V I N M A N' s V I B e

Hockey is not for the meek, and Nick Kronwall’s body check on Marty Havlat last night deserves some more fact-finding than coaches and players offering their opinions. It is important for the NHL to publicly define exactly why this was not an illegal hit for its fans who may only see the result of the check (of which no one is happy).

And they should do it soon before bad blood spills over in the name of righteous retribution.

Let me say I am a peace-loving man. Always have been, always will be. But at times in my lengthy amateur hockey career that spanned from age 6 to 46, there have been times that challenged that precept. It’s a game of incredible speed and reflex, players skating at speeds up to 60 MPH, pucks flying almost double that at times and it is as intense team focus as it gets.

Naturally, one team will (view the hit at http://tinyurl.com/pa6kqy ) interpret intention and rules differently depending upon which bench they sit. But it really boils down to this:

1) Did Kronwall leave his feet?

2) Was the puck near enough to Havlat to be considered he was “playing it?”

3) Was it an intentional hit to the head?

Surely, fans will differ for a long time to come on this one. Personally, I have no problem with the penalty that was assessed, but only because it is difficult for the referees to make perfect calls and they may well have been attempting to keep the game (and the Hawks retaliation toward Kronwall) under control.

The game itself was not marred by this play, it was Original Six NHL hockey at its best. Detroit and Chicago have reestablished a wonderful hockey rivalry that has been missing for decades. As they say, one picture is worth a thousand words.