Over the last several years, the National Hockey League and its own Department of Player Safety have tried to put forth the notion they are concerned about player safety and are actively working on the problem using fines and suspensions to educate players engaging in unsafe behaviors.
However, these actions are failing at the most basic level – consistency. This has led to the League having a credibility problem with the fans. I think we all can understand that it may be confusing and difficult at first to carry out sweeping and effective changes. But the time for the learning curve for the NHL and DoPS has run out.