What do Penguins Tom Kuhnhackl, Chad Ruhwedel and Scott Wilson have in common?
If you answered each has been a victim of an on-ice assault during the postseason, you’d be correct.
In Kuhnhackl’s case, Blue Jackets forward Matt Calvert cross-checked the Pens’ winger with enough force to snap the shaft of his stick in half. Unsated by his initial act of violence, Calvert circled like a predator stalking its prey and flattened poor Tom for good measure.
The NHL’s disciplinary arm, the Department of Player Safety, reviewed the offense and issued a statement.
“This is not a hockey play in a sense (that) it has nothing to do with the pursuit of the puck or establishing body position,” DOPS said. Then they suspended Calvert a single game for his wanton attack.
Wow. Talk about the punishment not fitting the crime.
I guess we’re fortunate that Calvert received any type of suspension at all…especially in light of more recent incidents.
In Game Four of the conference finals, Ruhwedel was tag-teamed into oblivion by a pair of Senators. Derick Brassard softened him up, catching Chad with a stick blade under the visor as they pursued the puck into the corner. Scarcely recovered from the initial blow, Ruhwedel stopped and lunged for the puck. Like a deer stuck squarely in the headlights, he was walloped with a forearm to the head by an onrushing Bobby Ryan.
Neither Brassard nor Ryan were penalized on the play. So much for the careless use of one’s stick, or hitting a foe when they’re in a vulnerable position.
Oh. Pens defenseman Ian Cole did receive a roughing minor. He committed the unpardonable sin of coming to a teammate’s aid. Mustn’t retaliate, you know.
Ryan wasn’t fined or suspended.
Which brings me to the latest infraction—Tommy Wingels’ blatant forearm smash to Wilson’s head in the waning seconds of Game Five. Unlike the Ryan-Ruhwedel affair, which one could reasonably contend was incidental, there was little doubt about the Ottawa forward’s intent.
Plain and simple, he meant to hurt Wilson.
Once again, the referees looked the other way. So did the NHL, which elected not to fine or suspend Wingels.
Incredible.
Heck, I haven’t even mentioned the incidents involving Sidney Crosby, Bryan Rust and Conor Sheary. All received concussions this spring, the result of dangerous or borderline play.
The league’s approach makes no sense, especially in this comparatively enlightened era when the long-term effects of head trauma are coming to light. It’s as if the NHL—doing its best imitation of an ostrich with its noggin stuck in the sand—has all but forgotten its nefarious past, when headhunters like the Pens’ own Matt Cooke effectively ended the career of Bruins star Marc Savard. To say nothing of the plight of former players who are dealing with chronic traumatic encephalopathy and other neurological disorders.
Indeed, after incorporating several new rule changes and making a concerted attempt to punish players for hits to the head over the past few seasons, the NHL seems to have all-but-abandoned a progressive approach this postseason in favor of a return to its Neanderthal roots. A turn that’s put comparatively clean-playing teams like our Penguins at a distinct disadvantage.
To digress, no one wants to see hockey turn into a 60-minute version of the Ice Capades. I, for one, have always enjoyed the physical aspect of the sport, be it a crunching open-ice hit or rugged play along the boards…even the occasional scuffle. I suspect I’m not alone.
And stuff happens…especially in the heat of battle when passions are often stoked to a fever pitch. But nobody wants to see guys get intentionally hurt or maimed. We’re talking about lives and livelihoods.
That what makes the NHL’s recent actions—or inactions as the case may be—so mystifying. If Gary Bettman and the league’s brass are truly interested in growing the game—for my money the fastest, most exquisitely athletic and dynamic sport there is—you think they’d want to punish the transgressors.
If the sight of Crosby—the game’s best player—lying prone on the ice after getting crosschecked in the head doesn’t inspire them to uphold the rules, what will?
I’ll say it again. The laissez affair approach to discipline doesn’t make sense.
It isn’t just the league and the officials who need to clean up their respective acts. The players are culpable, too. They need to respect each other, rather than stretching the boundaries of sportsmanship and decorum to the limits and beyond.
The survival of the sport depends on it.
Hi Rick…
Game 7 here we come. Mario must be happy.We are playing 10 out of the possible 11 play off games available to the Pen’s so far this season. As an owner you could not be more happier. The bankers will be really pleased as well….That is the good part.
The bad side is we have to play thar game 7 and win.
I think you will find Schultz and Hornqvist back in the line up on Thursday nite. All hands on deck as they say.
Murray played really well tonight.He got beat on a 5 on 3 power play for the first goal scored against him with a screen in front as well.Not his fault. He made a lot of key stops on missed defensive assignments by his team mates. He saved their buts several times. For game 7
I would go with him again. Your thoughts..
Jim
I am talking 10 out of 11 home dates where NHL sources say each home game is worth 2 to 3 million
Per game. That is a lot of money Rick.
Hey Jim,
You love to stir the pot don’t you? Murray has a Sv% of 0.950 and you are asking if you start him. of the 5 goals he has given up, the first 2 came on multiple deflections, changing directions as much as 3 times and one was on a 5 on 3 PP. Of course you go with Murray, it is a no brainer. The officials should have gotten one of the three stars last night for waving off a good goal. The only Senator who really deserved a win last night was Anderson but as I said he got a great big assist from pathetic refs. Daley didn’t interfer with Anderson, he swung at the puck, Anderson was way out of control, a fish out of water with no clue as to where the puck was.
Yep Refs, you didn’t just influence the outcome, you caused the outcome.
Hey Coach,
We are in total agreement on this….but I had to ask the question !
There is a lot of pressure on management and ownership to get it right for Thursday night. MAF has been here a long time. There will be many fans who disagree with us… and Coach as you know being a Goalie yourself, MAF does have the talent to steal a game like he did in game 7 of the Caps series.
🙂
Hey Jim,
As I have said all along, as reaction goalies go, MAF is top flight. I also have a lot of respect for what he has done for the Pens. He kept the team from completely foundering under MJ. However, as you have already agreed, Murray has been about as good as good can get. Only Rinne has a better Sv% than him right now.
However, as I am one of those who loves to play the Devil’s Advocate myself, I can’t help but think that you were stirring the pot to get some people talking/writing. There is nothing wrong with that.
Murray looked good, made some tough stops.
It’s Murray’s birthday on Thursday. I hope he has a better birthday than Anderson had on Sunday.
Last year Murray’s birthday was sandwiched between a 2 Goals Against win and a 1 GA win.
👍👍 Let’s go Pen’s. ..
Hi Rick
Well written. I can sense your anger and frustration as well.
I too am biting my lip as I write this.
We often forget that the NHL is first and foremost a commercial business enterprise. 31 owners.Many different types. Some are owned by very large multi national companies with deep pockets.Some are owned by a single, ultra rich Billionaire, also with deep pockets, who just wants another toy to play with. The others are owned by smaller groups of community minded individuals or a local business who just loves the game,but has very limited financial resources as compared to the first two groups of owners.
Then on the other side is the NHLPA who are trying to get the best financial compensation and other benefits for it’s 700 + members.
Between those two entities are all the people,media,businesses and municipalities who make big money from the game itself.
At the end of the line are all of us.THE FANS.. The ones who care but are often forgotten in all the noise. It is not right .
Phil mentioned about not embarrassing the league during the play offs. I think he has a point. The last thing the NHL and its owners want is anything to do with bad press about concussions and head trauma when the TV ratings are at the highest they will be all season with over 15- 20 million people watching world wide and advertisers wanting to make sure their dollars are not being wasted . That is the backdrop Rick…
Now my point is that the NHL needs to have and ENFORCED EQUALLY across the league, a mandated system whereby when an incident occurs, immediately the ref assesses a 2 minute roughing call..While the player is in the box the NHL in Toronto, in real time reviews the play ( during the 2 minute minor penalty) and they make the call for a 3 or 5 or 10 game suspension with out pay !. The player is informed when he comes out of the penalty box.
That would cut down on any of this foolishness.
I will not hold my breathe this will happen because of the stakeholders above.
But it should. Peoples lives are in danger. Plus they owe to the fans .
Cheers
Very well expressed, my friend. It’s easy to forget all the different forces that impact the sport. Thank you for explaining the particulars to me and our readers.
Maybe I’m naïve. But I think if referees would just call the game as it plays out, it would put a lid on a lot of the over-the-top stuff. Obviously, you can’t call everything. But get the serious stuff.
This year it seems they’ve been instructed to crack down on softer stick infractions to a ridiculous extent, while turning a virtual blind eye to blatant physical stuff like elbows, cross-checks, board-checks and hits behind the play.
Not to sound paranoid, but it’s almost as if they tried to legislate against the Pens winning another Cup.
Rick
I agree..
Hmm. Interesting note to this whole Wingels thing.
It looks like Guy Boucher might be benching him for the game, at least he said he would be. The conspiracy theorist in me says “I wonder if the NHL told Ottawa to bench him or they would be suspending him?” They maybe just wanted to not have a head shot suspension plastered all over the headlines right before the finals.
Boucher wouldn’t give a reason for the benching.
Interesting thought, Phil.
You never know what goes on behind closed doors. But if the NHL is concerned about bad press … well … I think that horse has long since jumped the fence and bolted from the corral.
And it’s not like Boucher would be benching a potential Conn Smythe winner. Wingels has 2 goals in 54 career playoff games.
Thanks for all your behind-the-scenes help … 🙂
Rick
I read tons of comments yesterday on articles from the NHL website lambasting the officiating and DOPS. You may be right. However, it could be a case where they didn’t want to publicly admit they blew the call and follow-up rather than simply avoid negative press. As Rick noted, the bad press is already out there, too late.
It will be interesting to see what the officiating is like tonight!
Looking at the line-up the NHL is suggesting my guess no, the league didn’t say anything to them. Ottawa is going with 7 D-men, which would appear to be a tactical approach if Karlsson is iffy with hairline fractures in his legs and rib issues.
Excellent article Rick!
I can’t help expecting James Caan to skate out there the way things are digressing into the blood sport of Rollerball. Why bother with the pretense of the rules. At this rate they should toss out trophies like the Richard trophy for the player who scores the most goals and institute trophies for the player who collects the most penalties; they could call it the Tiger Williams trophy. Or maybe they could also have a trophy for the player who causes the most man games lost; called the Marty McSorley trophy. And then they can change the rules to give a team extra points for the number of players the decapitate?
Thank you, Other Rick.
I know you’re especially passionate about the issue of player safety and sportsmanship, having commented (very eloquently) about it on PP in the past.
Wingels’ cheap shot was just so blatant. I’m still aghast that the league didn’t suspend him. Can’t imagine what they’re thinking …
Rick
PS–Great suggestions for the new awards. I especially like the Tiger Williams Trophy … kind of the anti-Lady Byng.
PSS–Maybe the Department of Player Safety (DOPS) could add an E to their acronym. I think DOPES would be more appropriate … 🙂
Now that is funny! 🙂