After weekend of brutal hits, player-safety zealots begin outcry

When, exactly, did Willie Mitchell's(notes) devastating check on Jonathan Toews(notes) earn a spot on the dishonor roll of illegal and immoral hits that are turning the NHL into a collection of concussed mush-brained zombies, one blast at a time?Because the Chicago Blackhawks saw nothing wrong with it, even after their captain's injury.Yet there it is, as Exhibit Q in Adam Proteau's column on The Hockey News Web site titled "League insufficiently punishing dangerous hits." But that's what the "we must protect the players!" crowd does best when there's a slew of incidents that allegedly involve the kind of over-the-line violent checks that are shredding the fabric of decency in professional ice hockey: The critics blur the line between the egregious, despicable acts (See: Tuomo Ruutu(notes) on Darcy Tucker(notes)) and the hockey plays that happen to spotlight the violence in a violent game (See: Mike Richards on David Booth). Look, the lines ar...