Here you go:
The NHL says steroids are not a problem. Presumably, they'd like to keep it that way.
One of the lessons from the Mitchell Report is that baseball players were often persuaded to use roids and HGH to compete with those who were in fact using. So in order to keep the NHL roid-free, they need to take huge step toward making it unattractive to everyone involved.
For the players union, it should be treated as a matter of player safety. Players are already bigger, faster and stronger than they've ever been, so the possibility of players artificially enhancing those traits creates a danger for everyone else on the ice. And in a sport where fighting is allowed, emotions run high, and violent contact is part of the bargain, the issue of roid rage is not something that ought to be ignored. If the union is indeed concerned about the welfare of
all of the players, they should get behind a serious, comprehensive and stringent enforcement policy.
For the league, it should be a matter of maintaining the integrity of the game. Already, they approach the public differently from the other major sports. They are trying to build a relationship between the fans and the players. Nothing could be more detrimental to that than what's happening to baseball today: everyone is suspect, and those named are likely the tip of the iceberg. Hockey already struggles to be considered among the major professional team sports.
For the owners, it comes down to protecting their investments. We've seen the physical toll steroid use can take, from Lyle Alzado's brain cancer to ligament damage in several of the abusers in MLB (the muscles grow, I'm told, beyond the capacities of the ligaments and tendons). How much money do owners invest in scouting, drafting and training a player? And what result for those efforts if the player damages his body or loses his career to steroid use?
Which brings us to the players. They have much to gain, and particularly the marginal players who might not otherwise make the league or have any impact if they get there. Their motivation is clear. A so-so minor league career, or at best a short uneventful career in the NHL, balanced against the possibility of stardom or superstardom. A fair-to-good living vs. being set for life. They have all the incentive in the world to cheat.
So everyone else has to combine their efforts to make steroid and/or HGH use so unappealing that it will never become a problem.
Here's my
First offense, a full-year suspension, without pay. Suspension includes playing in any league that has an operating agreement with the NHL including all the IIHF affiliate leagues.
However, the player's unpaid salary remains part of the team's cap hit. The salary goes to a drug education, treatment and diversion program jointly run by the league and the union. The team must make an equal contribution to the program.
Second offense, two full years suspension, all other aspects remaining the same. If the player has less than two years on the contract, the team must still pay the equivalent salary to the program.
Third offense, lifetime ban. The team must pay the player's salary cap number for five years.
If the teams can demonstrate that they made every reasonable effort to prevent steroid use, including unannounced, random team-sponsored testing, they may appeal all or part of their portion of the fine. The appeal would be heard before an independent arbitration panel agreed to by the team, the league and the union.
The player would have the right to challenge the test findings, and to request another test to be conducted by an independent tester, approved by the team, the league and the union.
The finer details I have yet to determine, but there seems to be grounds here for every involved party to demonstrate their bona fides. The teams have ZERO incentive to turn a blind eye. The league has every reason to ensure the testing is done and its results validated.
The players have too much to lose getting caught. The teams lose financially, and also against their cap hit.
It's strong medicine, but if the idea is to keep players safe and protect the integrity of the game, it may be what's necessary.
Thoughts?
4/10/82
A proposal for an NHL steroids policy 
