Mighty Doves Blank Stars

Mighty Duck defenseman Ruslan Salei’s hit on Dallas center Mike Modano last Saturday was careless and dangerous, even if the resulting injuries were more serious than the intent. But worst of all, the hit symbolizes the NHL’s greatest problem, one that requires a major change in attitude rather than the annual tweaking of the rules.

Salei’s hit--like so many similar hits during the past few seasons--is evidence players no longer feel bound by a code of honor. They will do anything to win to keep earning salaries that are growing ever larger, even if that means putting the life of an opponent in jeopardy.

“Young kids are coming up and making hundreds of thousands of dollars, and coaches and GMs say, ‘You’ve got to play this way,’ ” Dallas right wing Mike Keane said. “It’s come down to the point where there’s going to be no suspension that will make anyone happy if anyone is killed or paralyzed.”

Don’t blame this frightening trend on the NHL. The Stars don’t. The league, to its credit, has responded decisively to ugly incidents: Salei and teammates Jim McKenzie and Pascal Trepanier are among the five players and one general manager suspended in the season’s first week, and chief disciplinarian Colin Campbell showed last season he will hammer anyone guilty of hitting from behind or other unsavory acts. Players have been hit where it hurts most: in the wallet and in playing time.

“I think he’s done a pretty good job. He took the initiative last year, but we’ve already had some incidents this year,” Dallas center Joe Nieuwendyk said. “I don’t know what the answers are.”

Campbell’s hammer obviously didn’t deter Salei, who has a hat trick’s worth of suspensions during his brief time in the NHL for slew footing, head-butting and hitting from behind.

It’s up to the players now to police themselves, and to do it before someone goes into the boards and doesn’t get up again.

Modano showed an admirable degree of maturity by issuing a statement Thursday asking his teammates not to avenge the hit that left him with a concussion, broken nose and strained ligaments in his neck. The Stars on Friday obliged him to the point where they and the Ducks seemed reluctant to even bump into each other for most of the Ducks’ 3-0 victory at the Pond, no doubt aware the eyes of every NHL executive were trained on them via satellite or in person. The third period was devoid of penalties, and the teams combined for seven minor penalties worth 14 minutes overall.

“We were battling and trying to get back into the game,” Nieuwendyk said. “We certainly didn’t want to take any penalties.

“It was a lot of hype for nothing. Those guys received their suspensions.”

For one night, at least, sanity prevailed. Perhaps players were scared enough to take to heart one key part of Modano’s statement, a phrase that is worth repeating and studying:

“Somewhere along the road, players have lost respect for one another and the sport, and that is unacceptable.”

The next time he says that, he should be addressing a meeting of the NHL Players Assn.

An injury to one player is an injury to all and a blot on the game that provides them a comfortable living. Why can’t they understand that? And why did that respect for their rivals go the way of the two-hour game and the clean hip check?

Salei’s hit on Modano has been a topic of conversation for officials of the NHLPA, who are touring the league to meet with players. The union representatives would stress safety concerns, anyway, but Modano’s injury has added new urgency to their words.

“They do talk about these issues,” NHLPA spokesman Devin Smith said Friday. “We talk about supplementary discipline and just being cautious in what they do. We talk to them about it now and during the summer meetings.”

However, the union is in a sticky position because it represents the victims and the perpetrators. It must weigh how heavily to condemn some of its constituents while defending others, and how to avoid the perception it favors star players over lesser players who may not have the skill to stop better players by legal means.

“As far as the PA is concerned, anyone who gets hit in a dangerous way, that’s not good for anyone,” Smith said.

Especially for the guy who gets hit. Ask Modano. Ask Jeremy Roenick, who had his jaw broken last season by Dallas defenseman Derian Hatcher--an incident Coach Ken Hitchcock refused to discuss last week after he vilified Salei. Such hypocrisy damages his credibility and does nothing to solve the problem.

Having seen the toll of Salei’s hit on Modano, the Stars are believers in restoring the respect players used to have for one another but has somehow diminished. Nieuwendyk, in his 14th NHL season, suspects players feel invulnerable because they’re bigger and protected by sophisticated equipment.

“Guys feel you can get away with anything,” he said. “That’s something that needs to be addressed, not only from management, but from the players, too.

“This is our livelihood, and no one wants to see a scary injury like that.”

Said Keane: “The league did their job, and as players, we have to do ours. We want to make the game of hockey better, and by the league doing their job, hopefully that’s going to make players think the next time they’re going to hit a guy in a vulnerable position.”

Thinking first may spare someone the unthinkable: paralysis or death. It’s not too much to ask.