Bobby Orr Says Hockey Has Become 'Too Dangerous' And Needs To Slow Down
By Matt Dolloff, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- The NHL implemented some radical rule changes after the 2004-05 lockout aimed at increasing scoring. While they may have improved the pace of games, scoring has not only NOT increased but gradually declined in the decade since the changes took place. And according to Bobby Orr, it's also made the game less safe.
The hockey legend spoke out about the NHL's issues with player safety with Gino Reda of TSN, pointing mainly to the removal of the red line as the rule change that made the modern NHL game too fast and even more dangerous for player safety than before the lockout.
"I think the center line, with the size of our players and the speed of our players, we're shooting the puck from the goal line to the other blue line, and guys are going through the middle looking back for the passes, I think our game has become more dangerous," Orr said.
No. 4 is referring mainly to neutral zone play in the current NHL, which emphasizes speed and quick passes. With two-line passes allowed, players often go for long, quick passes through the zone and it's led to a lot of rapid-fire odd-man rushes. But the league's new emphasis on speed and de-emphasis on physicality and "enforcer"-type players has actually led to a drop-off in the kind of dangerous open-ice hits Orr is thinking about, even though this is what Orr is probably seeing...
Violent open-ice hits were actually more of a thing before the lockout. The removal of the red line and the league's new-found awareness of head trauma has ultimately reduced the amount of big open-ice collisions compared to years past, but the speed and style of the modern game has not quite eliminated these kinds of incidents entirely. The issue reared its ugly head during the 2016 Stanley Cup Finals between the Penguins and Sharks when San Jose's Patrick Marleau collided with Pittsburgh's Bryan Rust.
Player safety is a complicated issue in all sports and not one that could be solved without completely bastardizing games. Injuries will always be part of the game, no matter how safe people want it to be. The real reason for increased dangers of hockey could be that armor-like equipment has made players feel too safe, that players can't police themselves like they used to with the decline of fighting, or that players simply don't respect each other's health and safety as much as they should - or a combination of all of these factors. Today's playing style and rules can contribute to bad collisions and serious injuries from time to time, but it's far from the only factor at play here.
Orr does, however, make one unarguable point: the rule changes have done nothing to increase scoring.
"The coaches just coach around the style," Orr said. "I think if the red line was back in, now the players have to make plays coming out of their end. I think that's going to help create more offense. You're going to cut plays off, forechecking can be more sustained."
What do you think the NHL could do to make the game safer without ruining it? One thing that probably would not make it safer would be to go back to Orr's helmet-less days. Guys didn't exactly hold back due to a lack of padding back then...
Matt Dolloff is a writer for CBSBostonSports.com. His opinions do not necessarily reflect that of CBS or 98.5 The Sports Hub. Have a news tip or comment for Matt? Follow him on Twitter @mattdolloff and email him at mdolloff@985thesportshub.com.
