In Shanahan, NHL May have Found a Permanent Disciplinary Solution

When you think of the Red Wings Stanley Cup teams of the late 1990's, a handful of guys come to mind. Obviously Yzerman. Federov comes to mind as well. The third one that I think of is Brendan Shanahan. Always revered as a great teammate wherever he played, Shanahan was a value on and off the ice. Often times he was a mouthpiece for his team, always saying the right things to the press and giving his team a kick in the pants when they needed one. He also had quite a great sense of humor, as displayed in this classic hilarious commercial. Now, since retiring from the game and becoming the NHL's disciplinarian, he has since shown no sense of humor in dealing with a couple of early incidents. While certainly a small sample size, it is a good start and a welcome change from the days of Colin Campbell and the much-maligned "Wheel of Justice". More after the jump.

 Shanahan could prove to be the answer to the NHL's long history of unequal punishments of players (Getty Images)


Early in this preseason, the issue of dirty hits has surfaced in the form of Calgary Flames goon Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond's Boarding of Vancouver's Matt Clackson and Jody Shelley's behind-the-net hit on Toronto's Darryl Boyce. Shanahan wasted no time in handling either situation, suspending PLLL 5 games (four preseason and one regular season) and handing Shelley a 10 game ban (five preseason and five regular season). Now, there are many things to discuss, starting with the suspension length. Shanahan sent a strong message to the players, letting them know that these kind of hits will no longer be tolerated. In my opinion, in the Campbell era, each hit would have most likely warranted 1 or 2 game suspensions or could have been considered a "hockey play". Another resourceful action Shanahan took was the consideration that these two are repeat offenders. Shanahan has previously said that shorter suspensions for first time offenders could be just as effective as longer ones, but also said repeat offenders were more subject to long suspensions.
Perhaps the most glaring and impressive aspect of Shanahan's first two actions as the Senior VP of Player Safety and Hockey Operations was the digital supplements to his rulings. In what used to be a situation that would just require a press release to the league, Shanahan has gone the extra mile and has changed with the times. Shanahan tweeted links to the suspension and also released videos, detailing each hit and providing elaborate explanations for his rulings. This is unheard of and revolutionary; Shanahan has brought the discplinary aspect of the game two things it sorely needed: transparency and an introduction to the digital age.
As a player, you enjoy seeing this because you know that when you go out there and play, you can play to the fullest of your abilities and know that you will be protected. Along the same train of thought, fans can be excited that with the new regime, incidents like the Chara-Pacioretty one of last year will be avoided, if not completely eliminated. Brendan Shanahan will simply not stand for it, and with new management in place, fans will finally be able to see exactly why.