Comments on: Hockey's Enduring Code of Silence on Player Injuries

By: ephperson

ephperson — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 22:55:36 +0000

Very nice article. Thank you.
How much licensing money does fantasy hockey pump in to the NHL’s collective coffers? As that number goes up, perhaps the pressure to be more candid might increase.
But even without that, does a team really owe nothing in the way of honest information to the ticket-buying public? Are fans really expected to shell out ever-increasing sums to find out only “when the teams take the ice” whether a favorite player will play? And should a team peddle pricey STH plans by shilling players who may (or may not) have suffered a “secret” injury in pre-season?
I’m a little disappointed to hear that folks in the locker room don’t even bother to ask about injuries. As though everyone were conspiring together to keep injuries secret.

By: OrderedChaos

OrderedChaos — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 20:58:16 +0000

Fair point Peerless. My complaint is that teams seem to intentionally obfuscate player injuries rather than just outright saying “We don’t talk about injuries.”
Why even have an injury report? Why even say someone’s day-to-day when there’s no way they’ll play for a week or more? I’d rather see a team’s policy be complete injury-muteness than spouting empty phrases that are at best useless, at worst misleading.

By: The Peerless

The Peerless — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 17:29:16 +0000

I have no problem with clubs keeping injuries closeted. There is no useful purpose to their disclosure other than some abstract notion of the fan’s “right to know.”
The NFL, which has penalties for failure to disclose — by category, no less (is he “probable?”…is he “questionable?”) — seems to have the interests of Las Vegas and fantasy leagues in mind with their single-minded enforcement of those rules.
If George and the physician don’t want to talk? If Alex is keeping mum?. Fine. Their business isn’t in keeping hockey fans up to date on medical reports, it’s to win games. We’ll find out who is able to play and who isn’t soon enough when the teams take the ice.