from Larry Brooks of the New York Post,

It plays across your screens from September through February, week after week, as the NFL goes overboard protecting its quarterbacks from being in harm’s way. It might offend the sensibilities of some old-timers who grew up with Lawrence Taylor, or maybe Ben Davidson before that, but it represents good business. The NFL is protecting its greatest assets. It is difficult to sell matchups between second- and third-stringers.

So that served as the indirect reason I was in agreement with the overseers in Toronto nullifying Filip Chytil’s apparent go-ahead goal with 3:10 remaining in the third period of Game 1 against the Penguins after Kaapo Kakko’s power move to the net wiped out Pittsburgh goaltender Casey DeSmith.

It did not seem premeditated, and it was not a play with malicious intent even if Kakko’s path to the net probably would have created contact even if he hadn’t been nudged or partially guided by Penguins defenseman Brian Dumoulin. It was a coin-flip type of call that most certainly has gone the other way multiple times across the season.

But I felt the decision, made following Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan’s challenge, was a judicious one in the context of protecting goaltenders from harm’s way. I believe in erring on the side of caution when it comes to protecting some of the league’s prime assets, certainly at this time of year.

continuee, plus other topics like this...

Apparently, since the NHLPA can’t beat the NHL when it comes to collective bargaining, it is going to try and become the NHL.

Slap Shots has been told the administration is preparing a regulation to present to the executive board of 32 player representatives that would give the union power to discipline agents who publicly criticize the NHLPA during collective bargaining. The range of discipline would likely range from fines through suspensions to, in the most extreme case, decertification.

That comes about two decades after the NHL Board of Governors gave Gary Bettman the power to fine owners and club officials up to $1 million for speaking publicly about labor negotiations.

To beat them, the union is trying to become them.