Andy MacDonald sounds off

[jstewismybastardson]

"I just think you watch a game and is it really better than it was a year or two years ago?" McDonald told ESPN.com in an interview Tuesday evening at his team's hotel. "Is there less head shots? Certainly the playoffs this year has been a revelation that not much has changed. Guys are still targeting the head and really putting other players in danger and at risk for serious injury. And that's frustrating for a player that's gone through a significant amount of time with that type of injury."

The interview was conducted about two hours before Raffi Torres pummeled Marian Hossa with a hit that will likely cost Torres a heft suspension.

"On the suspension part of it, there's really not a deterrent," said McDonald. "If guys were suspended for 20 games, then I think things would change. I think guys would all of sudden be cautious when it came to elbowing somebody in the head, or hit somebody when he's unsuspecting or in a vulnerable position. It's a difficult issue. I think the league is trying to get it right, but it's a work in progress.''

"It's obvious that there's not a lot of respect out there and you see it every night on replays. Guys are certainly not respecting each other on the ice," he said.

When it was pointed out to him that he has a voice through the NHL Players' Association and, if he wanted, the competition committee, McDonald pondered that thought.

"I think there's such a varied group of opinions among the players about what to do," he said. "I don't think the guys delivering the hits, have they missed time, have they experienced six or seven months of headaches? That's the issue that the players need to get educated about and what they're doing to each other. We need to come together as a group and decide, are we going to continue down this road and have health problems still 5-10 years from now? Or are we going to make a concentrated effort to get together and stop this?''

McDonald's last concussion almost ended his career. He missed 51 games with it this season.

"When you're younger, you just think you're kind of invincible and you're going to play forever," said McDonald. "But having gone through the concussion part of it, there's times where you're sitting at home thinking, I'm not getting back and I'm not going to play again. I was really concerned about my health long term and worried about the implications it would have for myself and my family (post-hockey). There's no crystal ball. At the end of the day, I had to make a decision that I would come back and be confident that I was 100 percent and not be worried about what would happen down the road. It's given me a different perspective and I cherish each game I get to pay in. I really enjoy being around the guys on this team. It's a lot of fun.''

 

[Eddie_Shack]

"I just think you watch a game and is it really better than it was a year or two years ago?" McDonald told ESPN.com in an interview Tuesday evening at his team's hotel. "Is there less head shots? Certainly the playoffs this year has been a revelation that not much has changed. Guys are still targeting the head and really putting other players in danger and at risk for serious injury. And that's frustrating for a player that's gone through a significant amount of time with that type of injury."

The interview was conducted about two hours before Raffi Torres pummeled Marian Hossa with a hit that will likely cost Torres a heft suspension.

"On the suspension part of it, there's really not a deterrent," said McDonald. "If guys were suspended for 20 games, then I think things would change. I think guys would all of sudden be cautious when it came to elbowing somebody in the head, or hit somebody when he's unsuspecting or in a vulnerable position. It's a difficult issue. I think the league is trying to get it right, but it's a work in progress.''

"It's obvious that there's not a lot of respect out there and you see it every night on replays. Guys are certainly not respecting each other on the ice," he said.

When it was pointed out to him that he has a voice through the NHL Players' Association and, if he wanted, the competition committee, McDonald pondered that thought.

"I think there's such a varied group of opinions among the players about what to do," he said. "I don't think the guys delivering the hits, have they missed time, have they experienced six or seven months of headaches? That's the issue that the players need to get educated about and what they're doing to each other. We need to come together as a group and decide, are we going to continue down this road and have health problems still 5-10 years from now? Or are we going to make a concentrated effort to get together and stop this?''

McDonald's last concussion almost ended his career. He missed 51 games with it this season.

"When you're younger, you just think you're kind of invincible and you're going to play forever," said McDonald. "But having gone through the concussion part of it, there's times where you're sitting at home thinking, I'm not getting back and I'm not going to play again. I was really concerned about my health long term and worried about the implications it would have for myself and my family (post-hockey). There's no crystal ball. At the end of the day, I had to make a decision that I would come back and be confident that I was 100 percent and not be worried about what would happen down the road. It's given me a different perspective and I cherish each game I get to pay in. I really enjoy being around the guys on this team. It's a lot of fun.''

This is a guy who speaks the truth, and knows his shit. Couldn't have said it better myself.

 

[elocomotive]

"On the suspension part of it, there's really not a deterrent," said McDonald. "If guys were suspended for 20 games, then I think things would change. I think guys would all of sudden be cautious when it came to elbowing somebody in the head, or hit somebody when he's unsuspecting or in a vulnerable position. It's a difficult issue. I think the league is trying to get it right, but it's a work in progress.''

That's a really good statement overall by MacDonald. I think the bolded parts are pretty important.

(1) You have to have serious repercussions for repeat offenders or for really bad intent (the result shouldn't matter). A few examples. Matt Cooke is a good example of a player who was given some serious time off to think about what he did. And at least for now, he's clearly changed his approach in the wake of it. Related to the intent, Shea Weber should have gotten 5-10 games for what he did. Sure he didn't have a lot of force behind the headslam and Zetterberg was okay, but the INTENT of what he was doing was OBVIOUS and awful. It has no place in the game.

(2) People have to accept that these are changes that going to take some time to work in. It seemed like this season Shanahan started off well and then backed off. You need to make examples of people to send a CLEAR message. Rene Bourque would have been a perfect one. He had just been suspended and didn't change his ways just weeks later. THAT is when you have to be strong as the safety czar and say "Maybe you didn't hear me the last time, take a month off and think about what being a pro hockey player means to you." That didn't happen. Missed opportunities, but it's understandable they aren't going to get everything correct off the bat.