Bruins David Backes May Be Suspended Again… Is The NHL Becoming Soft?

Hockey has always been viewed as such an entertaining sport for the fast pace, high energy movement of the games. As well as the heavy hits and the ability for the players to police themselves and have a good ol’ fashion rumble with the only punishment having to sit in the sin bin for 5 minutes.

NHL players have been allowed to hit since the age of 11 or 12 and have grown up playing the game with hitting (cleanly) being part of the game. From that age they are taught to always keep your head up if you don’t want to get run over. I learned that lesson the hard way time and time again.

Now all of a sudden David Backes, who up until last week went his entire career without a suspension or a fine for a dirty hit or play. He is in his 12th year racking up over 2,000 hits without incident. Yes, I can see why he got suspended, don’t agree with it but not to up in arms about it.

In just his second game back from suspension, Backes, once again is under the microscope of the NHL for a “questionable” hit in last nights game on Vincent Trocheck, immediately resulting in Backes getting into a fight with Mike Mathson. Backes was thrown out of the game as a result of the hit. Rumors are now flying that he will be faced with another punishment from the leagues player safety office.

I have one thing to say about that, bullshit! Trocheck was low with his head down and the puck at his feet. As well as turned into Backes. I will agree it looked like a bad hit but Trocheck jumped right back up and seemed to have no issue with it, maybe partly because Mathson was already pulling the jersey over Backes’ head.

After the game Backes summed my feelings about this incident up perfectly when he stated after the game that if this is the new standard in the NHL then he wants his old league back. I agree! It was a clean hit. As the great Jack O’Callahan said in Miracle “Tell your boy to keep his head up and we wont have to worry about it.”

Backes better not get suspended or all my faith in the NHL is going out the window! It was a clean hit with no intent to injure. The NHL needs to lay back just a bit on every hit that is beyond a nice little bump. Let the boys play!

-Kevin Perdios (@Perdios95)