The Sedin & Keith Affair

[dbr]

You could make a list as long as my arm of articles that clown has written disparaging the Canucks, their fans, etc.

As pathetic as the sports journalism scene can be in this town I am always shocked to see the naked negative bias on full display in publications from other cities.

[rats19]

Boston
St louis
San jose
Chicago

Just name a few who have decided..if you can't beat them..join them..and play vancouvers gutless cheapshot stupid hockey..

Come on..put some more names up there.:.

[Fred]

This isn't the first time Duncan Keith has elbowed a player in the head.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XiTS8NjNao

[Todd Bersnoozi]

It's good to see that the Chicago media thot the keith hit was dirty too.

EXCERPT: And then Keith turned stupid. Then he became a Canuck. Then he sunk to Vancouver’s gutless, cheap-shot levels. He should know better. All the Hawks should.

Friends don’t let friends act like Canucks.

[wafflecombine]

Wow... conincidental contact along the boards after a full body check is equated to the predatory, premeditated targeting of the head. I laughed at the coached B.S., whipped pup response of Keith to the media.

Right... just like Marchand was "defending himself" against Salo with a low bridge hit.

Writer is playing to his audience and trying to whip up the fans. I was happy to see the article only rated a 1.5 of 5 stars.

Meh.. if Chicago is full of tough guys and Vancouver wimps then Keith shoulda answered the bell vs. Juice or Kassian. Hell Bolland, the banner waiver of Canuck haters stood and chatted with Hank while burrows, Kassian and Juice took on the other 4 hawks.

I know its not in Hanks game but I want to see him go Viking on someone sometime. Valkeries flying and deliver some undeserving soul to the underworld.

[Arachnid]

This isn't the first time Duncan Keith has elbowed a player in the head.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XiTS8NjNao

Yeah well, that was then...this is now...2009 versus 2012 in the New! Improved! Headhunterless/Cheap/Blindsideless NHL

...and it was Matt 'I ate my cat, then I fucked your sister' Cooke....A penalty but no concussion suspension...despicable and cowardly yes, Duncan Keith an angel?! No, Is he the devil?! No.

If the league wants to end this shit they have to suspend players for half the season...even if it's a Canuck...

[donlever]

And FUCK YOU REFS. Seriously. A BIG WHOLE HEARTED AND OBJECTIVE FUCK YOU.

There's inconsistent reffing and there's complete and utter incompetence.

2 minutes for a sucker elbow to the head is complete and utter competence.

Yep.

Dan O' Halloran is a veteran referee apporaching 1000 regular season games, 100 playoff games and he has worked Cup Finals and Olympics.

(He's also the guy that called Hansen on the mystery goaltender interference call in Minnesota the other night in the last 6 minutes of a 1-0 game. Standing 8 feet away he was so clearly he made that call without seeing anything but Harding go down. Guessereeing I suppose thats called.)

Last nights call was an abomination for a 17 year man to make.

He should be reprimanded by the league for his incompetence.

Great work Danny boy, you should be proud.

AV in response to a query regarding a potential suspension..."well I was looking for a major and got a minor, so I guess we'll see what the league does with this one..."

Sarcasm alert!

[donlever]

Meh.. if Chicago is full of tough guys and Vancouver wimps then Keith shoulda answered the bell vs. Juice or Kassian. Hell Bolland, the banner waiver of Canuck haters stood and chatted with Hank while burrows, Kassian and Juice took on the other 4 hawks.

Keith looked like a lost puppy out there when the rough stuff started.

He wanted nothing to do with it.

The Hawks have no Eager or Buffy around anymore and they are playing 6" shorter because of it.

[Fred]

I know Cooke is the sort of player you tend to say...well he deserves it...sure. But this is not about Cooke it's about Keith and shows his mentallity he can and will head hunt

[donlever]

Radulov plays game one tonight.

The Blues, Hawks and Wings all have games versus Nashville upcoming.

So if Keith gets 3-5 which equates to not much more than a nice rest for him prior to the playoffs (not to mention potentially avoiding a first round battle with Nashville and dealing with Dallas or Phoenix instead) the NHL has set a nice little precedent.

Anyone pissed at the Radulov saga and wanting to deal with it so he does not hurt them in the post season?

Target his head, knock him out with a concussion, get yourself a little 5 game sojourn before the playoffs and come in fresh and ready to go.

Right Gary?

[donlever]

So sayeth Kerry Fraser (from TSN.com):

The deliberate elbow delivered by Duncan Keith directly to the head of Daniel Sedin was at bare minimum a five-minute major and game misconduct for elbowing. The best call would have been a match penalty under Rule 45.5 for deliberate attempt to injure under the elbowing rule!

Duncan Keith demonstrated absolutely no intent on playing the puck that flew off the glass and was well out of range of Sedin when contact was made. Instead, once the opportunity for a payback on Daniel's non-penalized shoulder contact to Keith's head six and a half minutes earlier reared its ugly head, Duncan Keith seized the moment in an open-ice assault. As Daniel turned to look up ice and follow the puck, Duncan Keith's elbow was elevated, cocked and planted with force directly to the head of a surprised Daniel Sedin.

If Duncan Keith had hauled off and sucker-punched Sedin or cracked him over the head with his stick instead of with a deliberate elbow, I would hope that most referees would deem either of those acts as a premeditated attempt to injure his opponent and appropriately assess a match penalty.

The two acts I just described would not be deemed as checking tactics on a play of this nature; or even illegal ones that would result in a minor penalty. They would cross the line that defines normal minor infractions and venture into the most dangerous territory of attempting to injure a player. How does a deliberate elbow to the head, which generated as much force or more than a punch or stick, possibly be deemed a minor infraction? The truth is; there is no logical rational to support a minor penalty on this play or others that we have seen recently occur.

Daniel Sedin should not have gotten a free pass last night in the game either. His high hit on Duncan Keith warranted at least a minor penalty for boarding or as I would prefer, an illegal check to the head. Even though this is not the type of hit you would expect from Daniel Sedin nor does he have a previous history, his illegal contact to the head of Duncan Keith should also be reviewed and dealt with.

Last night I appeared on That's Hockey 2Nite on TSN2 via a Skype transmission from my home studio. My friend and show host, Steve Kouleas, asked me how much responsibility the on-ice officials have to help solve the problem of head hits and do Brendan Shanahan and the on-ice officials need to work in unison? The answer was a resounding, "YES they do!"

The officials are the first line of defense in enforcing an acceptable standard on all rule infractions. How they employ this standard across the board goes a long way to act as a deterrent for player willingness to break the rules and more importantly in providing for player safety.

The official's ability to accurately differentiate between minor and major infractions on the ice is vital to the success of controlling (and hopefully someday eliminating) dangerous hits and deliberate hits to the head of an opponent. Game enforcement is not only a most visible sign to participants in that specific game but to the hockey community at large as to what is deemed acceptable conduct.

In too many situations witnessed this season, the officials have either missed the mark altogether or came up short by at least three minutes plus a game misconduct. The judgment of the referees needs to be collectively and immediately retooled by NHL V.P. of Officiating, Terry Gregson, to conform to a higher standard that is currently being maintained by the Player Safety Committee.

As much as the on-ice officials are the first line of defense, Brendan Shanahan and the Player Safety Committee are the last line defense. For the most part Brenda Shanahan has done a very good job in ruling on dangerous hits and has levied suspensions this season that were previously unheard of. With some teams just 10 games away from playoff competition and chasing a spot, decisions on suspensions at this time can have a huge impact on a team.

This factor did not deter 'Shanny' from imposing a deserved three-game suspension to Shane Doan for his elbow on Jamie Benn. The Coyotes sit tied in points for the last playoff spot with the LA Kings, who have a game in hand and are just two point ahead of San Jose (one game in hand) and Calgary. Shane Doan is a key cog in the Phoenix Coyotes' machine and will miss Conference games against Colorado, San Jose and St. Louis.

Decisions at this time are also crucial in maintaining player accountability and a standard that hopefully will act as a strong deterrent moving into the playoffs. I look for Duncan Keith to receive a minimum of five games for his deliberate elbow to the head of Daniel Sedin. In addition, it is my hope that Daniel Sedin receives a one-game suspension for his careless hit to the head of Duncan Keith that was not penalized.

The on-ice officials (refs) need to work more in unison with Brendan Shanahan in the area of enforcement and to help support tough decisions that are being made with player safety in mind. That, by the way, is one of the primary job descriptions of the referee.

[Arachnid]

So sayeth Kerry Fraser (from TSN.com):

Kerry Fraser OpEd

1 game for Daniel eh?! And only 5 for intent to injure...yeah, that tells the players a lot..they are giving 3 games for accidental contact to the head but for serious intent to injury with an elbow? How about 10?

Fucked up NHL

This keeps up I'm going back to Women's Beach Volleyball

[KeyserSoze]

Does anyone else think it was funny that the refs clearly tried to control the scrums/game by calling single penalties early on...setting the tone if you will...but then do the complete opposite by calling only 2 mins on Keith. The easier and more correct call to make would have been 5 and a game...problem solved.

There have been 12 suspensions for head shots this year. In order of occurence, the number of games suspended were as follows: 12, 2 , 8, 3, 4, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3

Some of them were definately hockey plays gone wrong.

Others were not hockey plays at all, and were clear attempts to injure. Kaleta ramming his helmet into a guys face only gets 4 games? Bourque's flying elbow gets only 5? How many will Keith get...3-5?

It's bullshit. 5 games is not long enough of a suspension for non-hockey type hits to the head that can easily be removed from the game.

Keith will likely get 5 games max, but IMO plays like this, Bourques, and Kaleta's should be in and around 10.

[dhabums]

This keeps up I'm going back to Women's Beach Volleyball

Why would have ever left?

[Arachnid]

This keeps up I'm going back to Women's Beach Volleyball

Why would have ever left?

Because it's Hockey season dammit!

And the girls never rip each others bikinis off after they get scored on