Something is wrong here

It is time for the NHL to wake up before it’s too late.
The incident on Saturday in which F Marian Hossa of the Chicago Blackhawks shoved Nashville Predators D Dan Hamhuis from behind could have ended the latter’s career, or worse, left him in a wheelchair.
By now you’re aware that Hossa was given a major penalty for boarding and came out of the penalty box to score the game-winning goal in overtime.
By now you’re also aware that Colin Campbell, who handles disciplinary matters for the NHL, chose not suspend Hossa.
It doesn’t matter what reason, or reasons, that Campbell gave, because he was wrong. Period.
Having covered the March 1, 1987, WHL game in which Brad Hornung of the Regina Pats was shoved from behind and left a quadriplegic, and having written extensively about that incident at the time, I can tell you that I fear the NHL is headed in that direction. And if that happens it will be too late for two players because there always are two victims in these situations -- the hitter and the injured player.
Unfortunately, it would seem that it is going to take such an incident for the NHL to wake up and realize that it is going about this all wrong. Hamhuis was in an awkward and vulnerable position when Hossa carelessly and needlessly shoved him from behind.
The fact that Hamhuis didn’t suffer a serious injury, or that Hossa wasn’t a repeat offender, should have had no impact on resulting discipline.
The NHL’s objective should be to get those hits out of the game. Period.
And whatever it is, if anything, that the NHL is doing in an attempt to reach that objective, well, it isn’t working. There seem to be more and more hits from behind -- hits in the numbers -- as time goes on.
I can tell you, too, that there is concern in the WHL that those kinds of hits are creeping back into its game. Don’t be surprised if next season there is renewed vigour shown by WHL officials to rid its game of such hits.
It is something that can't happen quickly enough.