Faster Blades Could Mean a More Dangerous Game

The Philadelphia Flyers cultivated a well-deserved reputation as the NHL's most hated — and feared — team in the 1970s. It was common for opposing players to come down with the "Philadelphia Flu" when it was time to play the "Broad Street Bullies," begging out of games rather than risking injury going up against the Flyers' savage warriors. Even today, the "City of Brotherly Love" has been anything but that for visiting hockey players.

During last month's preseason, young Flyers agitator Steve Downie delivered a high hit to the head of Dean McAmmond, concussing the Senators' forward in an obviously premeditated act. Downie was rightly suspended for 20 games, establishing a proper precedent for penalizing unnecessarily violent on-ice acts. Like the Flyers, Downie came into the incident with a laundry list of offenses dating back to his time playing in Canadian junior hockey, making it far easier for the harsh suspension to be justified.

Just two weeks later, another Flyer, enforcer Jesse Boulerice, cross-checked Vancouver Canucks forward Ryan Kesler in the chops as he was skating around the Flyers' goal. This hit, too, was premeditated. Not surprisingly, there wasn't much outcry when Boulerice was handed an even harsher 25-game suspension.

Needless to say, the Flyers' reputation more than precedes them, making it too easy for analysts to jump to improper conclusions when evaluating their actions on the ice. On Saturday afternoon, that's exactly what happened.

Flyers defenseman Randy Jones was outraced to the puck by Bruins forward Patrice Bergeron, whose effort left him in an vulnerable position, bent over with his back to Jones and his head pointed directly at the boards. From the moment Jones attempted to play the puck to the moment he shoved Bergeron in the back, perhaps one-tenth of a second elapsed, but not much longer than that.

Unfortunately for Bergeron, the shove yielded a horrific result, as he crashed face-first into the edge of the boards (where it meets the Plexiglas). Bergeron was knocked unconscious from the blow, and was taken from the ice in a stretcher, leaving most everyone in attendance visibly shaken — including Jones.

The on-ice officials gave Jones a game-misconduct, and he quickly expressed his sorrow for the unintentionally vicious hit. The contrition demonstrated by Jones contrasts sharply with the Flyers' reputation. A careful review of the incident demonstrates clearly that he didn't exhibit an intention to injure, not as did Downie and Boulerice.

But when the NHL announced that Jones would be suspended for only two games, there was much outcry that it was too light a penalty. Without question, Jones hit Bergeron when he was in a vulnerable position, and watching the replays makes it easy to point to a specific moment when Jones should have let up, a specific moment when everyone involved — including Jones — wishes he'd done so. But criticizing Jones's failure to let up in that split second also begs another question: Is it Jones's responsibility to protect Bergeron from injury — or is it Bergeron's? Bergeron made a textbook error in judgment, leaving himself in a vulnerable position. And the result, unquestionably awful, makes it clear just how important it is for players to be aware of the dangers that exist on the ice, and to do their best to protect themselves from possible injury. As ugly as it is to blame the victim in a situation such as this, it's also important to accept that hockey is, as such, a rough game. While no one wants to say this — given the severity of Bergeron's injuries — Jones was doing something on that play that he's likely been implored to do by virtually every coach he's ever played for: He was "finishing his check."

Given all that, it's more than a bit surprising that the NHL is considering allowing players to use Thermablades on the ice. These battery-operated heated skate blades are designed to reduce the friction of the blade as it glides on the ice, enabling players to skate faster. Perhaps it's not the same as allowing Jose Reyes and Plaxico Burress to put rockets on the backs of their cleats — or putting springs on the bottom of LeBron James's high-tops — but it's close. And it's without question a terrible idea.

Over the course of the past 100 years, hockey players have gotten appreciably bigger and faster. Back in 1957–58, the tallest member of the Rangers was 6-foot-2-inch Hank Ciesla, and the heaviest member was 199-pound Larry Cahan. This season, 13 Rangers are as tall or taller than Ciesla, and 17 Rangers weigh in at over 200 pounds.

Enhanced conditioning and advanced equipment have made the players much faster and more muscular, while the ice surface has remained exactly the same size. As a result, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of high-speed collisions, making the game far more dangerous today than it ever was in the days when goaltenders played without masks. It's easy to romanticize the game and players of the past — but it's important to do so with proper context.

Looking back to a game as recently as the Rangers' scintillating Stanley Cup victory in 1994 shows a much slower NHL, one in which there was a much more distinct difference between the Blueshirts' fastest (Brian Leetch) and slowest (Jay Wells) skaters.

Many are lamenting the lack of respect in the game today, with players launching themselves at one another like missiles, and the ever-increasing speed of the game making the resulting collisions ever more dangerous. With a product like Thermablade giving the likes of Boulerice and Downie an extra burst of speed (as advertised on its Web site), it will only mean more trouble for a league trying to get back into the good graces of the disillusioned mainstream. For every time there is an incident like Saturday's hit by Jones on Bergeron, the story suddenly attracts the attention of general sports journalists who otherwise pay no mind to hockey. Put simply, faster is not necessarily better in the NHL, but it is more dangerous. Before the league makes the mistake of trying to speed up the game through artificial means, it would be wise to first carefully evaluate the very real associated risks. Just as Major League Baseball has no need to put a metal bat in the hands of Barry Bonds and Alex Rodriguez, so too should the NHL steer clear of allowing the players to effectively put "jet packs" onto their skates. It will only increase the likelihood that a seemingly innocuous hit will deliver disastrous consequences.

Mr. Greenstein is the editor in chief of InsideHockey.com.