Suspension Tracker
Mike Adams | National Hockey League
Feb 26, 08:18 AM | Hype this story!
Below you can find a unique way of listing NHL suspensions for on-ice actions. Sorry, Mark Bell, that excludes you. By keeping a scorecard of sorts, we hope to illustrate just how dirty some teams are in comparison to others.
Updated 2/26 @ 9:18 AM: Cowan suspended 1 game
| Eastern Conference: Atlantic Division | |||||||||
| Devils | Flyers | Islanders | Rangers | Penguins | |||||
| none | 0 | Downie Boulerice Jones Hartnell Cote |
20 25 2 2 3 |
Simon | 30 | none | 0 | none | 0 |
| Total | 0 | Total | 52 | Total | 30 | Total | 0 | Total | 0 |
| Eastern Conference: Northeast Division | |||||||||
| Bruins | Canadiens | Maple Leafs | Sabres | Senators | |||||
| none | 0 | Kostopolous | 1 | Antropov | 3 | none | 0 | none | 0 |
| Total | 0 | Total | 1 | Total | 0 | Total | 0 | Total | 0 |
| Eastern Conference: Southeast Division | |||||||||
| Capitals | Hurricanes | Lightning | Panthers | Thrashers | |||||
| none | 0 | Walker Adams |
1 2 |
none | 0 | none | 0 | Kovalchuk | 1 |
| Total | 0 | Total | 3 | Total | 0 | Total | 0 | Total | 1 |
| Western Conference: Central Division | |||||||||
| Blackhawks | Blues | Blue Jackets | Predators | Red Wings | |||||
| none | 0 | none | 0 | none | 0 | Nichol | 5 | none | 0 |
| Total | 0 | Total | 0 | Total | 0 | Total | 5 | Total | 0 |
| Western Conference: Northwest Division | |||||||||
| Avalanche | Canucks | Flames | Oilers | Wild | |||||
| none | 0 | Ohlund Cowan |
4 1 |
none | 0 | none | 0 | none | 0 |
| Total | 0 | Total | 5 | Total | 0 | Total | 0 | Total | 0 |
| Western Conference: Pacific Division | |||||||||
| Coyotes | Ducks | Kings | Sharks | Stars | |||||
| Boynton Jovanovski |
1 1 |
none | 0 | none | 0 | none | 0 | none | 0 |
| Total | 2 | Total | 0 | Total | 0 | Total | 0 | Total | 0 |
Comments
Badge
Oct 15, 01:20 PM
This is just funny. Though, thinking Tootoo is going to get suspended shows you are funnier than you are intelligent, at least when it comes to hockey. Last I checked, nobody get’s suspended for perfectly legal hits, and it was Weller who got the Match Penatly for intent to injure.
Read the rules again – a shoulder to head check is not a penalty.
Matt Bodenschatz
Oct 15, 01:36 PM
Thanks for your comments, please stop by again.
ceez
Oct 16, 01:57 PM
A shoulder to the head check is only a penalty if the colors on your jersey are Orange and Black.
0 game suspension: http://youtube.com/watch?v=FFp2dlMrv0c
20 game suspension: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LItMqF6_G0I
3 game suspension: http://youtube.com/watch?v=07lzWueATqw
25 game suspension: http://youtube.com/watch?v=8-Y3×0mr_Ik
Matt Bodenschatz
Oct 16, 02:13 PM
Are you suggesting what Boulerice and Downie did should not have been suspension-worthy or that the standard should be applied evenly?
If it is that the standard should be better applied, I agree 100 percent.
ceez
Oct 16, 02:16 PM
Well, I don’t think Steve Downie’s deserved a suspension at all. 2 minutes for charging? Ok. 5 minutes for boarding? I can see that. A 20 game suspension? Joke.
As for Boulerice, there is no tolerance for a deliberate cross check to the face, however, it is not in line with past offenses, and I cited one above. I can live with a 5 to 10 game suspension, but to basically exile a guy from the game because he tried to “push” a cross check into the chest/shoulder and hit neck is hilarious.
The examples above prove that the NHL is a mickey mouse organization being run by cartoon characters.
Matt Bodenschatz
Oct 16, 02:25 PM
I don’t disagree with your last statement — the league is a joke, and it will take a long time to change that.
But I tend to disagree with the other two statements.
Downie’s hit was an obvious attempt to make some noise and build a reputation. A hit like that is deserving of a suspension because of the dangers involved. McAmmond ended up with a concussion, but what if it was worse?
And with Boulerice, what is the purpose of cross-checking someone’s chest? There is none. If he wanted to fight, he should have dropped the gloves. If he wanted to hit Kessler, he should have hit him. But anytime a stick gets involved and it is close to the face/neck, the situation becomes extremely dangerous, and Kessler was lucky he walked away relatively uninjured.
The way to eliminate these types of cheapshots and dangerous plays is to over-suspend players who participate.
Thanks for the comments, Ceez, it’s always nice to hear from fans of other teams!
ceez
Oct 16, 02:57 PM
I don’t agree with your assessment of the Downie situation. If you look at the video, he’s just forechecking until he sees an opening to clobber someone. It’s unfortunate that McAmmond got hurt, but he, as a veteran, should know more than anyone that skating around the back of the net with your head down is a no-no. They teach you in peewee to skate with your head up.
McAmmond was hurt more from hitting his head on the boards then he was the actual check. Downie was given a suspension based on his past, even though the league will deny this and say that it had nothing to do with the punishment handed out.
Colby Armstrong is suing Steve Downie for indirect patent infringement. I don’t know what we would do without youtube. Imagine just having to take someone’s word for it?
I agree with your analysis of the Boulerice situation. He should have just dropped the gloves and pounded him. However, watch the games tonight. There will be fights (I hope), look to see how many of them start from an immediate slash or cross check. That doesn’t say that Boulerice was right in what he did, I’m just saying that it’s not out of the ordinary.
The league administration needs a complete overhaul. They will realize the issue they have with leadership when it is too late. Nascar has a primetime weekend deal with ABC, and the NHL is stuck on Versus… on Monday nights… showing games like Carolina and Toronto.
ceez
Oct 16, 03:07 PM
One point that I left out from my last comment was that I believe that out of all of the hard hits we’ve seen in the last two years, Downie’s would be right there with all of the clean ones. It was a textbook body check. If this had happened to a Flyers player, and it has in the past (Armstrong on Carter), I would be more focused on which player on the bench is going to fight Armstrong than I would on how many games Campbell is going to suspend him for.
If they removed the instigator (game misconduct) from the game, a lot of this stuff would cease to exist. If a player knows that if he cross checked someone in the face and he’s not going to be kicked out of the game and whoever from the other team that jumps him won’t be kicked out of the game, he’d think twice about doing it. The reason he’d think twice is that he would now know that he’s going to have to answer the bell and not wait until a month later when the team’s play again, after the league is involved.
Matt Bodenschatz
Oct 16, 03:50 PM
Excellent points all around, Ceez, though we’ll definitely have to agree to disagree regarding the Downie hit.
As for your second post and the comments regarding the instigator penalty, I think that is A poor excuse. A player is more willing to swing his stick and serve a suspension than he is to instigate a fight and get thrown out for a game? Heck, even with three instigators, he’d still only be suspended for three games.
The simple fact is, these players are taking their actions to the extreme, and so the league is taking their punishments to the extreme. Again, imagine if Boulerice’s rather hard cross check to Kessler’s face hit Kessler’s neck instead. We could be talking about a serious, serious injury, and possible death. That’s nothing to take lightly.
But on the whole, I completely agree with your assessment that the league administration needs a complete overhaul.
Ceez, I sure hope to see you around more often, as you have provided some great insight and an opposing view in a civil manner.
ceez
Oct 16, 07:42 PM
Look no further than today with the news of Bettman and Saskin…
That’s the definition of Mickey Mouse.
And I’ll be stopping by often to post about what’s going on and the feeling on the other side of PA.
Matt Bodenschatz
Oct 16, 08:11 PM
We look forward to hearing from you!
Jesse Marshall
Oct 29, 09:24 PM
If this is the same ceez from FP.com, you’re more than welcome aboard! And it’s good to see you!
Jopa
Nov 13, 02:35 PM
Okay, here we go.
Had Jesse Boulerice’s cross-check come any lower, we could have had Ryan in a box. He got lucky. But still, the was it was, that was only about five minutes, a game misconduct, and maybe six or seven games. Bottom line: that was a Mickey Mouse suspension.
Steve Downie, well, as for him, he only jumped a little, and I’m surprised Dean McCammond even lost consciousness (though he still would have been shaken up). But for a rook who hasn’t yet played in the regular season, Downie’s ban was fair. He deserves the wait.
Randy Jones, well, what can you say? That’s a fair call, nuff said.
Matt Bodenschatz
Nov 13, 06:45 PM
Thanks Jopa for your thoughts. Heep them coming.
Jopa
Nov 18, 05:24 PM
Waht about Nick Boynton? Where’s he?
Jopa
Nov 18, 05:37 PM
In case you didn’t know, instigating in the final five minutes of a game gets you a one game suspension automatically. Nick Boynton got one of those a little while ago.
Jopa
Nov 24, 12:00 PM
The Matthias Ohlund incident is soooo similar to what Simon did to Hollweg last season. A player threw a hard check on one of the best players on his team. The player who got checked was angry and took a violent whack at the man who hit him with his stick in a very dangerous spot. The only difference is that Hollweg’s hit on Simon was clean, while Koivu’s hit on Ohlund was a vicious elbow. Ohlund deserves 15 games (and that’s saying something considering I’m a diehard Canucks fan).
Matt Bodenschatz
Nov 24, 04:03 PM
Thanks for the insight, Jopa. I didn’t see the incident, but, coming from a Canucks fan, I would trust it to be accurate. The league needs to crack down on these incidents or they’ll just continue to go on. It’s getting ridiculous.
Jopa
Nov 25, 05:57 PM
Ohlund: http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=GWA9OclF_mE
Jopa
Dec 1, 06:31 PM
I just saw the latest ordinary flyer hit on YouTube, and I think Mr. Hartnell got lucky. If you sandwich another player’s head in between your hip and the boards, you should be suspended fo the rest of the season.
Matt Bodenschatz
Dec 2, 11:34 AM
That may be a bit harsh, but two games seems a bit light, as well.
Ben
Dec 20, 03:03 PM
Wow. Even with the 30 game suspension for Simon, the Flyers still have more suspensions than the rest of the league combined.
Matt Bodenschatz
Dec 20, 03:21 PM
Not all that surprising. Look for an opinion piece on the Simon issue tomorrow.
Nathan
Dec 20, 06:01 PM
The Ohlund and Simon incidents aren’t nearly as similar as you say. One retaliation was a slash to the the leg, and the other was a slash to the face.
Also, Holweg’s hit on Simon was at best questionable, as he hit him from the side-to-back of his shoulder, and in doing so turned him face first into the glass.
I do think Ohlund’s suspension was about right, a couple more games I wouldn’t argue with.
Jopa
Dec 28, 12:01 AM
Simon should have only had 6 games, but it’s about time to kick him out of the NHL.
Does anyone have video of the Nichol or Adams incidents? I can’t seem to find either one.
Oh, and before I drop out, I better give in my two cents on Riley Cote’s hit. Two minut minor for elbowing? Perfect. Any more?
*** BREAKING NEWS ***
Clarence Campbell has joined the circus. As a juggler.
Jopa
Dec 29, 06:09 PM
Oh, by the way, in my last post, I was talking about the stomp on Jarkko Ruutu, not the slash I was referring to earlier that Nathan brought back up earlier.
Jopa
Jan 10, 10:01 PM
I’ve said this already, and I’ll say it again. Does anybody have video of the Nichol or Adams incidents?
Matt Bodenschatz
Jan 10, 10:12 PM
Jopa, I don’t believe so. Sorry.
Jopa
Jan 26, 06:57 PM
You’re missing Kovalchuk.
Commenting is closed for this article.