The television and still cameras were out in full force at the Toronto Maple Leafs practice yesterday to record a historic moment, one, it later turned out, that came about because of a new force in the debate on visors.
Well, maybe not a new force exactly, but one that is making itself heard where it counts: in the bedrooms of the National Hockey League.
When Tie Domi did as he promised, in the wake of serious eye injuries to three of his fellow members of the Maple Leafs organization, and donned a visor for yesterday's practice, he acknowledged it was done to bring peace on the home front.
After Owen Nolan and Darcy Tucker were left with torn retinas from errant sticks in the past three weeks, and Harold Druken, who plays for the Leafs' farm team in St. John's, narrowly missed the same fate, Domi said his wife Leanne "read me the riot act."
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Domi and his teammates also had Bryan Berard to think about. The former Leaf lost the sight in one eye to a stray stick almost four years ago.
Such is the culture in the NHL, however, that players who make their living by their fists as well as their sticks do not wear visors.
So when Domi mused out loud that he might become the first enforcer to wear a visor regularly, it was no surprise that the Leafs' practice rink was bristling with cameras yesterday. But don't get too excited -- Domi said after practice that wearing a visor for the first time since junior hockey was not as bad as he expected, but he is still a long way away from wearing one in a game.
"My wife had a lot to do with it," Domi said. "To appease her, I tried it. I have three young children and I'd like to see my grandchildren, too. But there were a lot of reasons for trying this.
"A lot of things go through your mind when you go through the Bryan Berard situation."
Any husband can sympathize with Domi in this matter. Who among us has not reluctantly done something in order to keep the peace?
This is not without precedent even in the NHL. Almost seven years ago, Wayne Gretzky regularly wore a different kind of headgear as his New York Rangers were losing a Stanley Cup semi-final to the Philadelphia Flyers.
There was a lot of sniggering behind Gretzky's back as he sported a beret at the postgame media scrums (one writer unkindly said he looked like a Parisian panhandler), and his wife Janet was widely suspected as the culprit for the fashion crime.
Domi, of course, did not look ridiculous at all, nor did teammate Tom Fitzgerald, who also tried a visor yesterday. The only thing ridiculous here is the enduring view that those who wear visors in today's stick-happy NHL, tough guys or not, are, well not cowards exactly, but not real brave, either.
Domi's experiment also prompted fellow enforcer Wade Belak, who is currently out with a knee injury, to say he will try a visor, at least in practice, when he resumes skating. But Belak, too, was encouraged, shall we say, by his wife Jennifer.
"Oh, God, every day," Belak said. "My wife was bugging me even before we were married."
Belak now thinks his wife has a point, and he thinks the sight of Domi wearing a visor, should he ever do so in a game, could have a profound effect on the rest of the league.
"It's starting to make sense now with all the injuries," Belak said. "If Tie wears one, everybody will think 'this is one of the toughest guys in the league and he's wearing one,' so you can't be a [chicken] I guess. I'm a young guy and I'm not ready to retire, so I don't want to lose an eye just to keep my image."
However, the response of one of the latest victims shows a sea of change is still a long way off.
"Yeah, [a visor] is something I'm going to have to consider," said Tucker, who wore sunglasses during his first appearance in front of the media since his injury Tuesday. "Yes, I'm going to try it when I come back.
"If I feel comfortable, I'll stick with it. If I don't, then I've got to go with what I feel comfortable with on the ice that makes me the player that I am."
Tucker, too, discussed the matter with his wife. But Shannon is the sister of renowned NHL battler Shayne Corson, so it was no surprise when Tucker said "we both feel the same way."
And here's something else to remember: After Berard was struck down on March 11, 2000, several Leafs donned visors for the next day's practice. That lasted about a week.
