Written By: Mark “The Hard Hitter” Ritter TSN is reporting that the NHL is looking at instituting the blindside rule without the National Hockey League Players’ Association’s approval and it says here they should be applauded for it. The NHL has been under a ton of scrutiny for not instituting the blindside rule immediately, the fact that they are now trying to speed up the process is an indication that the NHL is tired of screwing around with safety issues and may, in fact, be willing to risk backlash from the NHLPA if necessary. It’s beyond me why any player or anyone within the Players Association would want to put up any opposition to bringing the rule in right away, after all, the NHL only has the players’ best interests in mind, which should always be the priority and often

Written By; Mark “The Hard Hitter” Ritter The NHL’s unrestricted free agent crop of 2010 is not a particularly strong one. Patrick Marleau and Thomas Plekanec make up two of the strongest forwards available while Nik Lidstrom and Evgeni Nabokov are two of the strongest players available on the back end. It is the belief of most prognosticators that Marleau, Lidstrom and Nabokov will all re-sign with their current clubs, with Plekanec being the most likely to move on. Given the suspected lack of movement and the belief that the 2010 unrestricted free agent crop will be very average overall, it may be wise for teams to save their cap space for 2011 (or so you’d think). When you look at the overall picture for 2011 UFA’s it mirrors 2010 very well—great talent at the top, but not much depth.

Written By: Mark “The Hard Hitter” Ritter If the Philadelphia Flyers are going to make the playoffs this season it looks as if they will have to do so without the services of Centre Jeff Carter. The Flyers have announced that Carter is expected to be out of the lineup with a fracture of his left foot for up to three to four weeks. When you do the math, three to four weeks would mean Carter will likely not make it back into the Flyers lineup until the first round of the playoffs…that is if they make it. Through 72 games the Flyers have amassed 79 points, which puts them sixth overall in the NHL’s Eastern Conference (tied with the Montreal Canadiens and Ottawa Senators), just three points up on the eighth place Boston Bruins and four up on the

Written By: Mark “The Hard Hitter” Ritter Given the severity of the hit on Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Brent Seabrook I completely understand why he is pissed off at Anaheim Ducks defenseman (and friend of Seabrook) James Wisnewski. That said, it is a long know fact that once the puck drops there are no friends on the ice, always has and always will be that way. I suspect once Seabrook has time to reflect on this that he will realize that Wisnewski was merely doing his job, albeit in a dangerous and gutless fashion. Seabrook can be mad at James Wisnewski the hockey player, but if they are really as tight as they suggest they are, then Seabrook can’t be mad at Wisnewski as a friend, can he? For the record, Seabrook practiced yesterday and feels ready to go as soon

Written By: Mark “The Hard Hitter” Ritter Not doubt about it, James Wisniewski was guilty of a dirty hit on Brent Seabrook and probably deserved the eight game suspension he received. The Question is, why didn’t the NHL investigate the Seabrook hit on Corey Perry a little further—a hit that was clearly a headshot, something the NHL is trying to get out of the game. As much as I’d like to applaud the NHL for FINALLY standing up for the player (Seabrook) I gotta believe that if the NHL had been tougher/more consistent on headshots Wisniewski wouldn’t have taken matters in his own hands. This is exactly why the NHL should immediately enforce the newly proposed headshot rules, everyday the NHL waits is another day in which the players will have to police the game themselves and that will only

Written By: Mark “The Hard Hitter” Ritter Fresh off the dangerous hit from Pittsburgh Penguins forward Matt Cooke on the unsuspecting Marc Savard of the Boston Bruins NHL fans await a rematch between the two sides this Thursday night in Boston. To say everybody has an opinion about the Cooke hit would be an understatement. Opinions range from fans suggesting Savard should have been more aware to Cooke needing to be suspended for twenty games. Given the NHL’s current rules Cooke was not disciplined for his actions, hell, he didn’t even get a penalty on the play, which shows just how inadequate NHL referees can be on most nights. The funny part about all of this is the fact that the NHL rule book does have a rule that the Refs could have imposed on Cooke, a rule that most