The NHL Jersey Tuck Rule

A new rule in the NHL this season forbids players from tucking in their sweaters.

According to the leagues rulebook, all protective equipment other than gloves, helmet and goalie pads must be worn under team uniforms. This season, players will receive a warning followed by a two minute penalty for having their jerseys tucked in. Among many others, players such as Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin, New Jersey Devils forward Jaromir Jagr and Tampa Bay Lightning sniper Steven Stamkos regularly have their jerseys tucked.

According to league sources, player safety is behind the decision to enforce this rule. Many players are opposed to the rule and have spoken out on the matter. Ovechkin reportedly said the rule was 'stupid' and Toronto Maple Leafs forward Joffrey Lupul took to Twitter on the issue tweeting:

By enforcing such a rule, the league is taking away the individuality of its players. Hockey's all time greatest player - Wayne Gretzky - made the jersey tuck famous throughout his Hall of Fame career. It was a fashion statement that visually set 'The Great One' apart from other players in the NHL.

Another issue with this new rule is that during the game, players jerseys can become tucked by accident. If a player is knocked down for example, when he gets back up his jersey could have become stuck in the back of his pants. The player receives a warning for the first offense, but this situation could arise many times throughout a game. Are we going to see a game; or worse a playoffs series, decided by a 'jersey tuck' penalty? That would be a crying shame.      

Many speculate that the NHL is setting the groundwork in order to sell advertisements on game jerseys; a claim the league has denied. Having a rule in place to enforce the visibility of the entire jersey will allow the league to market this option to potential advertisers. Having ads on jerseys will surely increase profits for the NHL, but where does the advertising stop. In European hockey, jerseys are covered with advertisements. Is this the direction the NHL is slowly moving in?

I certainly hope not.

Fighting In Hockey

The issue of fighting has once again resurfaced in the National Hockey League (NHL). 

It seems that every year an incident arises that brings attention to this topic. In this case, the incident occurred on the opening night of the 2013-14 NHL season. 

In a game between the Montreal Canadiens and the Toronto Maple Leafs; which featured five fights, Canadiens enforcer George Parros was injured when his face smashed into the ice at the end of an early third period fight with Leafs tough guy Colton Orr (their second fight of the night). 

 
In order to try and bring some safety to fights, the NHL recently implemented a new rule with respect to players removing their own helmets. If a player removes his helmet prior to engaging in the fight (as can be seen here), they will receive an additional two minute penalty on top of their five minute fighting major. But will this new rule really have an effect on players? In all likelihood no.

If one player decides to remove his helmet, his combatant will follow suit. Both players will receive an extra two minute penalty and neither team will be put at a disadvantage. The most likely combatants; tough guys and enforcers, play on their teams fourth lines and generally average around five minutes of ice time or less per game. Will sitting in the penalty box for an extra two minutes instead of on the bench have an effect on these players? It doesn't seem likely.

With concussions and head injuries under the microscope, many believe that more needs to be done in order to put an end to fighting in hockey. Tampa Bay Lightning General Manager Steve Yzerman even went as far as suggesting that players receive game misconducts for engaging in fights. This suggestion has received much criticism. Players around the league strongly believe that fighting still has a place in hockey. Without fighting, players believe that the game would become more dangerous. Players say that we would see 'chippy' plays, and we would be looking at more stick work. The players see fighting as a way of policing the game and keeping the 'dirty' plays out of the game.

My Take:

I believe that fighting does serve a purpose in hockey. Players need to be held accountable for their actions on the ice. On the other hand, I don't believe that staged fighting has a place in the game. If an opponent takes a run at your teams star player, they need to be sent a message. If two players fight for the sake of fighting, that is when there is no place for it in our game.