The Zednik Injury

Sometimes people forget that hockey players wear knives on their feet. And then something like this happens. Frankly, I'm a little surprised that it doesn't happen more often than it does. The last time something like this happened in the NHL was almost 20 years ago when Clint Malarchuk, a goalie, got his throat sliced and almost bled to death on the ice.

There's going to be a lot of talk in the next couple of weeks about padding and protection. And I'm sure referees are going to be making more calls as well. But, in the end, nothing will really change. An event that happens so rarely, no matter how graphic and gruesome, won't make people feel like they have to do anything differently.

Let's be honest, eye, mouth, and facial laceration injuries happen all the time. But does the NHL mandate full-face protection? Nope. There are various reasons for it, but what it comes down to is that the league has decided that it's a personal choice.

However, in women's hockey at all levels, they're required to wear neck guards and full-face protection. Checking isn't allowed, either, but they get around that. Women don't get a choice, and it's been that way since at least the early 90s. Men have decided that it's supposedly for their own protection.

The irony of it all is that woman are far more vicious than men are in their respective sports, and typically have a higher pain threshold as well. If you don't believe me, watch a woman's college basketball game, then watch a men's college basketball game, and pay attention to what's going on under the basket in both. It's the same with hockey. If women had the choice, they'd play like the men - with as little protection as possible.

Yes, a neck guard would probably have prevented Zednik's life-threatening neck injury. But then, a full face shield would've prevented Aaron Gavey from the 200+ stitches needed to put his face back on when a skate caught him there. And extra padding at the ankle might've prevented Dean McAmmond from getting his achilles tendon sliced thru, too.

But that's what happens when you play a hard hitting sport on a slick surface with a pair of knives strapped to the bottom of your feet with a stick in your hands. Maybe guys need to be reminded of that more often, instead of when nearly tragic things like this happen. No one wants to see anyone else get injured, and particularly not that way, but obviously it does happen and you need to be aware of your equipment, as well as others' equipment, at all times.

The speed, the hitting, and the implicit danger is part of the fun - I understand that since I used to play. It's the best game there is. But you not only have to respect your opponent, but you have to also respect the equipment, the boards, and the playing surface as well.

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