If hockey players take off their helmets, will heads roll?
Blackhawks coach Darryl Sutter thinks players who use their heads will decide to keep them under their hats.
He sees no sensible reason why players would take advantage of the new National Hockey League rule that permits them to play minus the protective headgear and further expose themselves to serious injury.
”I can`t see anybody doing it,” he said.
General Manager Mike Keenan can.
”Jeremy Roenick has the flair and charisma to do it,” he said.
Not to mention the boldness-or should that be foolhardiness? Until now, players who entered the NHL after the autumn of 1979 were forced to wear helmets.
”That`s interesting,” Roenick replied upon hearing the rule change for the first time. ”I might like to play without one, even though I bang my head around a lot. Sounds great. I`ll have to give it some thought. My wife might not like the idea.”
Sutter would agree with that stand.
”I`ll try to talk him out of it if he decides to play without his helmet,” he said of his star scorer.
Making helmets optional was one of the new rules that came out of a NHL meeting earlier this week in Florida. The league hopes to put a fresh face forward for the 1992-93 season, although it stopped short of a total facelift. Instead of abolishing fighting, a compromise was reached that calls for fighters deemed instigators by referees to be ejected from games. Keenan was one of the proponents of this move, which stalled attempts by more liberal club managers to wipe out fighting entirely.
”The league received a report that said spontaneous fighting isn`t distasteful to the fan,” he explained. ”It was premeditated tactics this survey found that were distasteful.
”The eventual decision was made from a marketing viewpoint, just as the helmet change was. The logic there was that players are more identifiable on TV if you can see their faces without helmets. It gives them more personality. ”I thought there would be more discussion of how these changes affected the game of hockey itself-as a game-but they were discussed and decided from the marketing side.”
There is a simple reason for that.
The NHL is in the midst of working out a new TV contract with ESPN and ABC. ESPN would show a Friday night game (not fight) of the week and ABC would broadcast four to 10 regular-season games. Both networks would cover the playoffs.
Keenan said the Hawks were expecting to be featured Feb. 13 in a Saturday afternoon game in Pittsburgh on NBC. But this matchup between last season`s Stanley Cup finalists now may be transferred to ABC, pending the final agreement.
Hawk veterans will report Sept. 7 and depart the next day for London, where they play the Montreal Canadiens in exhibition games Sept. 12-13. The rest of the Chicago roster must report to the Stadium by Sept. 11 to begin training camp in preparation for the season opener Oct. 7 in Tampa.
Free-agent defenseman Steve Smith and winger Stephane Matteau will miss the London trip if they aren`t signed by then. Smith is expected to join defensive partner Chris Chelios as the second Hawk to earn more than $1 million this season.
Is Smith worth $1 million a year?
”Who is to say who is worth what,” Keenan said. ”Compare him with other players. That`s the marketplace we have now.”
The Hawks recently signed center Brent Sutter to a four-year contract
(last year an option) worth $775,000 annually. Off-season acquisition Christian Ruuttu, another center, signed for two years-$400,000 this season and $500,000 next year in his option.
Goalie Jimmy Waite, expected to back up Ed Belfour, also agreed to a two- year deal, starting at $300,000. The Hawks announced a free-agent signing, as well, picking up Sault Ste. Marie goalie Kevin Hodson, who had a 3.33 goals-against average last season in the Ontario League with a record of 28-14-4. Look for Hodson to play this season at Indianapolis, the Hawks`
minor-league club in the International League.
Keenan supports an NHL plan, now being studied, to halt the regular season for a month in Olympic years to allow players to participate, following in NBA footsteps. He thinks it is more feasible to go after a Winter Olympics accommodation than change the venue to the Summer Olympics, as some prefer.
”Preseason is too long now,” he said. ”We could take a week out of there. But there`d have to be a break in the regular schedule of 27, 28 days.”
Keenan relished the suggestion he might be a candidate to coach a Canadian Olympic team, having coached the last two Canada Cups. In fact, he admitted to a few ”withdrawal” problems from the coaching profession.
”I`m going to miss it,” he said. ”I`m comfortable with Darryl as coach and have every confidence in him. But never say never. It`s a possibility I could coach again. I might need a job some day.”
