Have a story idea? Contact us at sports@theotherpress.ca & By Josh Martin, Sports Editor he Vancouver Canucks’ chances of winning the ’ Stanley Cup this year just got more difficult with the loss of leading goal scorer Daniel Sedin. NHL needs to crack down on hits boards. A clean hit by Sedin? Not exactly. Maybe a little high if that, but definitely not worth getting an elbow blow to the head minutes later on a complete cheap shot. Keith got a five-game suspension from NHL vice- president of player safety Brendan Shanahan on the hit, while Daniel Sedin suffered from a brain injury. Seems fair, doesn’t it? And just like that the Canucks top goal-getter is out indefinitely. What that means exactly, no one knows. He could possibly be out for the rest of the regular season, the playoffs, heck maybe even the start of next season. Just look at what happened to Sidney Crosby and the whole post-concussion ordeal he went through over the course of 14 months. place in the Western Conference, which means that there is a high possibility that the Blackhawks will meet them somewhere down the road in the post-season, if the planets align (which seems to happen quite often with these two teams as they have met in the playoffs in the past three consecutive years). Daniel Sedin is the top goal scorer on the Canucks and will likely be a huge asset to their success in the playoffs. So, if an opportunity arises, why not get rid of him? Especially if the consequence in today’s NHL is only a five-game suspension. When it comes to your team’s success, it just makes sense. Keith will be back after five games, just in time for the playoffs; now that the Canucks are without Daniel, «he 3 thanks to Keith, that knocks down _ again. Finding the plausible A ace ae a It does happen, and it could the offence a few notches‘on one of medium is going to be the key Chicago Blackhawks, defensemen happen. It just depends on how the top Western Conference teams _ in cracking down on head shots Duncan Keith elbowed Sedin serious the injury turns out tobe, —_ heading into the post-season. while keeping NHL players safe in the head ona play where the and with concussions there is no So, the Blackhawks are out on the ice. puck wasn’t even close to him. time limit. guaranteed that they will get A mere five-game suspension Keith was perhaps getting some Now, looking at this angle back their top defensemenin five _ is not going to cut it. As long as revenge on Daniel, after an earlier from the Chicago Blackhawks games, while the Canucks aren’t there is minimal consequence, hit: anirniten bedors=sehteethe point of view is very interesting. sure when, or heaven forbid, if concussion-like symptoms and Sweite finished alse check on The Canucks are arguably the their top forward will be back in cheap head shots will remain in him, shouldering his head into the Blackhawks biggest rival in the the lineup anytime soon. the NHL. L NHL. They are sitting at second What is wrong here? aS ‘ Cheap hits to the head have been an ongoing occurrence throughout the NHL, especially in the past few years, yet nothing has really changed. Something has to be done in order for this particular problem to decrease significantly. One possibility would be that the amount of games of suspension handed to the offender would be the same length of time that the victim was injured for. So in this case for example, Keith’s suspension would last however long it would take for Sedin to get back from his concussion problems. The only problem to this rule would be if the victim has had prior head problems, which could alter the length of how long it would take before feeling healthy The return of Sidney Crosby By Josh Martin, Sports Editor n March 15, the new-era Ox Gretzky returned to hockey for the second time since suffering concussion symptoms dating back 14 months ago. More than two-million Canadians tuned in to watch Sidney Crosby’s return to the NHL. A return that has been anticipated since the last one he made back in November when he played eight games before stepping out of the line-up due to those same post- concussion-like symptoms coming back for an encore performance. Since then, Crosby seems as though he is back to his old self, putting up spectacular numbers for the amount of hockey he has played this season. Combining both his comebacks, Crosby has scored 21 points (two goals, 19 assists) in just 13 games. That's 1.62 points per game. At that pace, over a complete 82-game season, Crosby would be on pace for 133 points—skipping away with the scoring title. The Canadian hockey superstar seems to be in a class of his own. Even though he appeared to be 20 ready to return from a concussion days before he did, he wanted to make sure his entire game was on par. “| think, even three weeks before he came back, we were saying, ‘Geez, he looks great. Why isn’t he playing?” Penguins defenseman Brooks Orpik said to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, laughing. “That's Sid. He’s such a perfectionist. I think if he came back too early and wasn’t at the level he’s used to, it would drive him crazy.” “It takes time to get that anticipation and reaction back,” Crosby said. “That's the difference sometimes. You have to go to those (scoring) areas and trust your instincts and hopefully get the bounces.” Yes, everything seems to be looking fine and dandy. Pittsburgh fans don’t really have anything to complain about. The Penguins are the hottest team in the Eastern Conference right now with a 46— 21-6 record and 98 points. Center Evgeni Malkin has been leading the way this season, in Crosby’s absence, and has done so with Lledo) huge success, leading the NHL in scoring with 45 goals, 50 assists, and 95 points in 66 games. And now with Crosby back in the lineup and James Neal stepping up to the plate with 76 points of his own, the Penguins are looking better than ever—a sure Stanley Cup favourite. However, there still are a few questions that remain on the table with regards to Crosby. What if those concussion symptoms do comeback somewhere down the road. What if he does get hit again? And what does this mean for his future? Will players not want to give him such a hard time, fearing that they may spark repercussions to arguably the world’s greatest hockey player of all time? Or will they do the complete opposite and . hound him simply because he is fresh off a dangerous brain injury and, after all, he’s Sidney Crosby? Who knows. But as of right now number 87 is back with his red-hot Penguins and is tearing it up. And until something happens, it’s all gravy. The Pens’ were a dangerous team without Crosby, and now that he’s back they seem to have all- star qualities. They have 30 goals in their past six games and have a 9-0-1 record in their past 10. And with Sid-the-kid’s return to the lineup, it is literally the icing on the cake... a very scrumptious and delicious cake.