F1 is a dangerous sport.
MMA is a dangerous sport.
Boxing is a dangerous sport.
Lacrosse is a dangerous sport.
Football is a dangerous sport.
At some point, you have to simply say: "this is hockey" and stop trying to change the game. There are a multitude of other sports that you can watch that are not physical and/or dangerous. Just watch basketball - still physical, but nothing crazy. Too violent? Baseball... other than the bench clearing brawls. Soccer. Ringette. Get into figure skating/ice dance - nothing wrong with those, and in fact, I quite enjoy watching it without any shame as a man - tonnes of skill and absolutely mesmerizing talent from both men and women.
Hockey is hockey. It is becoming this sterile, unemotional and quite often 'boring' pastime. The more physicality you remove, the more sterile the product becomes IMO. Sure, they need to keep working on things to help prevent injuries, but this is hockey and not soccer. There is a plethora of other sports to get into. Why try and change the game into shinny?
Nothing wrong with that hit. It changed momentum. It gave Vegas a lift. It was emotional. I love Brodie - probably more than most on this board - and I hated to see him get hurt. This is hockey, however.
At some point you draw the line. Players are getting hurt? No physical play. Puck is too hard and hurts too many players? Rubber ball it is. Sticks too hard? Plastic sticks. Too many players getting cut by skates? Ice cleats. Players slipping on the ice and getting hurt? Remove the ice and play on grass.
Sure, those examples are a bit tongue-in-cheek, but the point is illustrated. Keep changing the game so much, and you are not left with hockey. You are left with something else.
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