Why not just have a rule that the player who puts someone out is out till that person can
play again? That would stop this shit real quick. It would go both ways too. You get hit
and play the next game the guy who hit you can play too (last years Rome suspension).
Maybe get rid of the hard plastic on the elbows and shoulders too. I bet people would be
hitting so hard if they had a couple layers of foam vs the hard plastic they have now.
While we're at it, get rid of the trapezoid too. And go with the Olympic style icing rule
as well.
Can't have suspensions based on the injured player. Too much room for a 4th line punter faking it to keep a better player out.
I'm curious why they can't use D3O padding for hockey. It seems less likely to injure than hard plastic, but I've never played the game so I don't know.
What if the rules were changed to end this "finishing your check" attitude. The intent of a hit is to knock the player off the puck so your team can gain possession. Hits that aren't in that context are illegal. It's a real shame though that players have to be saved from themselves.