Snapping suspenders

I now understand the difference between Chris Pronger, who pushed off and elbowed Dean McAmmond in the head while defending a rush, and Daniel
Alfredsson, who had the entire ice to shoot the puck and but somehow caught Anaheim captain Scott Niedermayer: Pronger has a "past history", and the Ottawa captain doesn't.

Not that I'm complaining--I've never liked Pronger and have a grudging respect for Alfredsson, but I can't, for the life of me, understand why the one lightning-quick play became a suspensionable offense while the other action, in which Alfredsson had more than a few seconds to contemplate its course, is being brushed off by the Canadian media.

An interesting comment during the Calgary Flames Alumni golf tournament yesterday came from former Flames enforcer Ronnie Stern, who was asked whether there is a growing depletion of respect in the league. Stern's answer? There's more and more players in the league from abroad, there's more teams with the same amount of games, therefore players are less familiar with each other.

What's significant about this was that players knew where they could tread. He said that Mark Messier always threw elbows so he avoided them whenever possible. In other words, players would more often than not, use their brains out there.

Not that this excuses every cheap shot ever made in the history of the league, but it does explain the respect given to the likes of Messier, Gordie Howe and Billy Smith by their opponents. It also lays responsibility on the play maker as well as the defender. For instance, when Scott Stevens effectively finished Eric Lindros as a superstar in the NHL, today's "head shot Stasi" would rightly be on his case, but if they were honest with themselves, every objective hockey commentator could also say that Lindy should not have crossed the blueline with his head down while Stevens was on the ice.

In this light, Pronger deserved an elbowing call and 2 minutes which four on-ice officials inexplicably missed; however, perennial concussion candidate McAmmond ought to have recognized the dangers of pushing his head within the vicinity of an elbow attached to a 6'5" behemoth with a reputation of playing rough.

Compare that to the play of Chris Neil in the same game, who intended to add the outline of Andy MacDonald's face to the Scotiabank Place sideboards by leading a blatant charge with his elbows, but was thwarted by the diminutive centre who turtled from the assault.

The Ducks were correct in asserting that had their player been hurt and McAmmond walked away, there would be no controversy, but that's the way things work in the new NHL.

And if Alfredsson does not receive retribution from the league for his "incidental" slap shot at Scotty Niedermayer, while Pronger is continued to be vilified, then we'll all know to which side the league's thumb rests on the scale of justice.