Does anyone agree with me?

Question

I have noticed over time that suspensions are easier and easier to get.

that Nashville player ( i didnt catch who it was) Elbowed the Montreal Defenseman (Once again, never say who it was) And got suspended, 3 years ago that wouldnt have been a suspension.

do you think Collie is making a mistake giving suspensions for elbows now too?

because i know if that was in effect during the Messier era, he would have never played, he would be too busy being suspended (i'm not dissing him, but he had one hell of an elbow)


i just think that the players might start feeling limited to what they can do because they dont want to accidently hit someone in the head and get suspended, which could limit the aggression in the NHL and cause a more boring game.

if you were campbell, how would you deal with the situation of accidental head shots?

made a typo, i said "once again, never say who it was"

the word say is supposed to be "Saw"

i made a mistake!

the Nichol on brisebois hit WAS a cross check, the Cote hit was an elbow i belive.



Cme, your right, the other guy didnt even look hurt! Like wtf? it should have been at worst a 5 minute major like you said.

stupid eh?

Laying low- no need to hold a place.
I see you as nothing less.

Answer 1

The biggest elbows in history got suspensions too.Dale Hunter and Chelios come to mind.Did Gordie Howe get suspended back in the day?How about Ulf Samuellson?I think Colin is getting suspension happy these days.

Answer 2

You're right about it being easier to get suspended, but the problem is, how do you determine which hits were intentional and which were accidental. Of course every player is going to say "I didn't mean it", some will be telling the truth, some will be lying. I didn't see the Nashville on Montreal hit either but I did see the Cote hit that got him suspended and I thought that was, at worst, a 5 minute major. I don't know if Cote's suspension was a 'guilt by association' thing or a 'clean up the head-shots' thing by the league.

Answer 3

The Scott Nichol crosscheck to Patrice Brisebois definitely deserved a suspension - if only because it is similar (in a way) to Boulerice's. How do you explain to Paul Holmgren that Nichol's didn't deserve a suspension. At this point in time, that would be difficult.

To date, Colin Campbell and Stephen Walkom have established a set precedent that certain types of contact will result in a suspension whether intent can be established or not. Fair enough

The issue now becomes - how do you fairly determine the length of a suspension. I don't think the Boulerice incident was 5x worse than the Nichol incident (which I don't feel is worth 5 games either).

Until somebody can accurately determine that (and we all know that can't be done) we will continue to have debates about whether such and such a player deserves to
a) be suspended at all
b) be suspended for x games

Answer 4

It seems as if they are trying to cut down on the number of headshots be it with a elbow, stick or shoulder.

It is not so much the type of hit as in elbow or shoulder or stick but where they are hitting the opponent.

Yes Messier deserved a few suspensions in his day but he is a smart guy he would have figured it out.

There is no place in the game for the headshot.

I only saw the Nichol hit on Brisebois once but it seemed to be more of a crosscheck to the head than an elbow.

Either way it was suspendable.

Answer 5

On almost any hit a player delivers to another, elbowing could be called, similiar to holding in football on every play. The league wants the players to keep elbows away from the head, so it is going to hand out the suspensions until they do so. You can still deliver a crushing check without a high elbow to the face. Seems the hip check is becoming a lost art. I don't think suspensions are going to limit players' agression. Probably see more fights. Just my opinion.

Answer 6

Ya-saw that.. The player in question is Scott Nichol.. Actually it was a hit to the back after the elbow to the Habs player that got him the double minor immediately.. Last year he had a similar incident with a Buffalo player with a more severe hit (to the back)..
I myself do not like these tactics.. If you dont like the last guys check, man up face to face to him.. Scotty is notorious for this; and I dont condone him on this in any way..
He is an excellent face-off man, but should leave the ice immediately after exiting the faceoff circle.. So for people such as him; eventhough he is on my team; the punishment fits the crime.. He also has to pay in about $45,000 to go to the players emergency fund or something as well..Basically his 5 game salary..
Maybe this will end the blind-sided hits but I doubt it... Atleast its an attention getter..

Answer 7

Sorry but I hate watching the NHL being turned into a family edition of the Ice Capades.

The PC (politically correct) tone we're seeing these days is now infiltrating itself into the sports arena.
One of the truly MAJOR problems in the NHL today is consistency in the officiating from game to game. The rules are cramping the players ability to be physical at all sometimes and more and more every year, the officiating is becoming so bad it's not even arguable often times.

Handcuffing the players is not going to gain you fans in the seats Gary Bettman.

Just a few days ago a questioner posted a query about the Randy Jones hit on Patrice Bergereon. Having not even seen it or the game he felt compelled to make assumptions that weere merely based on opinon and not at all on fact. Many of the posters in the Answers section even admitted to not having seen the hit but felt obligated to offer their opinion.
I'm sorry but it's this mindset of blatant stupidity that makes me wonder what's really happened ot the game and who exactly is the fan base anymore.

If you want to see figure skating watch ABC sports.

Answer 8

In a way I think its a good idea. (the guys will maybe be a little more careful)

Otherwise How can you 'police' accidental headshots?

There's really no actually way, cause what one sees as an accident, the other sees & intent to injure.

Answer 9

I guess it looks like he is trying to send some sort of message - especially to the Flyers anyway. My fear for what he is doing, guys are going to start doing stupid things like purposely turning their backs when getting hit, or ducking, trying to draw more penalties, but will end up getting themselves hurt.
I doubt Gordie ever got suspended as much as he would in this day and age.

Answer 10

3 years ago we didnt have a league