About head shots

First off, is it "head shot" or "headshot?" I'm using the two word notation. Deal with it.

Not much more needs to be said in regards to the NHL, its officials, and the head shot issue.

Watching a game last night however, something struck me as very peculiar. It is a rule in the NHL, that if a player shoots the puck off the playing surface, its a delay of game penalty. The rule is simple. Black and white. Easy to enforce.

You never see an intermission panel discussing whether or not that call in the first period was a delay of game penalty. It either was or it wasn't.

And yet here we sit, night in, night out, discussing head shots and if THIS hit was a head shot, or if THAT hit was a head shot.

It doesn't make a lot of sense to me.

You would think it'd be in the best interests of Colin Campbell and the league to protect their players (not only the stars), so it baffles me that there is a cut-and-dry delay of game call but on ice officials have no official recourse when it comes to a shot to the head. There is a murky, unclear rule now, but in the end, it is left up to the referee's discretion.

Seeing as how every NHL referee is rather incompetent, this is a terribly flawed system.

Make it simple. Make it black and white. Make it easy for the officials to look good.

Follow Mark on the Twitter: @roseyrocket