NHL injury reporting

[hockeyislife]

Isn\'t everyone just fed up with the way teams report injuries. It\'s either a \'lower body\' or an \'upper body\' injury. Even then, you never know.

The reason the NHL isn\'t taken seriously in the US isn\'t that the game isn\'t good. It\'s that you can\'t wager on it with any certainty. The NFL has rules about injury disclosure; if you lie about an injury you get fined. Not a minor fine, serious dollars. Why? Because the NFL realizes that gambling is a big part of the allure of the game. If you need any proof, just look at what you can gamble on in the Super Bowl.

Until such time that the NHL mandates that injuries be reported properly, it will wallow behind things like Pro Bowling and Bass Fishing in the US.

Just my $.02

[peekNpoke]

I don\'t disagree with your logic with regards to the relationship between betting and football. Don\'t forget its also once a week that adds to the betting attraction.

But I\'m of the opinion that while it might be frustrating for fantasy poolies to know if their players are hurt or going to be playing that night that is the lesser issue.

Players with injuries will be targetted. It happens all the time in the playoffs. And would you rather have your guy play hurt with a non-specific issue or would you rather see him get seriously hurt so he has to go on the IR? Having star players sit in the press box doesn\'t sell the game too well.

If a guy has a hurt leg, the other team will focus on that leg until that guy is so hurt that he can\'t play. I think it was last week on hockey night in canada, Rhudy was saying that at one point all the goalies on his team were injured but no one outside of his club knew that he hurt his shoulder. The guys in the minors weren\'t good enough to play, so his team asked him to play hurt and he did. He managed to play and do well enough for several games, but if anyone else knew where he was hurt, guys were going to keep shooting at his hurt arm and he was going to let most of the shots in.

Teams have to protect their players and their interests first.


And I would also argue, this is where reporters have to earn their living. This is where they have the opportunity to get a scoop on a guy and report it. Not to be handed the same info everyone else gets. Sell some more papers for their publication, keep the nhl in the news.
Sites like this one would be a gold mine if they could provide the info that no one else could provide. Look at the stuff that regular posters provide over the summer and during training camps. Very good info and it makes this site awesome because it usually take 2 or 3 days before it filters into the regular media if at all.


Another argument is if the pro bowling tour issues full injury reports about their bowlers would they suddenly get better ratings... I don\'t think so.


Like I said at the very begining, I don\'t disagree with the football relationship to betting but I personally don\'t think the nhl has to go that route.

But that is only my opinion.

[hockeyislife]

You\'re argument is well thought out and presented. Karma to you.

In any sport, if you know an opponent has an injury, you to to work on it. It\'s not just injuries, any weakness. That\'s the nature of sport. Expose your opponents weakness, and exploit it.

Teams know if a player is hurt. There\'s more than enough footage of every game to figure out who and what is hurting. Any team that says they don\'t exploit that is lying.

Honestly, I\'m not talking about the nagging day-to-day injuries; every player has those right now. If you can find me a player active on an NHL roster right now that\'s 100%, I\'d be amazed. Check that...Calgary\'s back-up goalie may be.

What I\'m talking about is the guys who go on IR. Gaborik-lower body. Broduer-upper body. Gonchar-upper body. The first reports where that Broduer\'s elbow was bruised.... three days later its a torn tendon. That\'s the kind of garbage that has to stop. We all know Gaborik is out with a groin injury....everyone except the people in Minnesota who think it\'s just a lower body injury. The Islanders won\'t even say which knee Dipietro had surgery on.

Until the league gets serious about the reporting of injuries that put guys on IR, this league will never be taken seriously.

[peekNpoke]

I can agree with you. If the guy already has a serious enough injury then I don\'t see a problem for the teams to disclose the nature of the injury. The player better come back only when healed fully enough to play and take abuse from the opposition. Otherwise, shame on the player and the team for exposing themselves to the risk of being targetted and hurt further.

I suppose we, the fantasy pool public, get a bit spoiled from football and even baseball. I don\'t know much about basketball\'s injury reporting but I would think the nhl could match what they do at a minimum.

I suppose my fear is that I don\'t want to see players be exposed to more injuries just so some people can make money off of a game by betting.


BTW thanks for the karma. Returning one back to you because your counter arguments are also well thought out.