March 13, 2012, Sidney Crosby return and NHL GM Meetings column for HockeyPrimetime.com

Crosby returns as GMs mull game's future

Columns

Written by Denis Gorman

Tuesday, March 13, 2012 15:43

Sidney Crosby is the NHL's biggest star. Madison Square Garden is the league's biggest stage. It is only appropriate that New York is where Crosby makes his long-awaited return. The NHL’s biggest star returns in the league’s biggest city on its biggest stage. It could not have been scripted better. Sidney Crosby announed after practice Tuesday that he will rejoin the Pittsburgh Penguins when they play the Eastern Conference-leading New York Rangers Thursday night at Madison Square Garden. “The plan is to play Thursday,” the Penguins’ official website quoted Crosby as having said. “I had a good practice and I’m looking forward to getting out there on Thursday.” Crosby has only played in eight games this season as he recuperated from post-concussion symptoms and a neck injury due to hits absorbed last season and this year. The last game he played this year was the 3-1 loss to the Boston Bruins on Dec. 5 in which a seemingly innocuous hit from David Krejci caused Crosby to leave the game. He has two goals and 10 assists for 12 points this season. The Penguins are 5-2-1 with him this year. Crosby returned from the two concussions he suffered last season in a virtuoso, four-point performance for the ages against the Islanders on Nov. 21. Crosby scored two goals, added two assists and played 15:54 in the Penguins’ 5-0 win at Consol Energy Center. He centered Chris Kunitz and Pascal Dupuis in that game. Against the Rangers, coach Dan Bylsma said his linemates will be Matt Cooke and Tyler Kennedy. Bylsma also said the plan was to “get him back in the mix but keeping his minutes a little bit closer to 15.” “I wouldn’t see coach (Bylsma) putting me with a different pairing after missing this much time. I’m sure he’s trying to get guys used to playing with one another. In any game different line combinations are common, but for the most part that’s who I’ll be with,” Crosby said, who also noted that he will play the point on the power play for the first time since he played for the Rimouski Oceanic of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. “It’s been a few years since I’ve been back there. I like it,” Crosby added. “My job is to distribute the puck amongst everyone. When [Evgeni Malkin] shooting the puck like that, just give it to him in that area.” GMs gather in Florida to discuss possible rule changes intended to protect players. *The league’s 30 GMs convened in Boca Raton, Fl., this week for their in-season meetings. The primary topic of the talks were rule changes to better protect players. Hybrid icing and the reinstitution of the red line were among the rule modification discussions. For any rule to be changed, two-thirds of the 30 executives must be in favor of it. The last major rule change was the implementation of Rule 48. “I hope it passes,” Maple Leafs GM Brian Burke told The Globe and Mail of hybrid icing. “The race for an icing now is too dangerous for a defenseman. I think you can keep the race in, but make it safer for the defenseman. To me, we keep the chase, we keep the fan interest in it, but we make it safe for the defenseman.” It seems that the hybrid icing will be passed. The reinstitution of the red line will be fascinating debate. The NHL game is contested at a higher rate of speed now than at any point in its history. The speed, coupled with players who are stronger than their predecessors, is leading to high-impact collisions that have been charged with causing concussions. Bringing the red line back, it is argued, will slow the game down. However, there is a line of reasoning that points out the league’s teams play sophisticated defenses to limit offensive opportunities even with the elimination of the red line and its revival could lead to the resurrection of the Dead Puck Era. Player safety must be foremost. But there is a place for sense. It is not a panacea for the game to revert back to its mid-to-late 1990s, 2-1, icing fests just as it should not become roller derby. You can follow us on Twitter @HockeyPrimeTime and @DenisGorman

Last Updated on Tuesday, March 13, 2012 16:16

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