As has been recounted many times (on this blog and others), the NHL has no clue what it's doing in setting precedent for suspensions. Randy Jones gets two games for nearly decapitating Patrice Bergeron, yet Sean Avery gets an "indefinite" suspension for his "sloppy seconds" comments and then isn't invited back to the team afterwards?
Well, the NHL is essentially now saying it's OK to do whatever the hell you want...as long as you are a star player. That's the only possible explanation for the Sidney Crosby/Boris Valabik tilt from a Pens-Thrashers game in Atlanta earlier this month. Crosby was clearly the third man into this fight, and took two big swings (with gloves on) at Valabik, striking him both times below the belt. His penalty? Two minutes for roughing. No fine. No suspension. Nothing.
Say this was the other way around, and Valabik had been the one cheap shotting Sid the Kid down south. You don't think NHL disciplinarian Colin Campbell would have been all over it? Or say it was Alexander Ovechkin who made the sloppy seconds remarks. Would he have been suspended at all? This is just another ridiculous precedent being set by the NHL.
Crosby should probably watch out next time Pittsburgh and Atlanta meet. And the Thrashers should also probably be weary of suspensions from the head honchos upstairs. Unless of course Ilya Kovalchuk is the one taking the cheap shots.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment