Real Hockey Fans Don't Drink Wine

And they don't much care about concussions either.

Sun Media’s Joe Warmington vents some vitriol over critics of the NHL’s decision not to suspend Zdeno Chara for his concussion-causing hit on Max Pacioretty. “[T]he whole story is nothing more than a sneak attack on hockey from the wine-sippers,” he writes. But Warmington fails to take note that what makes this latest horrific on-ice scene so pivotal is that it has prompted outcry from more than just the effete liberal media. Owners of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Montreal Canadiens, Pacioretty himself, and at least one player (who anonymously told reporters “I want to puke”) have voiced their disgust at the decision. The old defence that “real fans” know better doesn’t hold up this time.

And as the National Post’s Kelly McParland points out, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and many of the suits in charge of the league aren’t hockey fans themselves. “Bettman’s critics are encumbered by the fact they actually have some affection for hockey, as opposed to revenue figures and TV contracts,” McParland writes. Bettman’s dismissive statements yesterday seemed to confirm that he’s not worried about the game deteriorating into “Mixed Martial Arts on ice” as long as the money continues to flow in record amounts.

Sun Media’s Chris Stevenson applauds Canadiens’ owner Geoffrey Molson for speaking out against headshots, while the Globe and Mail editors give NHL sponsor Air Canada the thumbs up for doing the same. So that’s Canada’s national airline and one of its oldest beer-making families condemning the league entrusted with Canada’s game. Holy cats, the fate of the nation’s at stake, people!

The Post’s Chris Selley attempts to slam the door on suggestions, floated by Michael Ignatieff, that MPs might have to get involved to protect hockey players. “It's difficult to overstate just how terrible an idea that would be,” writes Selley. “Into that mess, the absolute last people we should want to insert are preening federal Canadian politicians.” He’s likely right but clearly the NHL needs to be prodded by some outside force to do something about headshots, and calling in the police every time someone gets concussed hardly seems an ideal solution either.