Part 2
The week of February 6-13th 2011, two games have shown just how ineffective the NHL & P.A have been with regards to head shots, concussions, goonery, retaliation and suspensions.
The Montreal Canadiens and the Boston Bruins played a fight filled game on Feb. 9,2011 where a total of 182 penalty minutes were given. The last minute of the game is where things were clearly out of hand. It started with Andrew Ference's two handed slash on Tomas Plekanec which provoked Travis Moen to defending his teammate by going after fight Ference. This started a line brawl which had the Bruins enforcers Gregory Campbell, Shawn Thornton and Boychuk going after Tom Pyatt, Roman Hamrlik and Jaroslav Spacek. Bruins Thornton and Boychuk (fighters) started fights with Hamrlik and Spacek (non fighters) breaking a long time fighting code where fighters do not engage non fighters unless punched first. This was not the case here. In fact the opposite happened. Campbell followed the code against Pyatt engaging him only after being punched twice. Campbell later used his elbow pad as a weapon on the face of Pyatt cutting him badly enough for him to require seven stitches. No Bruin was suspended and the team was not fined for putting their goons on in the last minute of the game. NHL H.O. Colin Campbell or Mike Murphy failure to address the games final events has to put a dark shadow over the NHL's integrity as Campbell's son was one of the players involved for the Bruins.
Two days later, a Pittsburgh Penguins vs New York Islanders game escalated so out of control that it left some long time hockey people shaking their heads in disbelief. The game ended with a total of 347 minutes in penalties. It all started with Matt Martin of the Islanders trying to sucker punch Maxime Talbot from behind which he escaped unhurt. It is believed this attack by Martin was for retribution of a late body check on Blake Comeau by Talbot in the previous game. The Islanders felt it was a dirty check. Comeau has been out of the Islanders line up, suffering from a concussion. Talbot received no penalty or suspension for the hit. The game only became worse after that. Trevor Gillies, of the Islanders elbowed Eric Tangradi to the head from behind, into the boards. He then proceeded to punch a hurt and dazed Tangradi which brought teammates to his defense. Fights started all over the ice. The linesmen broke up a fight between Mike Haley(NYI) and Maxime Talbot(PIT) but were unable get the players to the penalty box. Haley skated the length of the ice to start another fight with the Penguins goalie Brent Johnson. He was clearly trying to get some payback for his goalie Rick DiPietro. DiPietro is out for 4-6 weeks with a facial fracture suffered in a one punch fight with Johnson in their last meeting. DiPeitro had initiated the fight with Johnson. Eric Godard(PIT) jumped off the Penguins bench to come to the aid of his goaltender and he started punching Haley together with Johnson until it too was broken up.
Campbell summoned Godard, Gillies, Martin to a disciplinary meeting to discuss the events of the game. Zenon Konopka was also summoned to this meeting because he supposedly left the bench on a legal line change to instigate an altercation. This infraction demands a review with a possibility of suspension. Haley was simply not even summoned by Campbell as if his actions were within the rules of the game.
The next day, the NHL announced their decisions on the players as follows:
Eric Godard (PIT.) - 10 games suspension for leaving the bench during a fight.
Trevor Gillies (NYI.) - 9 games suspension for blindside elbow to head with intent to injure.
Matt Martin (NYI.) - 4 games suspension for a blindside sucker punch to head but the player was not hurt but it was his 2nd offense for head shot.
Mike Haley (NYI.) - 0 games suspension, no answer by NHL. Not even called to meeting by NHL. No explanation of any kind as why he was unpunished.
Zenon Konopka (NYI.) - 0 games suspension, again no answer given by the NHL.
New York Islanders - $100 000 fine to the club for failure to control players.
The NHL's announcement of these suspensions fueled the already furious Pittsburgh Penguin's owner ex-NHL (Great) Mario Lemieux to issue this statement:
"Hockey is a tough, physical game, and it always should be. But what happened Friday night on Long Island wasn't hockey. It was a travesty. It was painful to watch the game I love turn into a sideshow like that.
"The NHL had a chance to send a clear and strong message that those kinds of actions are unacceptable and embarrassing to the sport. It failed.
"We, as a league, must do a better job of protecting the integrity of the game and the safety of our players. We must make it clear that those kinds of actions will not be tolerated and will be met with meaningful disciplinary action.
"If the events relating to Friday night reflect the state of the league, I need to re-think whether I want to be a part of it."
The NHL should not consider the intentions of the perpetrators nor the injuries to the victims when deciding on length of suspensions. When are the NHL and P.A. going to wake up and protect their assets ( the players)? They can stop the head shots if the referees are instructed to call these hits automatically and more consistently. They can raise suspensions (Bigger suspension for 1st offense, 2nd and so on.) each time as a deterrant and coach the players how to properly separate the man from the puck, not the head from the shoulders. Hockey is a very physical, fast and the greatest game. No exception. It is even better when the body checking is done both cleanly and properly. The NHL continues to lose some very skilled and talented players to head shots, borderline dirty hits and human missiles charging into body checks.This can not be good for the game of Hockey, period. IT IS TIME FOR THE NHL TO SET AN EXAMPLE FOR ALL LEVELS OF HOCKEY WITH IT'S ACTIONS TOWARD ON-ICE VIOLENCE. The NHL needs to correct these issues before some player's neck is broken or worse, dies while playing a game that he and so many of us really love playing. Has the better, more protective equipment caused players to play like human missiles with no apparent fear of injury? Sidney Crosby might not play again this year. Is this best for his health and also the game of Hockey in the NHL? Only if Crosby does not return, will the NHL make the necessary changes to their game and they would be wise to listen carefully to Lemieux's statements. He has the ability to see the game of hockey as both a player and an owner but he also has the leverage of Crosby being hurt to help make the necessary changes to the NHL game. Lemieux hit it bang-on with his statement that the NHL failed to give meaningful disciplinary action. Martin's suspension is a joke. Martin's gutless attack was eerily similar to that of Todd Bertuzzi. Bertuzzi would received a suspension for the rest of the regular season and playoffs for his attack on Steve Moore where his neck was broken. Martin could have received just as much or more if Talbot had been badly hurt. Haley received no suspension whatsoever for his actions nor were they even considered. He, like Martin, also was seeking retribution for an injured teammate and should have been properly suspended.
Colie Campbell and Mike Murphy have been placed in positions where you have to question their integrity and that of the NHL. The NHL allows both of them to hold these decision-making positions while they have both applied or requested about General Manager jobs with teams around the league to which they have been turned down. Could these men not hold any grudges towards any of the teams who rejected them for these jobs? Very hard to prove or believe, but why does the NHL leave them in their present jobs? Colie Campbell's son plays in the league for the Boston Bruins. He has excused himself when it comes to suspension or decisions of discipline to the Bruins, allowing Mike Murphy to make those decisions. How is Murphy supposed to be unbiased when he works with and is a good friend of Campbell? Murphy's integrity came into question by Dean Lombardi of the Los Angeles Kings after a goal against his team was allowed by the referees, that was clearly struck by a high stick into their net, by the Phoenix Coyotes. Murphy, who is in-charge of all video reviews from Toronto, allowed the call on the ice to stand. Lombardi and the Kings were livid after they lost the game in Phoenix 2-0. Lombardi exploded after the game to the media, claiming he should have expected his team not to get the proper call when the decision would be made by Murphy who was rejected for the Kings GM job. Lombardi was fined $50,000 by commissioner Gary Bettman for questioning the integrity of the NHL and Mike Murphy. We have to question Bettman's point of view now, as the Coyotes hockey team had not yet been sold by the NHL so they were still in ownership of the club. The NHL, Campbell and Murphy are in conflict of interest in their decisions and the jobs these men hold.
I believe it is time for NHL to use a Disciplinary Committee to address game misconducts, match penalties and all required suspensions, using a group of 7 people. It should include ex-players, ex-general manager, ex-NHL on-ice officials, someone with no present biases toward any team. This type of committee can only be an effective deterrent for the players' on-ice transgressions by acting clearly, consistently and fairly when imposing suspensions.
The following are my suggestions for this committee:
Wayne Gretzky(NHL Player, coach, owner) as Chairman,
Keith Primeau (NHL player left game with concussions),
Pat Lafontaine (Same as Primeau),
Scott Bowman(Coach, general manager and special consultant),
Bob Gainey(NHL player, coach, general manager and special consultant),
John D'Amico(NHL linesman one of the most respected),
Andy Van Hellemond(NHL referee, supervisor, video review supervisor and the most respected referee).
If the NHL and the P.A. work together, cooperate and listen to each other's views of the problems, only then will there be better solutions to the concussion injuries that plague their league. When the Collective Bargaining Agreement is re-negotiated in 2012, this is where the two sides must make substantial changes to the rules for the game of hockey and the NHL.
Here are all the infractions so far this year, mentioned in this article. You take a good look at all of them before deciding what the NHL should have done that could have changed what has happened on the Head shot Issue. Are the NHL really trying to get concussions and dangerous hits to the head out of the game of Hockey? I certainly don't think so but you decide.
Eric Godard(PIT) 10 games suspension leave bench altercation Feb11,2011Trevor Gillies(NYI) on Eric Tangradi(PIT) blindside elbow to head & punches after player down intent to injure 9 games suspension.Matt Martin(NYI) on Maxime Talbot(PIT) Blindside sucker punch player not hurt on intent to injure 4 games suspension Mike Haley(NYI) no suspension 2nd altercation length of ice with Brent Johnson(PIT) goalie? http://video.nhl.com/videocenter/console?catid=53&id=97529 NYI VS PIT Feb 11,2011 all above events.
Matt CookePIT on Fedor TyutinCBJ $ games suspension 5 min Charging major http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=552098
Anton VolchenkovNJD on Zach BoychukCAR elbow minor was a blindside hit 3 games suspension only? FDRYhttp://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=552089
Daniel Paille BOS on Raymond Sawan DALFeb. 3,2011 4 games suspension back pressure head shot http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5ggHK-FDRY
Mike BrownTOR on Ed JovanovskiPHX Jan.15,2011 3 games suspension Rule 48 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0ky4p9m3XM
Tom KostopoulosCAL on Brad StuartDET Jan. 7,2011 6 games suspension head shot not rule 48 - Stuart broken jaw http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDYBpZbGvv4
David SteckelWAS on Sidney CrosbyPIT Winterclassic Jan 1 2011- Crosby still out until March Best player in the game, no suspension Steckley incident no intent - What should that matter?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUQziwabMKk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUQziwabMKk
Matt Martin NYI on Vernon FidlerPHX Dec. 20,2010 2 games suspension http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9ZAvaL1MSc
Joe ThortonSJS on David PerronSTL - has not played since the hit Nov 4, 2010 2 game suspension http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m55RtBUyKcA
Shane DoanPHX on Dan SextonANA Oct.17,2010 3 games suspension. For the most part, it was textbook rule 48. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4iudZhY7ow
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