The 2009-2010 Suspension Thread

[psh 25]

If Ovechkin is suspended, and with the injury I suspect he will, he almost surely loses the points and goals race for the year. Maybe that will get his attention.

[Law Goalie 147]

citing puck daddy as a defence is like me citing wikipedia when turning in a paper

I'd consider Wikipedia a monument of authority by comparison.

[Allsmokenopancake 0]

As much as I am loathe to say it, Milbury was right. The problem is when no one really knows what is and isn't a suspendable offense because of how the standards are enforced both on the ice and upon review by Campbell.

They need to make a definitive rule, and not one based on the outcome of a play.

For example, that type of push ovechkin gave Campbell yesterday happens a lot in the game. If Campbell gets up, Ovechkin gets his boarding, maybe a double minor and it's forgotten about.

Campbell is injured and ovechkin is looking at a suspension.

The fact that Campbell got injured should not add penalty to the situation. If what ovechkin did was illegal, then he should be suspended whether or not Campbell gets up. If what he did was simply a penalty and not suspendable, then again, whether campbell gets up or not should have no bearing on it.

Moderating via reaction rather than pro-actively stopping these sorts of shots, both on the ice and after the fact reviews means they will keep happening and players will cross their fingers and hope nothing happens them.

Intentional or not, if you want to stamp out hits from behind into the boards, make the penalty a 5 game suspension. Then the player can appeal to reduce it, or it can be extended. But this "will he/won't he be suspended" shit is why we have players like Cooke skating round doing whatever the fuck he likes and not getting suspended for it consistently.

Personally (and I'm biased of course), I think the 5 and the game were penalty enough. That push from behind happens every game, and until they make a definitve rule regarding it, then he has served his time. I don't think he intended to injure him, but that's again open to debate.

[Trooper 8]

I don't think he intended to injure him, but that's again open to debate.

With AO I don't think he ever intends to injure people, the problem is he doesn't really take that into consideration and so he just doesn't care if he injures them, until the post-game interview where he is great at acting concerned.

[Allsmokenopancake 0]

With AO I don't think he ever intends to injure people, the problem is he doesn't really take that into consideration and so he just doesn't care if he injures them, until the post-game interview where he is great at acting concerned.

I don't think it's an act. I do think he cares if he injures players.

The problem is his size and the speed he plays the game at means players will get hurt

Brian Campbell is 6" and listed at 189lbs.

Ovechkin came into the league at 6'2" and 202 lbs. He has added weight each year and is currently listed at 233 lb. He has put on 30 lb of pure muscle since coming into the league. He has 44lb advantage on Campbell and has no off button. He hits hard and sometimes the hits hurt or end in injury, but I don't think it's ever in his nature to not care if he injures someone or not.

I think I heard it best on one of the caps podcasts a couple of years ago when Mike Vogel said "If Ovechkin hits you, you stay hit". No malice, in the moment he is concerned with making the play, but that does not mean he doesn't care if players get injured or not.

[BoDangles 0]

I think it will come down to positioning. Campbell was in a vulnerable position and could in no way help himself, in that situation Ovi need's to think with his head and not just play hockey.

[tro 4]

He continues to be reckless, it is a reckless play, call it a push, call him strong, blame Campbell for tripping up, in the end it is a dangerous to shove a guy from behind 3 feet from the boards at that speed.

Just Ovi being Ovi. Not Dirty but he continuess to have no regard for saftey.

If Toews sends Green into the boards from behind, and Green is gone for the year, Caps fans and Ted's Take are going nuts right now for a suspension.

"The National Hockey League has scheduled a disciplinary hearing with Washington Capitals superstar Alexander Ovechkin to review his actions in Sunday's overtime victory over the Chicago Blackhawks."

[jeffw 1]

He continues to be reckless, it is a reckless play, call it a push, call him strong, blame Campbell for tripping up, in the end it is a dangerous to shove a guy from behind 3 feet from the boards at that speed.

Just Ovi being Ovi. Not Dirty but he continuess to have no regard for saftey.

If Toews sends Green into the boards from behind, and Green is gone for the year, Caps fans and Ted's Take are going nuts right now for a suspension.

"The National Hockey League has scheduled a disciplinary hearing with Washington Capitals superstar Alexander Ovechkin to review his actions in Sunday's overtime victory over the Chicago Blackhawks."

Good points. I saw someone here mention that Campbell was losing his balance before he was hit. I would argue that it was because Ovechkin slashes him on the knee right before he engages. Watch for it on the replay.

[Trooper 8]

I don't think it's an act. I do think he cares if he injures players.

The problem is his size and the speed he plays the game at means players will get hurt

Brian Campbell is 6" and listed at 189lbs.

Ovechkin came into the league at 6'2" and 202 lbs. He has added weight each year and is currently listed at 233 lb. He has put on 30 lb of pure muscle since coming into the league. He has 44lb advantage on Campbell and has no off button. He hits hard and sometimes the hits hurt or end in injury, but I don't think it's ever in his nature to not care if he injures someone or not.

I think I heard it best on one of the caps podcasts a couple of years ago when Mike Vogel said "If Ovechkin hits you, you stay hit". No malice, in the moment he is concerned with making the play, but that does not mean he doesn't care if players get injured or not.

Lots of guys are his size and play the game hard and with speed. The fact that he has no "off button" is a problem. If he can't learn to analyze the gray areas it's going to be an issue (I would say it already is). He makes plays that put others at risk in situations that really aren't key to the play, that's reckless.

I still, as I stated above, find it amazing the lengths people go to defend this guy. Campbell was catching the first 1/8 of an inch of his skate a millisecond before AO touched him! No foul! Or, the guy who he hit knee to knee was leaning the wrong way or should have just manned up and taken the full brunt of the hit! Or, AO's jersey touched the shoulder number of the player he ran from behind, legal hit!!!

When you have to come up with scenarios like that, it's usually BS.

[furlanitalia 1]

That's rough to watch. I'm just glad Campbell didn't go head first.

Watch the replay again. It was definitely a hit/push from the side. Should he have waved off? Maybe. It was about 3 seconds after Campbell had dished off the puck.

If you watch the replay Campbells toe starts driving into the ice before Ovie hits him. Which lead to him stumbling down as the contact occurred.

Had Campbell not toe picked on the ice. It wouldn't have been as bad.

Stop making excuses. Ovi plays recklessly, and while I'll admit he looked concerned after the play and probably had no intention to injure campbell, look at this from a rational perspective that it was a dangerous play and left Campbell with no way to protect himself.

I think you just have to ask yourself - if this was any other two players would you fell it warrants a suspension then?

That's pretty clear-cut if you ask me. 5min major + a game seems reasonable for what happened on the ice.

There was no reason for the hit (no real forecheck, no scoring chance, etc). This is reckless play, which Ovi has a long history of. I wouldn't hold my breath for additional punishment from the NHL though.

Hockey Central is talking about it right now, I wonder what will happen in terms of a suspension. Everyone is comparing it to the Cooke hit and I don't think there is any comparison. People just want to compare what's dirty, when it's like comparing apples to oranges.

[chippa13 1844]

Well, I knew the Ovechkin apologists would be out in force with this one when I saw it happen yesterday. I'm just wondering how many questionable hits does this guy get before we question either his intelligence or respect for fellow players. He's pretty much guaranteed one or two of these plays a season.

[Allsmokenopancake 0]

Lots of guys are his size and play the game hard and with speed. The fact that he has no "off button" is a problem. If he can't learn to analyze the gray areas it's going to be an issue (I would say it already is). He makes plays that put others at risk in situations that really aren't key to the play, that's reckless.

I still, as I stated above, find it amazing the lengths people go to defend this guy. Campbell was catching the first 1/8 of an inch of his skate a millisecond before AO touched him! No foul! Or, the guy who he hit knee to knee was leaning the wrong way or should have just manned up and taken the full brunt of the hit! Or, AO's jersey touched the shoulder number of the player he ran from behind, legal hit!!!

When you have to come up with scenarios like that, it's usually BS.

I'm actually not going out of my way to defend him. If you read my initial post, I said if it's a suspendable offense, it should be a suspension. The problem I have is with the way dicipline is handed out in the league, both on the ice and in the review after the fact. It's always always always reactionary, depending on the severity of the outcome of the play. It should be a penalty/suspension whether a guys career is ended or whether he bounces up and plays the next shift.

That was a hit from behind by ovechkin. What I was saying is that type of hit happens in every game, pushing a guy into the boards. It's unfortunate that Campbell got hurt, and ovechkin should know better. My contention is still that he did not intend to injure Campbell, and actually cares if he gets hurt or not. Campbell also speared himself on the way down, which contributed to his injury.

But look at every single game from here to the end of the season, there are guys pushed into the boards from behind all the time that goes uncalled. This is a reaction to the result of the play, not the play itself. The league needs to straighten their shit out regarding this

[Machinehead2k5 32]

ALLSMOKE: But look at every single game from here to the end of the season, there are guys pushed into the boards from behind all the time that goes uncalled. This is a reaction to the result of the play, not the play itself. The league needs to straighten their shit out regarding this.

Where do you see these hits from behind all the time? What league are you watching?

[chippa13 1844]

I'm actually not going out of my way to defend him. If you read my initial post, I said if it's a suspendable offense, it should be a suspension. The problem I have is with the way dicipline is handed out in the league, both on the ice and in the review after the fact. It's always always always reactionary, depending on the severity of the outcome of the play. It should be a penalty/suspension whether a guys career is ended or whether he bounces up and plays the next shift.

That was a hit from behind by ovechkin. What I was saying is that type of hit happens in every game, pushing a guy into the boards. It's unfortunate that Campbell got hurt, and ovechkin should know better. My contention is still that he did not intend to injure Campbell, and actually cares if he gets hurt or not. Campbell also speared himself on the way down, which contributed to his injury.

But look at every single game from here to the end of the season, there are guys pushed into the boards from behind all the time that goes uncalled. This is a reaction to the result of the play, not the play itself. The league needs to straighten their shit out regarding this

Guys are seldom pushed from behind at that speed and distance from the boards. Blaming the league for what happened yesterday is a cop out. Ovechkin should know better so he is either an idiot or doesn't respect his fellow players.

[BoDangles 0]

furlanitalia, I completely agree. Thank god Campbell was able to dip his shoulder down and turn, if not, that could have ended his career easily.

Anyone who says that this is just a push, I think you need to look at the force Ovi uses, a push is an understatement IMO.

[Trooper 8]

But look at every single game from here to the end of the season, there are guys pushed into the boards from behind all the time that goes uncalled. This is a reaction to the result of the play, not the play itself. The league needs to straighten their shit out regarding this

Not like this you don't. That's the definition of boarding. Add to that the Campbell had clearly gotten rid of the puck and was in a vulnerable position and it adds up to a reckless play different from what you see all the time.

Yes, the NHL is the laughing stock of professional sports when it comes to discipline and safety, but that's a separate issue.

[furlanitalia 1]

Again, Ovechkin does things faster/harder then everyone else with little regard of the outcome. Watch this hit on Heward. Hits like this happen all the time. Ovechkin just goes in for the hit looking like he wants to kill the guy, and I'm not saying he needs to stop playing hard, he just needs to be more conscious of his actions. And arguing Ovechkin is in a league of is own in this regard is an invalid argument, there are a lot of big, strong, and fast players who don't have the same streak Ovechkin does. Realistically it all comes back to the lack of respect for other players.

[Allsmokenopancake 0]

Not like this you don't. That's the definition of boarding. Add to that the Campbell had clearly gotten rid of the puck and was in a vulnerable position and it adds up to a reckless play different from what you see all the time.

Yes, the NHL is the laughing stock of professional sports when it comes to discipline and safety, but that's a separate issue.

And I said I have no problem with the 5 minutes and the misconduct. I just don't think a suspension should be added to the mix

[Allsmokenopancake 0]

Tim Gleason, the player hit by ovechkin to earn his earlier suspension chimes in. Here's a snippet, full article at

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/dcsportsb...g_with_ove.html

"I think it's one of those things where he's just gonna play the way he plays," Gleason said. "That's what's put him here, that's the way he wants to play. I don't think there's anything wrong with it. He's an aggressive player, so I've got no problem with it. I'm aggressive, so I understand it's how he plays and how he thinks."

Now, would Gleason say the same thing privately? I have no idea. Would Sunday's hit on Brian Campbell change his mind? Not sure. But I asked Gleason if any bad feelings linger from his own incident with Ovechkin, and he quickly said no.

"I don't have any [bad] feelings, no," he said. "You know, I was in his cross hairs, so he's gonna try to finish me. If he was in my cross hairs, I would try to finish him. That's the aggressive style that he's probably played with his whole life, and I play the same way. It's just one of those things where you want to play physical and play your game, and that's what he did, he was playing his game."

[furlanitalia 1]

And the problem is in the fact that his game endangers the lives of others.

EDIT: I read that over and it sounded a bit to harsh. There are parts of his game that endanger others, and if he can curb those and focus on the other aspects his game that make him great he won't have these problems.

Either way, I would love to hear the conversation him and Coli are having/had today.

[chippa13 1844]

When do we stop saying "that's just Ovechkin being Ovechkin" and start saying "that guy is going to cripple somebody one day"?

[TBLfan 25]

I think you have to suspend him just so he might ease up on guys in vulnerable positions. Is he a dirty player? I don't think so, I think he's reckless. He throws around his body with no regard to himself or others.

He seems like a guy that does stuff like that before thinking and that has been proven to be dangerous. I don't think he's trying to hurt people but he definitely wants to make the highlight reel, so he hits hard and hits everyone he can... but for safety he really has to pick his spots. Look at the Heward hit, he could have paralyzed the guy. I love what intensity he brings but he needs to be less reckless, it's likely to cut careers short, including his own.

[furlanitalia 1]

Well, it ended Hewards. Granted he was nearing the end anyway, but he could have at least finished the season.

[mack 44]

I would mention that since Cooke didn't get anything, neither should Ovie, but since the NHL's idea of suspension-worthy hits are a joke I won't bother. Colin Campbell is a clueless twat dinosaur that has no business working with anything related to the NHL.

[retroXvertigo 4]

Not sure if this has been posted here before.

EDIT. I see its been posted on page 11. It's still pretty funny.