'A Mouth from the South' NHL season skates to a rough start

11/06/09 - The NHL season began a little over a month ago when the league's "Premier Series" opened in Helsinki, Finland and Stockholm, Sweden. Since then, the league has been hit hard by injuries and illnesses, and fans have questioned disciplinary actions taken by the league offices on dangerous hits and plays.As of Thursday, a total of 69 players found themselves on injured reserve, meaning they cannot play for at least seven days, including several star players. An all-star lineup could be assembled with the players who are injured.

A number of players have also been afflicted by the H1N1 strain. Center David Krejci of the Boston Bruins, goalie Peter Budaj of the Colorado Avalanche, defensemen Ladislav Smid and Lubomir Visnovsky of the Edmonton Oilers, center Doug Weight of the New York Islanders and left wing Quintin Laing of the Washington Capitals have all been diagnosed with swine flu.

Since then, Budaj, Weight and Laing have all returned to the ice for their respective teams.

Center Mike Comrie and right wing Ales Hemsky in Edmonton had been quarantined with probable cases, but had not been diagnosed to have the virus and are traveling with the team once again.

The league's disciplinary office has also been busy so far this year.

Anaheim Ducks right wing Evgeny Artyukhin was suspended for three games last month after a slew-footing takedown of Dallas Stars defenseman Matt Niskanen. Artyukhin had to forfeit $34,756 of his salary to the league for the suspension.

A similar incident occurred involving Washington Capitals' left wing Alex Ovechkin a day after Artyukhin received his suspension. Ovechkin committed a slew-footed takedown of Atlanta Thrashers right wing Rich Peverly late in the game. Ovechkin was fined an undisclosed amount by the league for the incident, but was not suspended.

Carolina center Tuomo Ruutu was suspended three games for hitting Colorado Avalanche right wing Darcy Tucker from behind into the boards. The hit left Tucker unconscious on the ice; paramedics took him off on a backboard to a local hospital. Tucker suffered a concussion and spent a day in the hospital. He has yet to return to the ice. Ruutu had to forfeit $59,000 of his salary to the league for the suspension.

During a game in Philadelphia, Flyers center Mike Richards intentionally threw his shoulder at Florida Panthers left wing David Booth while he was skating down the ice. The hit impacted Booth's face and left him motionless on the ice until paramedics got him onto a stretcher. Booth spent the night in a local hospital with a concussion. He also has yet to return to the ice.

NHL Senior Vice President of Hockey Operations Mike Murphy chose not to suspend Richards.

All fines from disciplinary actions go directly to the league's Players' Emergency Assistance Fund.

Despite all the problems the NHL has faced this year, attendance is once again on pace for another record year. The quality of play on the ice is the highest it has ever been. The parody of the league makes all 82 games count for each team and the annual Winter Classic has become one of the most exciting events in professional sports. The league appears to be gaining enough popularity to catch up to the other major professional sports in terms of the size of its total fan base.