The NHL was out in front of the rest of North America’s professional sports leagues in using social media to promote its sport. Now it’s following the others with some restrictions on its use. Guidelines issued by the league this week, according to the CBC, say players are no longer allowed to use social media sites like Twitter or Facebook before, during or immediately after games. That should eliminate instances in which players let loose information (injuries, lineup status) teams would prefer to keep from their opponents or react emotionally to events in games. But it also keeps players’ personalities from shining through — the entire point of social media in the first place. The NHL’s policy was put together with input from the NHL Players’ Association.
The Capitals have several players active on Twitter, including defensemen John Carlson and Karl Alzner. Star forward Alex Ovechkin again has begun to tweet regularly after almost two years away from the medium. Defenseman John Erskine, forward D.J. King and defenseman Mike Green also use Twitter.
– Brian McNally
