Brendan Shanahan Helping Teams and Players Better Understand Discipline Rulings

When Brendan Shanahan took over the NHL's role of lead disciplinarian, the biggest part of the job he needed to improve upon was clearly explaining why a suspension was or wasn't given.

Players and team officials often struggled to find a real explanation on many rulings, and little consistency in the rulings surely didn't help.

Shanahan is now using videos to explain why the decision was made to suspend or fine a player and what factors went into that decision.

At the Boston Bruins media day on Tuesday, team president and former Bruins star Cam Neely was in favor of the league's video approach on disciplinary matters.

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“It should help everyone," said Neely, who during his career played a very physical style of hockey. “For the league to be able to explain it with a video…it is beneficial to everyone.”

“For the players especially to be able to understand why there was a suspension or why there wasn’t."

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Being able to understand why a ruling was given seems like the biggest improvement Shanahan has brought to this part of the sport. Factors like whether or not the hit was late, if the player left the ice and if the player has a history of illegal hits are all taken into consideration.

These videos, in addition to the new rule changes attempting to limit the amount of head shots, will change the game, and it's up to the players to adjust.

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“I do like getting rid of headshots, no question," said Neely. “When you’re losing some of your better players that we’ve seen for stretches of time out of the game, it’s not good for the game.”

“This will be a learning curve for the players on what they have to adjust to, especially if you're a physical player”

“The league certainly is taking a stand on headshots, as you’ve seen in the preaseason…”

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The Bruins certainly know what it's like to lose an important player to a head injury. The team's best center, Marc Savard, had his season cut short against the Colorado Avalanche last year when former teammate Matt Hunwick checked him along the endboards.

Savard's career is now in jeopardy, and retirement is likely the best decision for him at this point. The health of the remainder of his life is at stake, not just his playing career.

Sidney Crosby's concussion issues have been widely talked about this summer, and it will continue to be a hot issue until Crosby returns to the Pittsburgh Penguins lineup. The league can't afford to be having its marquee stars like Crosby have their careers end way too early because of concussions and other head injuries. The game may become less physical as a result, but that will benefit the sport as a whole. It's possible to play the game very hard and not injure players.

Shanahan and the league are heading in the right direction in terms of keeping hockey physical and exciting, but at the same time, protecting the players that make the game exciting.

All quotes obtained first hand.

Nicholas Goss is a Boston Bruins featured columnist for Bleacher Report and was the organization's on-site reporter for the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals in Boston. Follow him on Twitter for NHL/Bruins news and analysis. Follow @NicholasGoss35