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Is Sidney Crosby a Hypocrite When It Comes to Head Shots?
By Joel Prosser (Featured Columnist) on November 26, 2011 12,950

Sidney Crosby is a polarizing figure in hockey. Everyone has an opinion on him, whether they think he is the best player in the game or not (for the record, I think he is).

But Crosby has been in the spotlight over the last year not for his dazzling on-ice abilities, but as a victim of concussions due to getting hit in the head.

Sid the Kid was on pace to shatter modern NHL scoring records when he was felled by back-to-back concussions in early January 2011, and he didn't return to the ice until November 2011.

In that time, the Penguin's star used his profile as the face of the NHL to advocate for changes, calling for head shots to be removed from the game.

And change indeed did happen thanks to Crosby.

In the Stanley Cup Finals, the NHL decided to draw a new line on what was allowable, suspending Aaron Rome for an unprecedented four games for the kind of hit that made Scott Stevens a star.

This was unprecedented both due to the length of the suspension and because the NHL changed the rules (or interpreted them differently from one game to the next) during the most important playoff series of the year.

And during the offseason, Brendan Shanahan took over as the NHL's sheriff, with a mandate supported by official rule changes (unlike the Rome suspension in the finals) to remove intentional head shots from the game.

And this all came about because of Sidney Crosby.

Does this elbowing incident make Crosby look like a hypocrite when it comes to head shots?

Prior to Sid getting smoked by David Steckel and Victor Hedman, we saw plenty of head hits and blindside hits that caused outrage, but nothing changed in terms of enforcement.

Matt Cooke ended the career of Marc Savard.

Mike Richards took David Booth out for most of a season.

The Penguins' own Evgeni Malkin forced Willie Mitchell into a dark room for six months after a dangerous hit.

But until the face of the NHL was lost to concussion and started using his soap box to advocate for change, there was a lot of talk and no real changes.

And Crosby has been the story this week, returning to the Penguins and registering seven points (two goals, five assists) in his first three games.

Crosby should also been in the spotlight for another incident that occurred in a game against the Ottawa Senators on November 25th. Senator Nick Foligno got tangled up with Marc Andre Fleury and landed on the Penguins' goaltender.

Crosby was the Pens player on the spot, and he responded as he should have to defend his goalie, landing a few cross-checks on Foligno in the crease as play continued on along the boards.


But when Foligno responded with a cross-check of his own, Crosby decided to escalate and throw an elbow into the face of Foligno. The end result was Crosby with an elbowing minor, and luckily Foligno wasn't injured.

The man who spent all summer talking about how the players need to respect each other and the NHL needs to step up with discipline, who had a personal crusade to eliminate head shots from the NHL to make it safer for players, threw a head shot himself in his first week back from concussion.

PITTSBURGH (AP) 12/12/2011 - The tests indicate Sidney Crosby doesn't have a concussion. Crosby's body isn't quite so sure.
The Pittsburgh Penguins superstar said Monday he's dealing with a recurrence of concussion-like symptoms and is out indefinitely.
Crosby, who missed more than 10 months after taking shots to the head in successive games in January, hasn't played since developing a headache following a 3-1 loss to Boston last week.
"I ended up skating the following day after with a little bit exertion and it just didn't feel right,'' Crosby said. "After kind of talking with everyone it was better to be cautious here and not take any chances.''
The 24-year-old former MVP passed an ImPACT test - designed to diagnose concussions - last Wednesday but didn't travel with the team on a road trip through Philadelphia and New York over the weekend.
Instead he remained in Pittsburgh hoping to play when the Penguins host Detroit on Tuesday, but those plans were scuttled when symptoms popped up over the weekend during what he called "light exertion.''


Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/hockey/nhl/wires/12/12/2040.ap.hkn.penguins.crosby.2nd.ldwritethru.1107/index.html#ixzz1gML7XmP3