Kukla's Korner Hockey
The Colin Campbell Years
by Alanah McGinley on 06/04/11 at 06:53 PM ET
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From Jeff Z. Klein and Stu Hackel at the NYT’s Slapshot blog:
His tenure was marked by controversy from the outset, even more so in recent years with the increased attention on concussions and hits to the head. While taking a leading role among leagues in understanding the concussion issue, the N.H.L. was slow to punish players for head shots, and Campbell bore the brunt of the criticism.
Most do not understand that the league’s discipline policies are established by the owners and general managers along with the players union, and none of those parties favor long suspensions.
Campbell merely enforced the policies, unless his son Gregory’s team was involved, in which case his deputy, Mike Murphy, stepped in. (Gregory Campbell plays for Boston.) After each incident, Campbell was subject to intense lobbying from all sides.
Still Campbell was not faultless in executing his duties. He justified his rulings by saying he had a duty to preserve the game’s physical nature, fearing that if he imposed the maximum punishment, players would become more tentative.
Filed in: NHL Talk, NHL Business of Hockey, | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: colin+campbell
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