Sidney Crosby Calls Out The NHL and Their Player Safety Protocol

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Skyler Walker
September 17, 2023 (1:03 PM)

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In recent times, one of the biggest sources of frustration in the National Hockey League (NHL) has been the consistency, or lack thereof, in the decisions made by the NHL's Department of Player Safety. Despite the NHL's attempts to crack down on dangerous plays, there seems to be a lack of clear guidelines, leading to varying rulings on similar incidents.

Recently, Pittsburgh Penguins' captain Sidney Crosby shared his thoughts on this issue during an appearance on the "32 Thoughts" podcast. When asked about what confuses players the most in today's NHL, Crosby didn't hesitate to address the inconsistency in suspensions as a major concern.

Crosby explained,

"I would say maybe just suspensions. It's still something where you see a highlight or you see a clip, and you don't know the range of a suspension, you don't know whether it's gonna be a suspension or not. That's how I feel."

While recognizing the difficulty of the task at hand, Crosby emphasized the need for the NHL to strive for more consistency in its decision-making.

"I know it's not an easy job for anybody, but I still feel there's a bit of a grey area there," said Crosby. "I don't think anyone is ever going to agree on length... or what the intentions were on a play, that's always going to be debatable. But I would like to think we can get a little bit closer to what it is exactly and maybe what the punishment is."

Crosby's words reflect the sentiments of many NHL fans who have long called for greater clarity and consistency in player safety rulings. However, whether the NHL can address these concerns and establish a more predictable system for assessing suspensions remains uncertain.