Does anyone else think an intent to injure penalty should carry a stiffer punishment?

Question

Do you think the penalties are fair? Do you think that some players can get away with murder depending on how elite of a player they are? For example Ovechkin checked a player into the door opening from behind and never got a penalty, a suspension,nothing. If that had been a guy like Brashear he definately would have gotten a suspension from the league from past wrong doings.
Is this policy fair?
Do you think that if a player intentionally injures( or in some cases even if it is not intentional) another player the suspension should equal the injury. For example a player checks another player from behind and breaks his arm. If the player that got his arm broken is out for 6 weeks the player that caused the injury should be out for 6 weeks.

I agree the fines should also be higher but for some teams money is no object. The team may pay the fine for the player.
Possibly the fine should affect the team where it really hurts. In next seasons salary cap.

Answer 1

The problem here does not lie in the penalties. The problem is the referees who do not see the act as intent to injure. According to the NHL rulebook, any time a player commits a foul on another player with intent to injure, the referee must charge the player with a match penalty. For those who don't know, if a match penalty is assessed on a player, that player is kicked out of the game, his team is shorthanded for five minutes, and the player is suspended until the commissioner has issued a ruling on the player's case. I do agree that intent to injure penalties should have stiffer fines attached to them, but it is up to the referees to call match penalties in these cases.

Answer 2

I think fines are a big problem. If you fine a player that makes 1 million a year $5000 for something, it's not even half of what he makes for one game. I don't think the "eye for an eye" system would really work because sometimes accidents do happen, it's part of the game. Example: a player hooks another player from behind. The hooked player slips, falls, and goes feet first into the boards breaking an ankle. He is out 6 weeks. Should the offending player have to sit out 6 weeks also? I don't think that's quite right. I think you will also have a hard time proving intent to hurt. There are times it is obvious, but it will always be more of an opinion from the refs. In the end, hit them in the pocket book, HARD. That is really the only way to change things.

Answer 3

It depends on the play like the example you gave of Ovechkin and Brashear. Ovechkin is physical where Brashear is an enforcer. When Brashear throws down the gloves, he intends to go at it. Heck, its just not a Caps game without a Brashear throw down! A good ref can tell the difference between intentional and incidental plays.

What is intent to injure? A check like you decribed may not meet the standard. When Evgeni Artukhin got into a fight during a 2005 Tampa Bay/Ottawa game, he took the opposing player's helmet off and hit him over the head with it. He was fined and suspended for intent to injure. It was fairly obvious and intentional.

Like everything else in the world, I'm sure bias is present. And refs don't see everything.

Answer 4

Personally, I think the FINES are what the issue is. The NHL's fines are a pittance compared to what each player makes. The suspensions are one thing but the fines have really got to be beefed up. Some people brought up the "eye for an eye" argument when Bertu8zzi almost killed Moore saying Bertuzzi should be out as long as Moore was out. I disgree withthat and also with saying a broken arm - 6 weeks so you're suspended 6 weeks. Fine them - that's where it hurts.

Answer 5

Yes - the penalty should be a season on the bench - Intent to injure should be a "zero tolerance" policy - there is no room for that on the ice. I think that the refs also have favorite teams and even favorite players and are much, much easier going on them. If they don't like someone - they find a way to get them for EVERYTHING.

Answer 6

some penalties should absolutely carry stiffer punishment. as a rangers fan, these examples may be biased but i can think of two:

-NYR vs. WSH - brashear tries to rough up jagr. shanny has enough and fights brashear. fight is a draw, but due to momentum swing, you give shanny a slight edge. on the way off the ice, aaron ward says something to brashear, who sucker punches ward in the face as he is ejected. later, colton orr hits ovechkin high in the mouth with a semi-cross check as he attempts to nail him in open ice. when the NHL doles out suspensions, orr gets 5 games, brash 2. orr definitely should have been suspended, but 'melo gets 15 in the NBA for doing what brash did, so because the NHL is not for pansies, brash should have gotten at least 5.

-NJD vs. NYR: last game. prucha carries in to the devil zone and is elbowed high and hard in the head by brad lukowitch. dirty hit, no call. announcers even praise the hit, which is BS. in my mind, high hits involving elbows, particularly in open ice, are the second most dangerous play in hockey following the "facing the boards 2 feet from the wall" scenario. scott stevens got away with it against kariya in the 03 cup finals. it causes a lot of injuries, and needs to get called. and it's usually pretty obvious when someone tries to hit someone else up high.

lukowitch hit: http://img258.imageshack.us/img258/8995/elbowwh4.jpg

commentator: "oh yeah, that's a clean hit...i don't think the elbow came up"

BS...get those scumbags.

Answer 7

Part of the problem is referees making bad calls, intent to injure deserves a suspension absolutly, and a High dollar amount fine, that goes to a charity in the city it occured in, picked by the players.

Answer 8

uuuhhh NO!! the hockey players know hockey is a dangerous sport and they are playing at their own risk. They go into every game knowing theres even a chance they can die..but they do it for the love of the sport so of course the wont be surprised if they break an arm..its part of hockey..dont turn it into a wussy sport.