Chicago Blackhawks Fans Have A New Public Enemy In This Colorado Avalanche Player

At the end of the day, the NHL needs to start policing these cheap shots better, especially when it comes to the superstars.

You cannot grow the game with your best players on injured reserve. No one is paying to specifically see Manson play hockey. No one is trying to make Manson the face of the NHL.

People are paying to see Bedard, and the league is marketing him heavily. It must protect him better.

The hit that Smith delivered to Bedard when Connor broke his jaw is going to happen. Bedard needs to learn to keep his head on a swivel. Manson’s slash was unnecessary, and nothing more than "I am going to take a run at the top star."

To be fair, that is one reason gloves are still being dropped in the game. At the same time, defending the honor of your teammate in situations like that should no longer be a reason to fight. The league should be instructing the officials to watch out for stuff like that.

Don’t like it? Well, the NBA grew outrageously with Michael Jordan. I do not think any player is getting too upset now that they are getting paid big bucks and being treated like superstars.

Connor Bedard has the talent, charisma, and star power to lift the league to new heights. If that happens, a fourth defenseman like Manson should see a bump in pay.

Hockey players make less than the fourth-starting pitcher on most MLB teams. Some of that is the hard salary cap, a lot of that is because hockey still has not grown enough to be a true mainstream sport. Most casual sports fans could not name five hockey players. Do you want a higher salary cap so your team is no longer in salary cap crunches? Well, you need to grow the game’s popularity.

That is not going to happen when a defenseman past his prime is taking runs at a player who is a main attraction.