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But sport's leaders find no ready solution
BY BRIAN MURPHY
Pioneer Press
Wild owner Bob Naegele Jr. joined hockey's power brokers in a New York high-rise last week for a dissection of the NHL product and revealed a deeper concern about the image of the sport when he returned to Minnesota.
Sitting between hall of fame player Mike Gartner and superstar goalie Martin Brodeur, Naegele scribbled notes as an all-star panel of current and former players, coaches, officials and management debated rule changes to create more scoring chances in an era in which goaltenders and defensive systems reign.
Leaving the X's and O's to the experts, Naegele spoke up about fighting, specifically the revenge culture in the game that breeds premeditated attacks exemplified by Todd Bertuzzi's sucker punch of Steve Moore in March.
"I understand emotional outbursts," Naegele said in an interview. "Sometimes a guy just loses it in a fit of emotional outburst. The players say the guy 'snapped.' I wanted to know what you could do to prevent a guy from snapping.
"Nobody has an answer. But certainly the group had the concern for that".
Bertuzzi's eruption seriously injured Moore, prompting the NHL to suspend the Vancouver right wing indefinitely. A criminal investigation led to assault charges for which Bertuzzi is scheduled to stand trial this summer in British Columbia.
The bloody incident was replayed relentlessly on 24-hour news and sports channels across North America and sparked intense hand wringing in columns and chat rooms about NHL violence — even as the average number of fighting majors has dropped from 2.13 per game in 1987-88 to 1.27 last season, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
It was rewound again for the 25-member competition committee Commissioner Gary Bettman impaneled to improve the game, and it was forefront in Naegele's mind when he traveled to the league's Manhattan office.
"When we address our game, it's important we address all aspects of our game. Fights are a part of the professional game," Naegele said. "The emotion of the moment in hockey can sometimes cause someone to do something physical. It's the emotional part that hockey people love.
"But there's a difference between that and seeking revenge on somebody else. How can we prevent it?"
One of the NHL's newest and most mild-mannered owners, Naegele is no outspoken hawk regarding the league's economics or its reputation.
In public or private, he doesn't like to talk about collective bargaining, trade rumors or contract disputes with his players, and refuses to interfere with the people he hired to run his hockey team.
After Bettman invited him to the round table in May, Naegele hooked up with his general manager, Doug Risebrough, and head coach, Jacques Lemaire, in Naples, Fla., to golf and solicit opinions about rule changes. Proposals range from shrinking goalie pads and limiting their puck handling to widening the neutral zone and moving back the nets to make room for more creativity.
As one of the league's 30 governors, Naegele will vote on the committee's recommendations, which could be implemented next season.
Using his floor time to address the Bertuzzi controversy, Naegele subtly gave the committee a glimpse of how he views the NHL product through the eyes of his franchise in St. Paul.
Naegele often uses familial analogies when describing his team and employees. He is a successful businessman who is open about being a born-again Christian and active in the fundamentalist communities in the Twin Cities and Naples, where he lives during the winter.
Naegele said he does not want to abolish fighting in the NHL, adding that his acceptance of fisticuffs as an element of a sport in which he and his shareholders have invested more than $80 million does not conflict with his values.
"God didn't intend for me to go over to your family and tell you how to raise your kids," he said. "I just want to make sure we do everything we can to promote the sport, our players and our fans by putting a product on the ice that reflects our core values. Our players represent our core values."
On the ice, the Wild aren't a bunch of thugs. But they aren't angels, either. Their 58 fighting majors ranked ninth last season and were the most since joining the league in 2000-01.
"If I didn't like the game, I wouldn't be part of it," Naegele said. "In a perfect world, nobody would get hurt. I'm proud of how our team and players conduct themselves."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Brian Murphy covers the Wild and the NHL. He can be reached at brianmurphy@pioneerpress.com.
BY BRIAN MURPHY
Pioneer Press
Wild owner Bob Naegele Jr. joined hockey's power brokers in a New York high-rise last week for a dissection of the NHL product and revealed a deeper concern about the image of the sport when he returned to Minnesota.
Sitting between hall of fame player Mike Gartner and superstar goalie Martin Brodeur, Naegele scribbled notes as an all-star panel of current and former players, coaches, officials and management debated rule changes to create more scoring chances in an era in which goaltenders and defensive systems reign.
Leaving the X's and O's to the experts, Naegele spoke up about fighting, specifically the revenge culture in the game that breeds premeditated attacks exemplified by Todd Bertuzzi's sucker punch of Steve Moore in March.
"I understand emotional outbursts," Naegele said in an interview. "Sometimes a guy just loses it in a fit of emotional outburst. The players say the guy 'snapped.' I wanted to know what you could do to prevent a guy from snapping.
"Nobody has an answer. But certainly the group had the concern for that".
Bertuzzi's eruption seriously injured Moore, prompting the NHL to suspend the Vancouver right wing indefinitely. A criminal investigation led to assault charges for which Bertuzzi is scheduled to stand trial this summer in British Columbia.
The bloody incident was replayed relentlessly on 24-hour news and sports channels across North America and sparked intense hand wringing in columns and chat rooms about NHL violence — even as the average number of fighting majors has dropped from 2.13 per game in 1987-88 to 1.27 last season, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
It was rewound again for the 25-member competition committee Commissioner Gary Bettman impaneled to improve the game, and it was forefront in Naegele's mind when he traveled to the league's Manhattan office.
"When we address our game, it's important we address all aspects of our game. Fights are a part of the professional game," Naegele said. "The emotion of the moment in hockey can sometimes cause someone to do something physical. It's the emotional part that hockey people love.
"But there's a difference between that and seeking revenge on somebody else. How can we prevent it?"
One of the NHL's newest and most mild-mannered owners, Naegele is no outspoken hawk regarding the league's economics or its reputation.
In public or private, he doesn't like to talk about collective bargaining, trade rumors or contract disputes with his players, and refuses to interfere with the people he hired to run his hockey team.
After Bettman invited him to the round table in May, Naegele hooked up with his general manager, Doug Risebrough, and head coach, Jacques Lemaire, in Naples, Fla., to golf and solicit opinions about rule changes. Proposals range from shrinking goalie pads and limiting their puck handling to widening the neutral zone and moving back the nets to make room for more creativity.
As one of the league's 30 governors, Naegele will vote on the committee's recommendations, which could be implemented next season.
Using his floor time to address the Bertuzzi controversy, Naegele subtly gave the committee a glimpse of how he views the NHL product through the eyes of his franchise in St. Paul.
Naegele often uses familial analogies when describing his team and employees. He is a successful businessman who is open about being a born-again Christian and active in the fundamentalist communities in the Twin Cities and Naples, where he lives during the winter.
Naegele said he does not want to abolish fighting in the NHL, adding that his acceptance of fisticuffs as an element of a sport in which he and his shareholders have invested more than $80 million does not conflict with his values.
"God didn't intend for me to go over to your family and tell you how to raise your kids," he said. "I just want to make sure we do everything we can to promote the sport, our players and our fans by putting a product on the ice that reflects our core values. Our players represent our core values."
On the ice, the Wild aren't a bunch of thugs. But they aren't angels, either. Their 58 fighting majors ranked ninth last season and were the most since joining the league in 2000-01.
"If I didn't like the game, I wouldn't be part of it," Naegele said. "In a perfect world, nobody would get hurt. I'm proud of how our team and players conduct themselves."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Brian Murphy covers the Wild and the NHL. He can be reached at brianmurphy@pioneerpress.com.