According to multiple reports out of Philadelphia, the NHL on Monday suspended Flyers winger Riley Cote three games and also warned the team about future altercations.
"I talked to [NHL commissioner Gary Bettman] today," Flyers GM Paul Holmgren was quoted as saying in the Philadelphia Daily News. "He thinks, like I do, that these are different coincidences, different situations, that have to be viewed differently, but the question was raised about ramifications if it happens again. So, obviously, we're under watch."
This is the fifth Flyers player to be suspended dating back to the preseason. The latest incident came Saturday night, when Cote gave elbow to the head of Stars rookie defenseman Matt Niskanen with just 2:14 left in regulation time of a 4-1 loss to visiting Dallas. Niskanen was OK after the hit. Cote received a match penalty. Per league rules, any player assessed a match penalty is automatically suspended pending a review.
Cote is the latest Flyers player to be suspended by the NHL.
On Nov. 27, Scott Hartnell was suspended for two games for checking Boston Bruins defenseman Andrew Alberts in the head a day earlier and was given a major penalty for boarding. Andrews left the game with an unspecified head injury.
In the preseason, Steve Downie was hit with a 20-game ban after a high hit to the head of Ottawa's Dean McAmmond.
Jesse Boulerice was dealt the longest single-season punishment in league history when he earned a 25-game suspension for hitting Vancouver's Ryan Kesler across the face with his stick.
Randy Jones was given a two-game suspension after he sent Boston's Patrice Bergeron face-first into the boards on Oct. 27. Bergeron hasn't returned to action since he broke his nose and sustained a concussion as a result of the hit.
Has the NHL really become so soft that they are going to start punishing teams for hitting too hard? Are NHL players now expected to be pampered and protected like the multi-million dollar NBA and Baseball stars?
Phoenix Coyotes defenseman Ed Jovanovski has been suspended for one game for striking forward Marian Gaborik on the head during a recent 3-1 loss to the Minnesota Wild. Most observers believe it was a deliberate shot to the head, and punishment was justified. But this was one of the rare exceptions.
Its a fine line between an accidental High-Hit and an accidental one. Intent is often difficult to determine when it comes to head contact. Clearly a player must be punished if he is deliberately trying to land a blow to his opponent's head. But various factors can lead to an unintentional blow to the head. Player heights, momentum, and exact body position all play a role. There are far too many variables to simply start handing down suspensions for every incident.
Thirty years ago, the violence of professional hockey was brilliantly highlighted in the classic Paul Newman movie Slapshot. The movie brought glory to the Goons... underpaid, unappreciated enforcers of the rink who regularly accumulate more ejections than points. It was the goons of the sport that brought fans to the stadiums in the 60's and 70's. The Philadelphia Flyers were built by goons. Their fights were legendary. Not even the crowd was safe, with numerous brawls resulting in players going over the glass and into the 12th row to pound on an obnoxious spectator. They were not called the BroadStreet Bullies for nothing.
Obviously we can't have players going into the stands and assaulting fans... those days are long gone. And we can't have players intentionally trying to hurt each other on the ice. But whatever happened to guys sticking up for their teammates when someone took a shot at them? Whatever happened to the hard-hitting enforcers like Marty McSorely, Tai Domi, and Stu Grimson? These were guys who earned their money the hard way, rarely got the glory, and helped their teams win games. They also filled the seats. The NHL cannot survive without goons.
Do we really want a league in which toughness is determined by the front office, and where the 'skill skaters' are left unchallenged on the ice? In other words, do we really want the NHL to become the same as International Hockey?
Let them hit. Let them fight. And let the guys on the ice sort it out themselves.
