GTOG's Solution to NHL Concussion Issue: Brandy's Law

By Finesse

We may not have the most fans on the internet, but we definitely have the best and most dedicated.  In response to our debate about Eric Nystrom's hit on Kris Letang, SuperFan Brandy had this to say in the comments:

I'm just tired of it. There's always an excuse, especially once Feb. hits. Typical blame the victim mentality that has put how much talent on the sideline: Sid, LeTang, Backstrom, Toews, Pronger, Horton... The list is so fricking long I can't even remember a portion. 

What's it going to be - six months, a year, a year and half before we see Tanger again? There's no chance he'll be back with a second concussion in four months. 

So here's another season gone without two top-flight talents. Much as I love this game, why watch it when there's little to no chance the team will be intact come playoff time? Why spend to the cap when when large portions of it will spend half the season or more in the press box? 

And more importantly, now that this year of the core is lost: who will it be next year? Geno? Staal? Sid again? Neal? Someone will throw a shoulder into one of their heads to slow them down. Every player in the league knows there are no consequences for recklessness. I'm not saying they intend to send guys off the ice. They just don't care. And why should they?

Such emotion, such passion from Brandy (also, big shout out to P.Co, who always brings the goods).

"I probably have de concuss."

So while we at GTOG have at least a mild difference of opinion on what Nystrom should have done in that situation, we are in agreement that the concussion problem has gotten bad enough that the best route to take is to ban all shots to the head. (Unfortunately for some people, like Jeremy Roenick, this hit would still be slightly borderline because it's 99.999% clear that Letang's head was hit, but it's possible that the shooter on the grassy knoll hit his chest first.  Also, hits to the chest can cause concussions -- ask the Staal brothers).

So how do we implement such a system?  Simple.  Just like Fox News gets Florida to enact laws named after abducted kids, we give power to the individual most equipped to exercise it: Brandy.  Therefore, we're bringing Brandy's Law to the floor of the GTOG Senate.

Finesse: What say ye on Brandy's Law?
Artistry: Yeah, sure that's fine. Can you do a post on it?

Democracy in action.

An attempted morale booster after the jump...


There is no question that Letang's injury could be devastating to the Pens' chances, but there are two ways to try to put a positive spin on it:

First, you could say that the Pens weren't going to win the Cup anyway if Sid didn't come back, so the Letang injury doesn't matter.  Wait.  That's not optimistic at all.

The better way to look at it is that this is just another bump in the road.  A cavernous black hole, yes, but still just a bump.  The Pens have overcome a lot in the past two years, perhaps more adversity than all the other teams in the league combined.  There's just nothing we can do, other than sit back and wait -- wait for Sid to get better, wait for Letang to get better, or wait for some unsung hero to emerge.  Maybe we'll be waiting forever, or maybe we'll have all hands on deck for the playoffs.  Last year, like watching an overturned potato bug, we waited hours for Alexei Kovalev to stand up after each time he fell.  We know how to wait.

One of the most skilled players in Penguins' history.

The point is, it doesn't matter.  We're here.  We've committed. We've been all-in for our whole lives.  Nothing changes.  Go Pens.