NHL network anaylst says Ladd's head blow worthy of suspension; will NHL act?

Not everyone is following the Blackhawks' script of tamping down the fiery subject. If the league's own network has their people calling for Ladd to get suspended, there is always a chance the league is actually listening. Hits can be made in all shapes and sizes. Maybe Ladd could have stopped D'Agostini without finishing his blow by leaving his skates.

Hackel adds that Berg's analyst partner, Mark Osborne, wasn't as critical of Ladd. Osborne called for more respect between opponents and wished that more players would discipline themselves by refraining from head-shot opportunitues.

Yeah, like that's a viable position to take. We have seen how smoothly the NHL Players Association is transitioning after its leadership coup. The continuous in-fighting is stripping the NHLPA of being an effective, united voice for all its membership.

A group of pot-smoking Cub Scouts, who only do cocaine on the weekend, would have a better opportunity of disciplining their unruly pack than the rudderless NHLPA.

And no one can be happier about that than the NHL, which has to enjoy seeing the NHLPA groping for respectability and groveling in a mire of their own making.

As long as league officials have no counter-balance to their authority, they are going to keep following the history of the league by being accountable to no one and deciding alone what actions should guide a sport where it has been a thin line between controlled, honest aggression and unsustainable, punk violence that sometimes results in needless injuries.

It should come as no surprise that Hawks GM Stan Bowman took no stand on the issue. Bowman prefers not to be straightforward in many of his statements, trained I guess to believe no firm opinion is a good opinion, certain to keep him out of the headlines.

While Bowman acknowledged to the Chicago media that the GMs should talk about head blows in an upcoming meeting, he couldn't share a single penetrating point about what should be done to either address the epidemic or speak in favor of the status quo. Bowman won't be much of a factor as GMs probably reiterate their stand from last year and decide again that there's no reason to limit the physical side of the game.

While they don't encourage shoulder hits to the head, the GMs as a group don't discourage them, either. They are essentially doing what Osborne counsels, letting the players run the discipline and that's why head hits have not subsided in the least and have led to a rash of injuries early this season.

But most GMs are likely to agree with the august Don Cherry's succinct view of the matter on CBC's Hockey Night in Canada: "That's hockey...If you want to change the rule, take hitting out of the game, OK."

Bowman could take some speaking lessons from Cherry and be a more entertaining GM.

The physical nature of hockey is one of its compelling attractions to its audience. But no one wants to see injuries deplete the game of some of its most talented stars. The league has to come to an understanding on this matter in my opinion and enforce a stricter rule.

But will they? Can they? Do they really want to?

Hackel points out that a memo posted in NHL locker rooms a year ago by NHL disciplinarian Colin Campbell has proved worthless.

"We cannot and will not tolerate blows to the head that are deliberate, avoidable and illegal," Campbell wrote. "The length of suspensions for illegal blows to the head will be increased if these incidents persist across the League. Taking steps to maintain the safest on-ice environment possible for the players remains our most important priority."

Blah, blah, blah, Colin. How's that working out for you?