When the NHL decided to bring in future Hall of Famer Brendan Shanahan to be the NHL Disciplinarian, I thought it was a good move. Seeing how he's actually EXPLAINING the reasoning for suspensions of a player to the fans for his decision makes me realize it was a GREAT move to bring him in.
Brendan was a gritty goal scorer when he played. He had no problem being aggressive on the ice, and he certainly doesn't now off it. Shanahan retired after the 2008/2009 season so he has a pulse on the state of hockey now. He has the respect of the NHL players and has no family currently playing in the NHL (See Campbell, Gregory).
Here is the video of Brendan explaining why he gave Jody Shelley a 10 game suspension (5 for pre season, 5 for regular season)....
As Hockey fans, we're not accustomed to this. We're used to Colin Campbell and his dart board (Which would have been great to see last year, video of Colin throwing darts at the board to make his decision) and his attitude of "We made our decision, we don't need to give you a reason why.
Now, players know what to look for, fans know what to look for and this is all GREAT for the NHL. I understand we'll still get complainers on this, but I'm sure we'll see fewer complainers than in seasons past.
Let's hope, as Flyers fans, we don't have to see Brendan a lot on video this season.
