The NHL’s knee-jerk reaction to Steve Avery’s actions was unwarranted and creates the potential for other poor unilateral decisions

Sports are made possible by a wide array of both written and unwritten rules. These guidelines, in addition to the respective governing bodies that enforce them, are the reason that games have structure. But what happens when someone breaks these rules in the middle of the postseason? In the NHL’s opinion, you simply amend the rule … immediately.

The New York Rangers and New Jersey Devils met on Sunday, April 13, in Game Three of their Eastern Conference Quarterfinal. Within the next 24 hours, the NHL acted in a way that changed the precedent for rule changes in professional sports.

During a five-on-three powerplay, the Rangers’ Sean Avery positioned himself in front of Devils’ Goalie Martin Brodeur and began waving his hands and stick in front of Brodeur’s face in order to block his view of oncoming shots.

At one point during the broadcast, a Versus television analyst said, “Avery’s tactics in screening the goaltender are like nothing I’ve ever seen before … he’s walking a very fine line … this is unbelievable, I’ve never seen anything like this … it looks like he’s leading a marching band down the field.” Although it didn’t work initially (Avery did score on his next shift), it made for an intriguing sight.

The Devils complained that this behavior was objectionable, as it fell into the category of an unwritten rule. Other individuals, including ESPN’s Barry Melrose, agreed with these sentiments. During a SportsCenter appearance, Melrose said, “I was embarrassed for the sport of hockey by what Avery did; there is no place for that in this game.”He later added, “I am in complete agreement with the NHL’s decision and support their quick action in making sure this doesn’t become part of the game.”

The NHL’s action is what makes this a compelling story. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettemann was interviewed in-between periods of another first-round playoff game that same day, and he basically said that the league would address the issue without delay. Apparently, he was not kidding.

Less than 24 hours later, the NHL responded with a statement. “An unsportsmanlike conduct minor penalty will be interpreted and applied, effective immediately, to a situation when an offensive player positions himself facing the opposition goaltender and engages in actions such as waving his arms or stick in front of the goaltender’s face, for the purpose of improperly interfering with and/or distracting the goaltender as opposed to positioning himself to try to make a play,” said Colin Campbell, the league’s senior executive vice president and director of hockey operations.

“Stunned” is the only word I can come up with to describe this brash action. Although it may not seem like a huge deal on the surface—after all, the league was just trying to stop something before it got out of hand—some more examination reveals that poor precedent was set by this split-second decision.

Imagine if any other league was faced with a similar predicament—an athlete breaks an unwritten rule and suddenly the league decides that it wants to enforce things differently. Fast forward to 2012: Glen Taylor has sold the Timberwolves and the team has set a record by becoming the first professional franchise to play a game in front of zero fans. Kevin McHale is forced to retire because the new ownership group has common sense and not surprisingly, the team turns into an instant competitor.

During a first-round playoff game a few years later, the Timberwolves are trailing late in the game and are attempting to foul in a last-ditch effort to send the other team to the free-throw line. Suddenly, the NBA issues a statement saying: “Flagrant fouls now include any fouls committed at the end of the game for the sole purpose of sending the other team to the free-throw line.”

How about when the Yankees take on the Red Sox in a heated American League Championship Series, which should happen again within the next few years, and the bad blood gets the better of each team? The teams exchange beanballs in an effort to show their displeasure with each other. However, MLB then decides that it will immediately eject and suspend any pitcher who intentionally hits a batter.

This knee-jerk reaction by the National Hockey League is dangerous. Although I agree that Avery’s actions were despicable and have no place in any professional hockey game, to simply make a unilateral decision that a rule—any rule—should now be interpreted in a different way, is ludicrous.

However, the NHL has never been an organization to rely on common sense. Most of its fans are still holding up a searchlight in hopes of finding the OLN/Versus station on their televisions.

Andrew Offerman