George Parros says running the NHL's Department of Player Safety has made him a more superstitious man.
He doesn't want to be too content when the league goes weeks without a significant suspension. He never wants to be absolutely convinced that a repeat offender won't offend again, or repeatedly. The minute Parros exhales is the minute a player does something reckless that requires a hearing.
Yet this season hasn't produced the same mammoth suspensions to repeat offenders as previous seasons -- with one notable exception. "There are players who were repeat offenders that have been controlling of their game and taken it to a level where they stay out of our hair," Parros told ESPN last week.