It was a bit of a cheap shot, but not an illegal hit. The new rookie was clearly over-enthused and wanted to make an impact, and despite there being a small gap for a hit, I think he overextended it a bit on a head-hunting mission. And he *was* head-hunting, and the fact that it was Naslund surely did have something to do with it. What better way to make an impression on your new teammates than by knocking out the other teams star player? If anything, this isn't a good case to "protect star players" as much as it is a good case for the removal of the instigator rule. That stuff should have been taken care of on the ice.
Kariya, not only didn't miss a game, he came back and scored a beaut. I know most ESPN watchers have been unable to avoid knowing about 'The Season' episode dealing with the Avalanche, but I wanted to give it a double thumbs up. Didn't see the hit, but it seems from the general reaction it wasn't the cleanest of collisions. But, Crawford can shove it. That's what I hate about the NBA: star players getting borderline calls for, and then not getting obvious calls against. It's so bad they bitch and moan because they expect a call to go their way...too often, imo...at least that's the way it was the last time I watched a game. Agreed, let the players handle the justice end of things.
naslund doesn't think the hit was dirty. im a big canucks fan, i dont think it was dirty. it was cheap tho. and big stars shouldnt face this. lose the instigator rule, nhl. say what you will, gretzky might have been hit once or twice or more in his career, but guys like semenko made sure it didnt happen too often.
In a dirty economic argument, the stars do need more protection because generally fans want to see the stars. Jason Doig and Steve Moore or Eric Lindros and Markus Naslund? A player can have x concussions: Geoff Courtnall, Pat Lafontaine, Mike Richter had to quit after a few. Lindros and Roenick have cheated the numbers, but it catches up. Naslund's career is closer to the end because of the concussion. And arguably the star players are targeted more than are fringe players. But you're right, all the players should be equally protected.
