As the NHL GMs debate in Florida about various issues in the game, including headshots, fans have been rampant throughout the internet letting their opinions on the issue be heard as well. Everybody seems to have an opinion, one of which being that offending players should be suspended until the injured player returns. While the idea behind that is decent, there are several holes in the idea that will prevent the GMs from giving it serious consideration. Here’s why.

The biggest hole is that the same hit can be delivered many times with as many different outcomes. One player might take a headshot, get up and skate away; another’s career might be ended. The offending player committed the same offense, and in the worst-case scenario, should that player be kicked out of the NHL permanently, especially if it was just a first offense? The definition of the length of the suspension is just too vague to ever be accepted by either the GMs or the players.

Another issue is who gets to determine when an injured player is healthy enough to play again. Example: Ovechkin shoulders Colin White of the Devils and White is injured. Then when White is ready to play again, the Devils look at their schedule and see Washington is next. What’s to stop the Devils from keeping White out of the lineup, citing “dizziness” or something else that can’t be proven a lie, and Ovechkin is then not allowed to face New Jersey? The Devils can manage just fine without White, but the Caps losing Ovechkin gives New Jersey a serious advantage. This scenario isn’t likely to happen often, but it is a definite possibility.

There are dozens of other reasons why keeping an offending player out of the NHL as long as the injured player doesn’t make sense. Different players heal at different speeds. If an injured player returns too early then needs to take more time off, what happens to the offending player? In order for the NHL to get the most satisfying result, they will need to develop rules against headshots that are both clearly defined and can be relied on by officials that say ‘if you do this, you will receive this penalty’, and they need to stick to it. This is something that’s not being done right now, and as the body count grows, so too does the fans’ faith in those who run the game.