Hull Gives the League a Big Slap With Shots

All rise in praise of Brett Hull for last week sounding off--again--about the hook ‘em, hold ‘em style of defensive hockey currently in vogue. Hull, who returned to the St. Louis Blues’ lineup after sitting out a month because of a broken hand resulting from Mighty Duck Tomas Sandstrom’s slash Dec. 27, called the NHL “boring.”

“The whole style of the game is terrible,” he told reporters gathered in St. Louis for his return against the Toronto Maple Leafs. “There’s no flow to the game at all. There’s so much hooking and holding. You impede the progress of the players getting the puck, skating with the puck and creating plays. Every team is doing it.

“When a guy like Mario Lemieux leaves the game and tells you why he’s leaving and you don’t address it, that’s stupid.”

Hull’s comments took on added significance in the wake of the vicious cross-check to Duck left wing Paul Kariya by Chicago Blackhawk defenseman Gary Suter on Sunday.

In many ways the NHL has cleaned up the violence that threatened to turn hockey into a cheap imitation of pro wrestling. Gone are the hideous bench-clearing brawls that marred many a game in the 1970s.

But the league has been slow to correct some of the less-noticeable violence that continues today--the hooking, slashing, spearing and cross-checking.

Sandstrom’s slash on Hull, which went unpenalized by the league, and Suter’s hit on Kariya, which deserves at least a five-game suspension, are two prime examples. But there have been at least three others recently.

Rick Tocchet of the Phoenix Coyotes--once a useful offensive player, but now reduced to a more defensive role--earned a dubious hat trick by injuring three opponents with knee-on-knee hits. He was suspended two games for nailing Edmonton’s Ryan Smyth, got nothing for wiping out Vancouver’s Trevor Linden and received another five-game suspension for hitting Detroit’s Steve Yzerman.

Linden and Yzerman suffered knee sprains. Linden’s Olympic participation is in doubt, but Yzerman is expected to play.

“It’s up to the fans to do something about it,” Hull said of the abuse against the league’s top skilled players. “The players should stand up and be heard too. But players don’t say. . . . That’s why I always look like [the big mouth].”

Hull can come across as a bit of a screwball at times.

Recall earlier this season when he seemed to overstep his bounds by calling for a boycott of the U.S. Olympic team if New Jersey General Manager Lou Lamoriello stuck to his threat to leave then-unsigned free agent Bill Guerin off the team. (Guerin eventually signed and was later traded to the Edmonton Oilers).

But Hull is correct on this one. And he’s not alone in calling for a committee of players, coaches and general managers to adopt protective rule changes.

Duck Coach Pierre Page, who has witnessed almost nightly muggings of Kariya and NHL-leading scorer Teemu Selanne, agreed.

“I’ve been screaming about this for the past few years,” Page said. “We’ve got to stop the open season on the skilled players. I’m all for it.”

MR. BETTMAN ON LINE ONE

Predictably, imagine-conscious NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman phoned Hull last Thursday to express his disappointment. Bettman asked that Hull please speak to him first before going public in the future.

Fat chance.

“Not at all,” Hull said when asked if he would be silenced by Bettman. “I only say . . . because I love the game and I want it to be better. Players won’t say . . . and that’s why everyone thinks I’m so weird.”

ANAHEIM BLUES

Suter’s attack Sunday on Kariya illustrates the need for a good policeman in Anaheim. How much more abuse must Kariya and Selanne endure before General Manager Jack Ferreira acquires a bona fide heavyweight to protect his top two players?

You would like to think Ferreira would now be moved to trade with the Vancouver Canucks to get veteran tough guy Gino Odjick, who has fallen out of favor with Coach Mike Keenan.

And while Ferreira is at it, perhaps he can bring Linden and defenseman Jyrki Lumme to Anaheim too.

It’s high time for Ferreira to shed his reputation as a passive general manager and do the right thing for the sake of Kariya and Selanne.

RODEO HOCKEY

Pin the blame for the rise in stick work and other uncalled obstruction fouls on the increased emphasis on defense in the NHL. After all, if you can’t score--and many teams this season are struggling to average more than two goals a game--you can always play tighter defense.

And the neutral zone trap, which looks very much like a half-court press in basketball, is viewed by many to be at the root of the newfound defensive zeal around the league.

“The biggest problem is we’ve found a name for this thing,” said Brian Burke, NHL director of hockey operations. “It’s the same style Montreal was playing in the 1970s. But we’ve labeled it now. It’s ‘The Trap.’ ”

No, it’s The Pits.

COUGH-AN- COLD SEASON

Psst. Hey, buddy, feeling sluggish? Here, pop a couple of Sudafed. It’ll fix your get-up-and-go if it got-up-and-went.

That’s the notion put forth in a magazine article that quotes two NHL trainers as saying as many as 20% of the league’s players regularly take the over-the-counter medicine to get a lift before games.

The league office, players, trainers and the players’ union were all quick to say the story exaggerated the use of the drug. Sudafed, which contains a substance called pseudoephedrine, is banned by the International Olympic Committee. NHL players participating in the Nagano Olympics have been told to avoid taking the products in order to avoid a positive drug test.

“It’s going to hurt your heart, it’s going to hurt everything in your body,” Hull said. “I just can’t understand how a little pill that’s supposed to dry up your nose is going to help you play hockey. If you need to take stuff like that, forget it.”

KICK SAVES

The Vancouver Canucks’ payroll is $37 million and they had 14 victories going into Monday’s game against the Colorado Avalanche. You do the math. . . . Former Buffalo Sabre general manager John Muckler reportedly is among those in the running to replace the fired Pat Quinn in Vancouver.

The New York Rangers are in the Southland to play the Ducks on Wednesday and the Kings on Thursday. That makes two chances to watch Ranger defenseman Brian Leetch’s plus/minus rating continue to plummet. It was minus 25 going into Monday’s game at San Jose. . . . The average age of the Sharks’ impressive young line of Marco Sturm, Jeff Friesen and Patrick Marleau is 19 years 8 months 27 days.

We keep waiting for Team Canada General Manager Bob Clarke to admit he goofed big-time by failing to select Vancouver’s Mark Messier to the Olympic team. We’d love to be in the dressing room when the Canadians are down a goal or two to Sweden heading into the third period. Who is going to stand up and rally the troops? Philadelphia Flyer Eric Lindros is Team Canada’s captain, but he’s no Messier when it comes to big-game leadership or experience. . . . We’re picking the Swedes to win the gold medal just as they did in 1994.

Bettman told ESPN last week there is nothing to rumors of a plan to switch NHL games from three 20-minute periods to four 15-minute quarters. “There’s nothing wrong with thinking, testing, proposing,” Bettman said. “But four quarters is not a front-burner issue by any stretch of the imagination, and I don’t know where that came from.” Actually, many believe it came from a Fox network sports executive and think it will only be a matter of time before Bettman agrees to the switch to please TV. . . . The NHL and the players’ union did the smart thing Monday, agreeing to a trading ban during the Olympics. The embargo, agreed on to ensure the Olympics are not upstaged by a big trade, will begin Friday and continue through Feb. 24.