Do you think Sidney Crosby should retire due to reoccurring concussion like symptoms?

Far too risky. His life could be forfeit.

No, life is a crapshoot. You monitor the symptoms and see how it plays out. He came back, was fine but he took another hit. Awareness of the head shot issue is what is needed in the game.

But how many times should he risk his brain smacking against the skull to the point his overall health is endangered. I agree that life is a crapshoot, but life can lead to many a direction not just sports, entertainment, etc.

Shanny has done a reasonable job, but he should be going further to protect the players from the head shots. These guys are so big and fast today, they need to take it a step farther and make head shots totally unacceptable. If a player injures someone else his minimum suspension should match how long the injured player is out.

No, he should continue to play. This is actually natural selection – evolution – playing out before our very eyes. He’s dumb enough to play a game where concussions are frequent and physical aggression is not only expected, but applauded. He chose to play that game, and made some good money at it.

He gets hurt, and perhaps is unable to function. Among other things, that may mean that he will be unable to reproduce, which may mean that the next generation of violent head bashers may never come into being.

Isn’t evolution great!

I just got into a MAJOR debate about this at a Christmas party on the weekend. Sidney Crosby is a gifted hockey player. It is insane that we allow and applaud head shots and fighting in this game. Every time there is a fight it stops the game for 3, 4 or 5 minutes. This isn’t freaking boxing. This is hockey. So play hockey.

It is shameful that a young gifted kid is out of the game after taking such abuse.

The NHL could easily fix this by ejecting every player who fights or uses excess force in checking….for the game. That could be strike one. Strike two could be fines.

Problem solved.

@tranquilsea Crosby didn’t get a concussion from a fight, and most concussions that do occur aren’t from fights. They are pretty much entirely from hits to the head. That said, these are the two hits that are attributed to Crosby’s concussion. On the first hit, Crosby was watching the puck and daydreaming as he skated into a player (Steckel) who was chasing after the puck. Yes, Steckel hit him in the head because Steckel is bigger than Crosby. But I don’t think Steckel is at fault on this hit, it is an unfortunate accident (or you can say Crosby should have been more aware of his surroundings and watched where he was going).

On the second hit Hedman finishes a check that Crosby knew was coming (as he braced for it after touching the puck around the net). Yes, Hedman hit him a little high, but it wasn’t in the head, and Hedman is bigger than Crosby so he’s going to naturally hit a little high on Crosby. Neither of these hits are blatant headshots by any means.

The NHL is working on eliminating headshots from the league, and honestly I think they are doing a decent job. However, concussions will still occur because it is a contact sport. You will get hit from time to time and accidents will happen if you don’t watch yourself on the ice. If you can’t watch out for yourself and can’t take a little physical abuse, then you shouldn’t be playing.

However, there is the issue that superstars get targeted. It’s going to happen. If I’m playing against someone like Crosby, and I can’t keep up in the play, but I can legally play the body to even things out a little, I’m going to play the body. Knowing this, why didn’t you hear about players like Gretzky having concussion problems or being targeted too often? The fact of the matter is, the fighting aspect of the game, through enforcers, protected them. If you went after Gretzky, the next time you hit the ice a player like Semenko or McSorley would make sure you remembered for a few days just why you didn’t go after the superstar. The rules we have now to lessen fighting (instigator rule, third man in, no leaving the bench) has hurt the idea of enforcers, and now, surprise, surprise, more superstars get targeted.

So if we want to fix the problem of headshots, let’s get rid of the rules that restrict enforcers and make them so they are worthless to have. Let them fight to keep teams honest and our superstars protected. It worked for years before people started complaining about the fighting.

Problem solved.

Only if he feels that’s what’s best for him. So long as he clearly understands the risks and considering the issue, has the mental wherewithal to make the judgement, he needs to do what he thinks is right.

I remember what I was like at 24, the chances of me retiring in his position would be absolutely zero. If I knew him I’d advise him against it but I’d understand his getting back on the ice. Even knowing the risks, I don’t think I’d have been able to deal well with that kind of question mark at that age, I’d have to be convinced. But then it’s all about priorities. Now, for me, things are different, I’d hang up my skates with confidence.

The NHL could definitely help out more – no touch icing, a clearer effort to take out all but incidental head shots, let the goaltender take care of the puck behind the net – but it’s a contact sport and the speed has been a boon. Yes, you get checked into the boards at the blue line at full speed, bad things happen but that’s part of the game. And in Crosby’s case, just talking about this one incident, if it was the Krejci hit, I don’t see that there’s anything wrong with that.

@amujinx yeah, the Steckel hit, Crosby has to pay attention. Steckel’s skating for the puck, Crosby needs to protect himself or get out of the way. The Hedman hit, eh, it’s a little cheap, but I’m not sure how much of that you can take out. You can tell guys to do more to pull up if the puck’s out but they still have to drive for it while it’s there. I’d didn’t see your post till after mine but agreed, they’re doing a decent job at eliminating headshots but I’m not sure they’re doing a consistent job in punishment. Granted I’ve not been paying as much attention this season to see how things have gone.

@wonderingwhy I said decent because they haven’t been consistent. Dangerous headshots seem to be down, but some glaring one’s have been missed. I have heard that Wolski/Alfredsson hit compared to the Crosby/Steckel hit, but I would say that Wolski moved a little into the hit, which Steckel didn’t do. Shanahan didn’t even have a phone conference with Wolski after this hit. So yes, the consistency isn’t there, but there is definitely more of a push to protect players than there has been.

If the lack of consistency on punishments you are talking about is about the the Tootoo suspension and the lack of one to Lucic, I can explain what happened there. Shanahan didn’t suspend Lucic for some ungodly reason. The GM’s told Shanahan that they expected their goalies to be protected, and the GM’s for the most part (I’m assuming the Boston GM wasn’t in agreement with everyone else) thought that Lucic should have been suspended. After that happened, since Miller got hit by Tootoo on his first game back, Shanahan knew the GM’s were watching and made sure to hand a suspension down. Personally, as a Sabres fan, I thought the punishment on the ice was enough for the Tootoo hit, but the suspension was about politics.

I posted my post about 5 seconds before you posted yours, that’s why you didn’t see it initially. ;)

I’m pretty sure the check that got him woozy is a little bit of a “top based” check, clearly the defender wasn’t smashing into the mid upper back, but the upper back and up.