"Hit to Hurt" Players

There is an interesting video story by Darren Dreger on TSN discussing players that were identified by fellow players as being the most dangerous in terms of hitting with no regard for the safety of the opponent. (Link above)

Dreger: "According to their peers, Nashville forward Jordin Tootoo and New York Rangers forward Ryan Hollweg are among the most dangerous, prompting the NHL recently to call Predators general manager David Poile and Rangers GM Glen Sather to alert these players they will be heavily watched." "What is making an impact on NHLers is a breed of hit to hurt players who have their peers questioning why they're in the league at all."

I applaud Gary Bettman and Colin Campbell for their efforts to stop a likely catastrophic event before it happens. I also feel that the NHL needs to revisit the instigator rule and return the game to a game of respect and justice that can be implemented by the players themselves by simply dropping the gloves and taking care of business.

Isles News - It appears that Berard will be signed shortly, that Meyer is trade bait, and that Campoli may make the club with Gervais and Johnson being sent down. I don't know how Campoli can make the team over Gervais, but apparently Gervais has a 2 way contract vs. Campoli's 1 way deal, so Gervais can be sent down without being exposed to waivers.

Jeff Tambellini has also been sent down causing an uproar in Islanders' country as many fans would rather see Tambs get his long awaited shot as opposed to Andy Hilbert. According to Nolan, quoted in Newsday, Hilbert brings a better 2 way game. For a team that needs scoring badly, I have to disagree with Nolan's decision. Hopefully, after a few weeks of Hilbert's invisible play, we will get to see Tambs on a long term basis.