Are there any pro teams that have an injury analyst position? I am not talking about the treatment or the fitness protocol, but about determining all the factors that contributed to the injury, including equipment and technical errors.
This title doesn’t seem to exist in these terms per se, but injury prevention generally ends up in the skill set of “sports science”, an umbrella term that organizations are increasingly using. At the Canadiens, Adam Douglas bears the title of “Director – Sports Science and Performance”. According to the team, he has a bachelor’s degree in physical and health education, a master’s degree in kinesiology and exercise science, and a doctorate in philosophy, kinesiology and exercise science. That said, like everything in medicine and science, teams are usually stingy with details about their initiatives and they won’t be shouting their ideas from the rooftops!
Checking aims to remove the puck from a player. When he no longer has it in his possession, he should no longer be hit. We often see late checks to “punish” an opponent. Couldn’t we apply a stricter rule?
Article 56.1 of the NHL rulebook states that “the last player to touch the puck, other than the goaltender, is considered to be in possession of the puck. This player can therefore be legally tackled, provided that the check is applied immediately after the loss of possession. You will understand that the word “immediately” is at the discretion of the referees. However, your proposed change would not prevent hard-hitting hits like Jacob Trouba’s against Timo Meier during the Devils-Rangers series. This check was ruled legal, Trouba did not aim for the head or extend the elbow and Meier was in possession of the puck. But Meier was injured nonetheless. If the goal is to protect the players, there is indeed a reflection to be carried out.
When the NHL’s Department of Player Safety imposes fines of $3,000 to $5,000 (cross-checking, slashing, etc.) on multimillion-winning players, the league is covered in ridicule. Would it make sense to add a 0 to the amount of fines?
The league can impose fines of up to 50% of a player’s daily salary (1/195 of their annual salary), up to a maximum of $10,000 for a first offense. However, for any fine over $5,000, a player is entitled to a telephone hearing. This makes it easier for all parties involved to stick to the $5,000 fine. These amounts are provided for in the collective agreement that binds the players to the owners. For higher fines, the league will have to tackle them when this agreement expires (in 2026). However, as in any negotiation, you have to ask yourself if the league cares enough to make a compromise on another point. To ask the question is to answer it, especially since the money from the fines goes to the emergency fund of the players and not to the league.
Since the NHL’s salary cap was introduced in 2005-06, none of Canada’s seven teams have won the Stanley Cup, 0 in 17 seasons. Is this a statistical anomaly, or just the law of sport?
I think what you call the “law of sport” is the best answer. In fact, four teams (Chicago, Pittsburgh, Tampa and Los Angeles) have shared 10 of the last 17 Stanley Cups. And six teams (add Boston and Detroit to the list) shared 17 of the 34 Finals berths. It can therefore be said that, statistically, Canadian teams were under-represented, but there are nevertheless more American teams (14) than Canadian teams (7) that did not lift the trophy. Recall that the Edmonton Oilers, in 2006, pushed the Carolina Hurricanes to the seventh game in the final. The Ottawa Senators also lost in the Finals the following season.
Why do we often hear that the Canadiens have to get rid of Carey Price’s contract? As I understand it, this one does not count on the payroll. It is therefore not a burden that the club must absorb and which harms the signing of players.
All players’ contracts count towards a club’s wage bill. However, when a player’s name is placed on the long-term injured list, that team’s cap is raised by a certain amount, calculated from the value of the subtracted contract and the space available under the ceiling – yes, it’s complicated. This is why optimization is often talked about: to get the most available space, you have to spend as much as possible, otherwise you will lose additional space. Back to Price: since he earns a lot of money (10.5 million), you have to spend a lot of money to match his salary and get the maximum salary space. That’s what prompted the Canadiens to acquire Sean Monahan last year. This approach also has disadvantages, in particular the deferral of performance bonuses to the following season.
