has become largely eroded since the golden era of the 1950s and ’60s, when players didn’t wear helmets or face protection.
“It results in injury where there’s not respect, and in many cases serious injury. So I think the main thing is to garner respect from all concerned, not just the players, but the management, the officials—everyone has to take responsibility.”
In Pascall’s report—one of only two government-commissioned reports ever conducted in Canada on hockey violence—hockey great Guy Lafleur echoed those sentiments.
“The biggest concern in hockey today is the lack of respect—the lack of respect between players, between the organizations and players, and vice versa. There needs to be a change in that direction. Sad things are happening on the ice. It shouldn’t be there. It all comes down to a lack of respect.”
