Cannon Firing Line
What If It Had Been Mario?
By Ellis G. Cannon
PSR Publisher

"Does somebody have to die before tears are shed?"
Red Fisher
Montreal Gazette, 4.26.02

To be succinct, the answer is yes.

Sad as it may be, the recent assault and battery committed by Kyle McLaren of the Boston Bruins against the Montreal Canadiens' Richard Zednik only offers further proof that the scenario raised by Fisher is that much closer to reality.

It's going to happen.

While misplaced intent and emotion may be at the root of such violence, pure physics will also play a role. With NHL players so big and skating at increasingly high speeds in a space that small, it's only a matter of time.

However, what transpired in Montreal had less to do with physics as it did the sport's little black secret: a perverted interpretation of "playoff hockey."

Make no mistake, playoff hockey is a great spectacle. It encompasses the tension and excitement befitting what is the most difficult championship in sports to win. Its essence, however, is best defined by the sport played at its highest level, not tolerance of its most base.

This time around, the victim was Zednik, who was decked with enough ferocity to cause injuries usually reserved for fairly high impact car accidents. They reportedly ranged from broken bones to a severe concussion. The end result was intensive care.

That Zednik was the best player on the ice for Montreal at the time of the incident, of course, was pure coincidence. Sure. And the fact he was nearly beheaded with 1:17 left in a three goal game? Play to the buzzer, man. Right.

McLaren's conduct was perhaps the most blatant example of hockey's abuse of discretion when it comes to the playoffs, but no less disgusting than that his Toronto Maple Leaf brethren delivered in their first round series with the New York Islanders. It was in that action that the Islanders lost two of their better players, one with a concussion and another with a serious knee injury.

Of course, all of these injuries, not to mention those that have occurred in the past and are undoubtedly on the horizon, are accepted by many as part of the grind associated with playoff competition. To others, they smack of houliganism.

While Fisher's views were rejected by many as being emotionally inspired, particularly in light of his assessment that McLaren's elbow to Zednik's face amounted to the "mother of all cheap shots", they cannot be dismissed. Fisher has been on the hockey scene since animals named Rex roamed. He's in the Hockey Hall of Fame, for goodness sakes. Yeah, he may have been upset by what he had just witnessed, but his body of work suggests he should be listened to rather than rejected in a sea of cliches.

For instance, another justification for McLaren's behavior is that Zednik was guilty of "skating with his head down". You hear that excuse each spring when this type of misconduct goes on. The reasoning is that one is entitled to deliver a vicious shot, and the victim deserving of it, because he happened to be glancing at the proximity between his stick and the puck at the time of impact.

Look, everyone skates with their head down at some point or another. If that's enough of a reason to preserve the creeping acceptance of this behavior, then this league's in worse shape than some of us thought. It's funny, too, that so many of the voices telling you this type of play is part of the game also speak so glowingly about their affection for Olympic hockey.

Can't have it both ways, fellas.

Many in the cliche camp also suggest that this is not the most reprehensible conduct in the NHL. Rather, they claim, it's the long-lamented style of clutching and grabbing which previews the end of the sport. Watching tapes of Edmonton and Pittsburgh games a few years ago certainly is enough to make one yearn for a more free-flowing game, no doubt. But a game premised on systems and cookie-cutter play is just the way it is now. Every sport goes through cycles; the one we're currently in, for a variety of reasons, is not the most exciting. High tempo hockey will come back, but for now it is what it is.

On the other hand, the assaults and/or batteries on the playoffs' high-profile stage, and the wink-wink approach taken to them, do even more damage to the game. Some will have you believe that certain fans want to see this type of thing, but then again, there are people who show up at the Indy 500 waiting to see a wreck, too, and that doesn't make them worthy of much.

The NHL continues to struggle in the PR game and based on the divided opinion about the seriousness of McLaren's behavior, that's not likely to change soon. As long as the traditionalists and cliche clique rule the hockey world, you can forget about taking steps to eliminating this stuff. Heck, think how long it took to control fighting.

And, as long as that viewpoint prevails, the sport will remain on the edge, a bit above a cult sport which many of us love but cannot seem to get the mainstream to accept. Rest assured, when a league official meets with the television networks and tries selling the virtues of the sport, he's had to face video of dirty plays that result in blown up knees and severe brain trauma. The hockey man wants to grow the sport; the network wants to buy cheap. Like it or not, those types of plays don't sell well to those who aren't as emotionally attached to the sport, and they are the ones the sport needs to grow the sport necessary to sustain it. Until then, casual fans remain casual and networks buy the rights to the product at their number.

If you don't agree try having this conversation with one of those persons described above. Or maybe a five year old kid. Try explaining to them how virtuous all this is. It's a tough sell.

Oh, one more thing. Consider how you would have reacted if you actually cared about the player/victim. Think how you would have reacted if that player was Mario Lemieux. Do you think the reaction, particularly here, would have been met with "that's playoff hockey" or cries for a congressional investigation? Would you have accepted that Mario "deserved" it because he glanced at the puck, or do you think there would have been a riot?

You know the answer, as do I, but strong reaction should not be reserved for cheap shots on Mario. It needs to be part of the discourse no matter who the player is to maintain any semblance of credibility. Barring that, it will be more of the same old school and we'll be that much closer to Red's doomsday scenario.

When that happens, we'll see how useful those silly little cliches are then.

Ellis Cannon hosts "The Pittsburgh Sports Report with Ellis Cannon", 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., Saturdays and Sundays, on Pittsburgh's ESPN Radio 1250. He is also publisher of the Pittsburgh Sports Report and a regular panelist on KDKA-TV's "#1 Cochran Sports Showdown" aired Sundays at 11:35 p.m.