No Response After Matthews Hit Requires Enforcers Back In NHL

The Toronto Maple Leafs came out with the win last Thursday against the Anaheim Ducks, but they lost star player Auston Matthews in the process from a dirty hit from Radko Gudas. The hit exposed the lack of enforcement in the NHL — both on and off the ice. None of the Leafs’ players on the ice defended their captain from the brutal knee-on-knee hit.

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NHL culture today is in a good place; no one is head-hunting, and players aren’t out there just to fight. The days of Bob Probert and Tie Domi, when they would drop gloves just to fight, are gone. That’s a good thing, but what the NHL doesn’t have is a response to players when there are dirty hits. The culture needs to change, and the league needs certain players who can score and defend their star players.

Need A Little Old School With The New School

The NHL doesn’t need a total enforcer, but it needs a player like what it used to have in Wendel Clark. The Former Maple Leafs player from the 1990s had the skill to score, but also to defend his star player, Doug Gilmour. Clark sometimes had to fight in order to stick up for his star players. There are a lot of people that don’t want fighting in the NHL, but it’s needed to keep dirty hits in check and star players protected.

Suspensions Aren’t Enough

Suspending players for dirty hits is required, as Gudas received a five-game suspension for his hit on Matthews. That is an off-ice consequence for players, and on-ice consequences must be in place as well. On-ice consequences have to be at the grassroots level and stem from the players on the ice.

If there had been someone who confronted Gudas on the ice after his hit on Matthews, he might think twice about doing that in the future. Fighting shouldn’t be there to hurt the other player; it should be there to have a system of checks and balances in the league.

The best player in the league, Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid, has addressed his concerns about the Gudas hit. Like Matthews, McDavid has no one to protect him out on the ice. Wayne Gretzky had Marty McSorely. Star players need to be protected, period.

McDavid noted, “I can’t speak to everything on that side. I’m not an owner, I’m not a GM—I’m a player. But from a player’s perspective, I can say that every time there is a suspension, most times there’s a lot of frustration from the player side. So why don’t we take a look at the process and try to figure out a way that works for everybody?” Wonder if he’d be as frustrated if someone on his team were allowed to take care of business before the league had to step in and get it wrong.

Related: Host: Parros ‘Clearly Had it Out for the Leafs’ in Biased Gudas Suspension