Cheap Shots

In case you haven't seen it yet here is a video of Patrice Cormier absolutely destroying Mikael Tam during a game on January 17th

The hit has started a heated debate about cheap shots in hockey and what is to be done about them. On one side are the people who argue that it is all part of the game and there is nothing that can be done because there will always be cheap shots. On the other side are the people who feel like Cormier should face a severe punishment from the league and should also face legal consequences as well.

Countless people have given their opinion on what should be done and how the league can crack down on hits like this but in the end there is only 1 way to stop cheap shots like this, keep your head up and pay attention.

99% of cheap shots in hockey occur when one player has their head down and isn't paying attention. Remember when Paul Kariya got lit up by Scott Stevens, head down. Or more recently when Zach Kassian laid out Matt Kennedy with a massive hit, not paying attention.

Parise Breaks Rule #1

Matt Stajan Getting Owned (head down)

Stajan Doesn't Learn His Lesson

Scott Stevens on Lindros (head down in the trolley tracks)

Here is Steve Downie Killing Dean McAmmond (notice how McAmmond watches his pass instead of paying attention to his surroundings).

Ask Eric Lindros, if you skate with your head down you are going to get killed. It is a simple truth.

When playing minor hockey one of the first lessons kids are taught is to always keep your head up and always be alert when you're on the ice. Well it seems like some of these kids never learned that lesson or maybe chose to ignore it because too often in hockey games today I see guys skating around with their heads down.

Should the coaches be blamed? Partially, but the main culprit is the NHL.

In an effort to try and make the game more exciting a bunch of new rule changes were implemented which opened up the ice and gave players more freedom to skate without worry of being interfered with. This initiative was spearheaded by Comissioner Gary Bettman in an attempt to make the game more appealing to Americans.

What has resulted is that now players feel like they can't be touched when they have the puck so they don't need to worry about the other guys on the ice. The end result is a bunch of smaller guys flying around the ice trying to deke the whole team with their heads down. This more often than not results in cheap shots because players take it upon themselves to hit guys who aren't paying attention.

By no means I am condoning this sort of play and my feelings don't apply to guys who hit from behind, go for the knees, or use their stick as a weapon. Those guys need to be dealt with because they are intending to injure someone. These other guys like Cormier and Kassian are just playing physical hockey and imposing their will on the other team by laying out morons who don't follow rule #1.

Now a message to all of those softies out there who cry, "if a guy has his head down you shouldn't hit him." Go play tennis or maybe try knitting. Hockey is a contact sports. Let me say that again so you fully understand me. Hockey is a contact sports. This means guys hit one another during the course of a game because it is part of the game.

When I played football in high school one of the guys on my own team would always hit me from behind during practice because I would stop and watch the play instead of actually being involved in the play. At first I would get real pissed off because we were on the same team but after getting laid out 3 or 4 times I got the message and it never happened again. Play until the whistle blows and always be alert, lessons for life right there.

Hockey is a fast paced game and if you don't always have your head in the game bad things can happen. It is a sport that is played at blinding speed by a bunch of mammoth men who have knives on their feet and sticks in their hands. If you step onto that sheet of ice and think for 1 second that you are invincible or that you won't get hit then you are an idiot.

You know the best way to stop cheap shots from happening? More cheap shots. Do you think Phil Kessel is going to try and skate through a whole team with his head down anymore after seeing what will happen to him? Hockey players may be stereotyped a morons but no one could watch the hits that have been doled out lately and not learned a lesson.

As for people saying that legal action should be taken against these guys they need to smarten up. It's hockey, that is just the way the game is played. Always has been and always will. Now if a guy hits another player with his stick well then that is a different story. That becomes assault with a weapon and intent to injure. There is no place for things like that in sports and legal action should be taken in those extremely rare cases. In terms of a guy leaving his feet to ring someones bell there is a system in place for dealing with that, it's called 2 minutes for charging.

No doubt Patrice Cormier will get a harsh sentence from the QMJHL due to the extraordinary amount of pressure the league is under from the media. I understand that they have to do something to appease the masses and Cormier will probably be made an example of but I don't really feel like there should be any consequences.

In the end the players will police themselves, as they have always done, and the game will continue as it is. Guys like Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin will never be touched much like Joe Sakic and Steve Yzerman before them had free passes but as for everyone else it is simple, keep your head up and be alert.

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