The BS Suspension Thread

[Madcombinepilot]

ummm... nothing?

[ESQ]

Definitely under the old regime there was no appetite to watch west coast games with a view to supplemental discipline, and in fact they seemed to go out of their way to avoid issuing a suspension - see Pronger's stomp and Malkin's late elbow. If Shanahan carries this same level of scrutiny forward, where he's apparently watching pre-season Blue Jackets games (probably doubling their ratings HEYO), I think the system will be much improved.

I think the players to really watch are Chris "More Suspensions Than Anyone Else In The League" Pronger and the Boston "Broke One Neck and One Back in 5 Months" Bruins, because Campbell definitely was averse to disciplining them.

[dhabums]

The fans for the other 29 teams will be applauding instead of being pissed off.

Perhaps not the PAYING fans. Especially those who pay extra for "premium" tickets.

I never understand why a superstar deserves a better treatment than a 4th liner.

Perhaps because professional hockey is a business. Perhaps because suspending a guy who plays 25 minutes a night and a guy who plays 3 minutes (or may just be a scratch) for 5 games for the same foul isn't necessarily equitable.

Or more likely because life isn't always fair.

[Jovocop]

Perhaps because professional hockey is a business. Perhaps because suspending a guy who plays 25 minutes a night and a guy who plays 3 minutes (or may just be a scratch) for 5 games for the same foul isn't necessarily equitable.

Or more likely because life isn't always fair.

I can live with the "life isn't always fair" argument. If playing 25 minutes a night is important, perhaps the "star player" should think twice before committing a foul. Was Bertuzzi considered a "star player" when the Moore incident happened?? Did anyone get upset about Bertuzzi's suspension?? He paid the price for the crime he committed. I just do not see any problems with that. The problem is that the NHL treats a "star player" in a big market differently than a "star player" in a
small market.

[wienerdog]

Was Bertuzzi considered a "star player" when the Moore incident happened?? Did anyone get upset about Bertuzzi's suspension?? He paid the price for the crime he committed.

There's a big difference between the Bertuzzi mugging and the boarding / hitting infractions that are being clamped down on.

Bert's actions weren't even within the rules of hockey, while these other plays are part of the game.

As brought up previously, the Malkin hit on Mitchell two years back is a good example of a "hockey play" that could now result in a star player being tossed for 4-10 games. But it still remains to be seen if a player like that gets the heavy hand from Shanahan.

It's an even better example when you condiser that a) it's a high profile team like the Pens and b) they might already be missing a marquee guy in Crosby; no matter how you slice it, handing out a huge suspension to Malkin for that hit if it happened *today* might still be a tough sell to the upper management of the League at large.

I'm interested in how this will all play out.

[dhabums]

Perhaps because professional hockey is a business. Perhaps because suspending a guy who plays 25 minutes a night and a guy who plays 3 minutes (or may just be a scratch) for 5 games for the same foul isn't necessarily equitable.

Or more likely because life isn't always fair.

I can live with the "life isn't always fair" argument. If playing 25 minutes a night is important, perhaps the "star player" should think twice before committing a foul. Was Bertuzzi considered a "star player" when the Moore incident happened?? Did anyone get upset about Bertuzzi's suspension?? He paid the price for the crime he committed. I just do not see any problems with that. The problem is that the NHL treats a "star player" in a big market differently than a "star player" in a
small market.

Lots of Canucks fans were irate with the suspension thinking it was way too long and that it was all Moore's fault. I really don't think Todd Bertuzzi sold tickets though. Definitely not in the way Crosby or Ovechkin do. Not really even sure what we are discussing, my original comment wasn't even serious.

Edit:

How will this come into play?

A player or players who have entered the game on a legal line change during a stoppage of play, who line up in preparation for the ensuing face-off, and who participate in an altercation shall be penalized under the appropriate rule and will be subject to discipline in accordance with Rule 28 – Supplementary Discipline (a game misconduct is not automatic in this situation unless provided for as a result of his actions in the altercation).

I can't wait to see the line drawn for what constitutes starting a fight directly after leaving the bench and what constitutes enough time. Or if 2 players come out of the box and fight, are they both gone for 5+?

[Strangelove]

^^^^^ Good find and good question dhabums.

Ridiculous rule!

[dhabums]

5 games for Smith on Smith violence. I like the hit and think BS is creating himself a really slippery slope. Players are responsible for their own safety except when they aren't. Can't wait to see Pronger's first suspension, should we start a pool?

[KeyserSoze]

5 games for Smith on Smith violence. I like the hit and think BS is creating himself a really slippery slope. Players are responsible for their own safety except when they aren't.

I didn't really have a problem with the hit either.

The result was unfortunate, but players will get hurt from body checks in contact sports form time to time.

The D man committed to making the hit, and would have hit the forward a lot more square on had the forward A) not made a fancy toe drag attempt to the middle of the ice, or B) was more aware that the Dman was playing the angle so aggressively. The primary contact did end up being the upper body / head area, but the D man had already committed to the hit and did not change course / stick out a limb as a reaction when the forward tried to cut to the middle.

The Dman played the angle aggressively (more aggressively than the forward was expecting by the looks of it) and did not seem to "target" the head.

By attempting to cut to the middle the forward nearly eluded contact from the Dman all together, and would have been rewarded with a clear route to the net and golden scoring chance. His fancy attempt was not quite good enough to aviod all contact, and unfortunately for him the portion of his body that did not avoid contact was his head area.

IMO the rest of the pre-season plus 5 reg season games is too steep, and I look forward to hering Shanny's explanation.

[mathonwy]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3P2wTEidNEE

[Topper]

matt ccoke says hello Mr Smith

[Hank]

5 games for Smith on Smith violence. I like the hit and think BS is creating himself a really slippery slope. Players are responsible for their own safety except when they aren't.

I didn't really have a problem with the hit either.

The result was unfortunate, but players will get hurt from body checks in contact sports form time to time.

The D man committed to making the hit, and would have hit the forward a lot more square on had the forward A) not made a fancy toe drag attempt to the middle of the ice, or B) was more aware that the Dman was playing the angle so aggressively. The primary contact did end up being the upper body / head area, but the D man had already committed to the hit and did not change course / stick out a limb as a reaction when the forward tried to cut to the middle.

The Dman played the angle aggressively (more aggressively than the forward was expecting by the looks of it) and did not seem to "target" the head.

By attempting to cut to the middle the forward nearly eluded contact from the Dman all together, and would have been rewarded with a clear route to the net and golden scoring chance. His fancy attempt was not quite good enough to aviod all contact, and unfortunately for him the portion of his body that did not avoid contact was his head area.

IMO the rest of the pre-season plus 5 reg season games is too steep, and I look forward to hering Shanny's explanation.

Shanny has made his video on NHL.com.

Yeah this is the kind of hit that makes these rulings tough. I don't necessarily agree with the length suspension either, but it looks like someone has to be made an example of. The bad thing is the reputation takes a hit. Shanny states "targeted the head" a few times which I do not think is the case. The next suspension and this guy will be tagged forever as a "repeat offender" even if the incident is not serious.

[Aaronp18]

I really don't see anything wrong with the suspension.

These are the types of hits that the league wants removed. The d-man had all the time he needed to avoid contact with Smith's head, but it was the principle point of contact as Shanny said several times.

He just clips the front of him as he's hitting him, he's actually pretty lucky Smith wasn't a better player. If he stopped short a bit d-man Smith would have flown right by him. I just don't think he expect the d-man to run at him like that, probably figured he would play him like a more standard one on one.

Either way, the d-man should have targeted more of him body, catching shoulder and hip.

Hopefully next time he will be more conscious of this. Hopefully the rest of the league learns from these more severe penalties as well.

[KeyserSoze]

Shanny has made his video on NHL.com.

Yeah this is the kind of hit that makes these rulings tough. I don't necessarily agree with the length suspension either, but it looks like someone has to be made an example of. The bad thing is the reputation takes a hit. Shanny states "targeted the head" a few times which I do not think is the case. The next suspension and this guy will be tagged forever as a "repeat offender" even if the incident is not serious.

Ya that's a tough call.

What I don't like about his explanation is that he makes it sound like it's okay to skate around with your head down, so long as the position of your head does not change, and that it would be up to the hitter to make sure he does not contact head first.

Hockey DB lists Ben Smith as only 5'11" to begin with. Add the fact that his head was extremely low to begin with makes it very difficult to hit him with impact without "targeting" his upper body / head area from that kind of angle.

I wish Shanny would have put more empahasis on the fact that Ben Smith put himself at risk with his toe drag to the middle of the ice, and taken that into a decision of perhaps less games for the suspension.

If Ben Smith is either more aware and/or does not try the fancy last-second move to the middle of the ice this is likely a perfect hit that is praised on the evening highlight reels.

[Cornuck]

I think that the Dman had a few other options available to him. He could have still hit him good without going near the head.