UPDATE: On Friday, March 4, the NHL suspended Gilles for 10 games, and he will forfeit over $60,000 in salary. Not one member of the Islanders organization accompanied him to his hearing in Toronto
It has now been four weeks since the infamous Penguins/Islanders debacle of February 11th. To all of the Islanders fans that posted here about what a bunch of goons the Penguins are, I would like to present into evidence the sad excuse for an NHL player that is Trevor Gillies. For those that don’t remember, Gillies was given a nine game suspension for his participation in the fracas that occurred between the Penguins and the Islanders to go along with the 19 minutes in penalties he accrued and a game misconduct. The penalties included a fighting major, an elbowing major for the cheap shot blow to the head he delivered to Eric Tangradi, 4 minutes for roughing for continuing to pummel Tangradi while he lay prone on the ice, a 10 minute misconduct for continuing to chirp at Tangradi while he was being tended to by the medical staff and then a game misconduct.
Well, yesterday, Gillies’ nine game suspension came to an end, and he returned to the ice last night in a game against the Minnesota Wild who, if memory serves me correctly, do not have any history of ugly incidents with the Islanders or players who embarrassed Islander players. Yet, there was Gillies cheap shotting Cal Clutterbuck right to the head last night at 2:23 of the second period. So, let’s see, Gillies has just missed the previous nine games, and makes it only 22 1/2 minutes before he gets thrown out again. And this guy is in the NHL, why????
Here is a video link to the cheap shot by Gillies:
Gillies cheap shots Clutterbuck
Now, who exactly is to blame for this happening? Gillies? I don’t think so. Gillies is pretty much a criminal and is just being handed the keys to the jewelry store. No, the real culprits in this case are Islanders GM Garth Snow and their coach Jack Capuano who continue to run a thug like this out there. As a hockey analyst friend of mine said about the incident, when Scott Weiland was finally let out of jail after serving his time for drug possession at 10:00 in the morning, and was then caught buying heroin at noon, should we be surprised? We’re talking about a guy who has scored 16 goals total since he was 16 years old playing junior hockey, and yet the NHL doesn’t seem to have a problem with the Islanders allowing this guy to potentially end other players’ careers. Say what you want about Matt Cooke and his rather questionable antics. At least the guy can play hockey, score goals and kill penalties. What purpose does a guy like Gillies serve?
Until the NHL starts coming down on everyone from the coach to the owner for egregiuos actions like Gillies’, the NHL is going to continue to lose more star players and end up with 30 teams that all look like the Islanders.
Well, Islanders fans, can’t wait to hear you defend this guy again and explain to all of us why Minnesota had it coming.
Hey Jean, how do you like Matt Cooke now? That goon is finally getting what he deserves (or maybe still not enough). Your team leads the league in major penalties. What have you got to say to that?
I’m all for the penalty that Matt Cooke received, and if he never plays another game for the Penguins, I’ll be ecstatic unlike the idiot Islander fans who have nothing better to do than cheer for goons like Gilles and Haley because, well, that’s pretty much all the Islanders are. As for why the Penguins lead the league in Major penalties, it’s simple. Because the league will not protect its star players, the Penguins are forced to. Early in the season when the Penguins were at full strength and building up three and four goal leads, other teams would decide that they had to “send a message” by taking runs at Crosby and Malkin. It was up to the Penguins enforcers to then step in and protect their meal tickets because, again, THE LEAGUE DOES NOTHING ABOUT IT!!!!!
All the Islanders are is a bunch of goons, huh? Do you even watch hockey Jean? The Islanders have compiled the second best record in hockey since the all star break. That’s right.
Moulson is a goon? 30G, 18A. Grabner is a goon? 31G, 18A. Tavares is a goon? 26G, 34A. Comeau is a goon? 20G, 21A. Have you seen Niederreiter play yet? Well, I think we can safely put him in the 20-30 goal category next season when he is on the big club full time. And how about Kyle Okposo…you’ve heard his name right?
I know it’s fashionable to hate the Isles because they have stunk so long, but really, any knowledgeable fan of the sport knows the Isles are putting together a seriously talented team that will be a force to be reckoned with very soon – and they definitely will be in the playoffs next season.
And here’s the kicker….ALL of the guys I just mentioned are under 25 years old (sans Streit)
Before that game where the Isles handed the Pens their collective ass, who led the league in fights? The Penguins, with 61. Who led the league in penalty minutes? The Penguins, with 1,101. Who led the league in majors? The Penguins, with 63. Who ranked second in game misconducts? The Penguins Who was one of four teams with a match penalty? The Penguins.
So, please….give us all a break with your selective outrage. If you really cared about violence in the NHL, and weren’t such a hypocrite, you would see that your team is far and beyond the worst culprit.
Those are the facts and, unlike you, stats don’t lie.
“As for why the Penguins lead the league in Major penalties, it’s simple. Because the league will not protect its star players, the Penguins are forced to”
Oh, I see you’re being a hypocrite (again). Isn’t ‘protecting their players’ exactly what the Isles were doing against the Pens?
You sir are a dunce. Maybe they really should regulate the internet, because right now any Tom, Dick or Harry can get on their soapbox and spew pointless drivel…kind of like you and this entire blog.
Penguin ‘Poop’ indeed.
Oh my…
This article solidifies my belief that Penguins fans are the most unintelligent in hockey (second only to Flyers fans, of course).
You, sir, are entitled to your opinion no matter how wrong it is. The Islanders organization from their owner all the way down to the ho’s that sweep the ice are considered a joke by the rest of the league and anyone that knows anything at all about hockey. Wong, Snow and Capuano have taken what used to be one of the proudest, most tradition laden organizations in hockey and reduced it to nothing but a carnival sideshow of goons and losers with a smattering of talent sprinkled in. You have a team that is saddled with having to pay two players who will, in all likelihood, play as many games in the NHL over the next seven years as I will in Yashin and DiPietro. Good luck with that, and let me know if you will still be rooting for them in 2015 when they have relocated to Quebec City, Kansas City or Winnipeg.
On the brite side Gillies has essentially played himself out of the NHL, his contract is up and who would resign him? He will end up in the SPHL next season on a one year contract and then he will disappear.
Great Article…!
Isn’t this exactly the thing that Mario Lemieux was warning the NHL about when they sentenced the Gillies to only nine games last time? Now they only give him 10? It is time for the NHL to not only re-think their policies on stuff like this, it is also time to re-think Colin Campbell. I would love to see Bob McKenzies thoughts on this after he slammed Lemieux for making that statement.
Four weeks?
Garth Snow is a tool and a complete joke.
Garth Snow makes me sad….loved him when he was here, but their antics are ridiculous!