Sutter's dad sees changes

Hits to the head more common

MONTREAL -- Brent Sutter was speaking as a father, a coach and a longtime hockey man Monday in discussing his son, Brandon.

Brent Sutter is coach of the New Jersey Devils. He played in the NHL for many years and was a tough character who was in on his share of hard hits, saying he suffered eight or nine concussions in his career.

But Sutter said what happened to Brandon Sutter on Saturday night in the Carolina Hurricanes' game against the New York Islanders -- Brandon being leveled by the Islanders' Doug Weight and suffering a concussion -- did not happen very often 10 to 15 years ago and shouldn't be a part of the game today.

"First of all, I have nothing against Doug Weight," Brent Sutter said in an interview. "And Brandon will be fine. He's still suffering from whiplash symptoms and is sore, but he was feeling much better [Monday] and was in a good state of mind, and his improvement is significant.

"I also know that in the heat of battle, these things happen. It was a hard hit, a legal hit, and Brandon knows that. But something has to be done about players being hit in the head while in a vulnerable position. It happens that this was my son, but something needs to happen."

Sutter said that when he played, such a hit would lead to "repercussions."

"I'm not talking about suspensions or penalties, either," Brent Sutter said. "If a player got hit in the head, whether it was clean or dirty, you knew what was going to happen.

"It was going to be a long night for the guy who did the hitting. And the next time, it would be a long night."

Brandon Sutter, a 19-year-old rookie playing just his seventh NHL game, was reaching for the puck near mid-ice and put his head down just as Weight came flying in to make the check. Weight, a former Hurricanes forward who was very popular with his teammates, slammed his left shoulder into Sutter's head.

No penalty was called. Nor has Weight been suspended by the NHL.

"The frustrating thing for us is that guys are getting hurt and out of the lineup for a period of time and the guys doing the hitting aren't getting many games [for a suspension], if any," the Canes' Eric Staal said Monday. "There's that line, that gray area, of whether it's a clean hit or not.

"It's one of those things where you don't want to take away the physicality but you want to protect the guys, and guys' heads especially. Concussions continue to be researched, and some guys have left the game, not able to play or even lead a normal life."

Sutter spent Saturday night in a Long Island hospital and was released Sunday. He spent Sunday night with his parents in New Jersey, then traveled by train back to Raleigh on Monday.

Brandon's mother, Connie, plans to stay with him this week, Brent Sutter said.

"People may say I'm old-school," Brent Sutter said. "The game today is better in a lot of areas. But in some areas, it's not and it's troublesome.

"There is a lack of respect for opponents' players. It's the way the game is played today, and there are significant injuries. It is what it is."

The Canes have had significant injuries. Last season, Matt Cullen, Trevor Letowski and David Tanabe were sidelined after shots to the head.

"I think it's going to become a bigger and bigger problem in the league," Cullen said. "They talk about it, but it appears to me to be a lot of lip service.

"I understand it's tough to deal with. It's a matter of trying to teach different ways and trying to enforce rules in a different way. It's a tough thing to enforce, but it's something we can't allow to keep happening because we'll lose a lot of good, young players like Brandon for a period of time. The league can't have that."

Staal played with Weight in 2006, when Carolina won the Stanley Cup. He said Weight was not the kind of player to go head-hunting or intentionally hurt someone.

"We played with Dougie and know the kind of guy he is," Staal said. "He texted me right after the game and wanted to make sure the kid was all right.

"He was in one of those positions where maybe he could have gone for the puck but chose the other. Brandon was trying to get the puck out. Dougie was kind of in one of those spots where if he doesn't go for the hit he might get beat and it could be a breakaway and a goal-against for their team.

"It's one of those spots where it's tough. But I think players should try to make the best decisions they can and try to protect each other."

That's what Brent Sutter wants -- good, tough hockey, but also a safer, more respectful game.

"I'm not complaining because it's Brandon," he said. "I'm just saying when things like this happen, you have to ask how can it be prevented and can anything be done differently?"