BLUE JACKETS
NHL cleans up its act thanks to crackdown on dirty hits
Thursday, April 06, 2006
Michael Arace
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
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Toronto forward Darcy Tucker and Nashville defenseman Brendan Witt applied knee-on-knee hits within hours of one another in two different games Monday night. Tucker’s hit, on Sabres forward Jochen Hecht, caused a firestorm of controversy, Witt’s hit, a wee tempest. It’s a tale of two knees.
There are a number of reasons why the two allegedly dirty hits were perceived differently. Among the reasons is this: Tucker is prone to agitation and has a reputation for stretching the definition of "clean." Witt, on the other hand, is known as being physical but not dirty.
Witt’s victim, Blue Jackets right winger David Vyborny, suffered a charley horse. He was back on the ice practicing yesterday. He’s lucky. Dirty hits have long had a damaging impact on the league. For its part, the league has made a concerted effort to crack down on knee-on-knee hits, low hip checks and the like. It came out of the lockout looking to drastically scale back clutching and grabbing, as well as slashing and cross-checking, their darker partners in close quarters.
Even in light of recent events, the Blue Jackets say the crackdown has had an impact.
"Back in the old days, Bryan Marchment and those guys were coming at you with their knees," left winger Jason Chimera said. "And (the referees) let a lot of stuff go with the slashes and stuff. Last game, we saw a cheap shot (by Witt), but you don’t see too much of that stuff anymore."
The likes of Edmonton Oilers defenseman Chris Pronger, who once went into corners to remove spleens from smaller forwards, has admitted he has had to change his game.
"I think it has been a lot cleaner," said left winger Rick Nash, who still counts Pronger among the toughest to play against.
"Everything, not just the kneeing, but the punches to the head, the cross-checks, things like that — it’s different," Nash said. "It’s not that it’s not there, it’s just a lot less. The whole game is much better."
Are there any players out there who are looking to intentionally injure an opponent? Left winger Jody Shelley had a representative answer.
"I think there are points where some guys boil over and they respond in every which way," Shelley said. "(Darius) Kasparaitis, not to name names, but he has got that streak in him. You know who else? That defenseman in Nashville, (Danny) Markov. I don’t know if it’s temper or what, but certain things happen and then they don’t care."
Kasparaitis, a veteran defenseman with the New York Rangers, has a low center of gravity and likes to use it to apply hip-on-knee checks. Anaheim Mighty Ducks defenseman Ruslan Salei could also paint a few knees on his helmet, if he were wont. Vancouver forward Jarkko Ruutu is known for seeking out vulnerable players for hits. That’s just naming a few who have a reputation for, well, disregarding safety.
"I’m not going to name any names, but there are definitely guys who go out to hit guys, who try to hurt," defenseman Duvie Westcott said. "I don’t know if those guys intend to injure . . . they’re just going to throw whatever they can at you. They’re not going to hit you clean, they’re going to throw a knee at you, they’re going to hit you low, it’s just their style. They’re dirty players."
There is something of a code regarding hitting, which center Manny Malhotra summarized.
"When a player is vulnerable near the boards, is the hit dirty? Yeah," Malhotra said. "When a player’s back is to you, is it dirty? Yeah. But open ice, it’s sort of fair game."
Once a week, somewhere in the league, there’s an open-ice hit like the one San Jose Sharks defenseman Kyle McLaren applied hip-on-chest to right winger Trevor ("I thought I was dead") Letowski earlier this season. But they are few and far between.
"At this level, it’s hard to get open-ice hits," defenseman Adam Foote said. "Guys are too good, too fast, too shifty. The chances of you catching them real good compared to them getting a good offensive chance — it’s not a good (gamble)."
In a league that seems to be cleaning up, one slash at a time, the open-ice hit is an even holier grail, clean and terrible as it is.
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I'm glad I'm not the only one wondering!
:cheers:
he should be ready to center the second line next year
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I see it now. 
