Discipline for this at all?

[Vulcan7905 88]

Was looking at another site and saw this.

Should it be the league disciplining Ryan Clowe at all or his team? Do you guys think it could have been a game changer for the Kings at all?

http://www.bayareasp...ose-sharks.html

[Coldclay 53]

Clowe is lower than dirt for trying to pull that garbage. But watch, NHL won't do anything about it. Should have been a penalty, and LA would have had a 5-on-3 PP...

Clowe should be fined at the very least.

[x-axis 44]

Per Sharks reporter David Pollak's twitter feed:

Don't expect NHL to slap Clowe. League official: "Had the referees or linesmen seen this, it would have been a minor penalty, nothing more."

Clowe is a gritty hard working forward. He does really stupid stuff sometimes but in no way is he lower than dirt Coldclay.

How about we talk about the blindside hits on Mitchell and Couture from the Kings????

[crazyhick 19]

yea it was pretty cheap, but because he got away with it, i'd call it pure brilliance. it negated any momentum that the kings had on that powerplay between actually breaking up the rush and causing them to think about it more than they should've instead of the pp they were on. i'd put it in that hook/trip/hold category that works in favor of preventing a goal and not getting caught/called on it.

[sickwilly 37]

Good move to pull on one of your buddies at shinny. I was shocked to see this in an NHL game, but I got a pretty good laugh out of it. I'm not sure how the refs missed this, since he played the puck.

[Fire0nIce228 1]

Its bushleague, no other way to put it. Are you suprised that a few of the NHLs finest men in stripes missed that? Fools can barely see some of the most egreigious of infractions that happen right infront of their faces..

[IPv6Freely 2092]

The linesmen may have seen it, but it's not a penalty they can call. There are very few that they can. Just FYI. I guess whoever circled the linesmen in that photo didn't realize that either.

But yes, definitely should have been a penalty, and not sure how the refs missed it. Certainly not worthy of a suspension or fine, though.

[Coldclay 53]

There's a reason why a garbage play by Clown is rarely seen if at all at the NHL level. Because it is a dirt move. Even mites know better not to do that. Also shows how absolutely retarded Clowe is as a player. If he got caught doing that, the Kings would've been on a 5-on-3 with 5 mins left in the game... and chances are that Kings would win and Clowe would be murdered by his coach.

But all that aside, since he was lucky and got away with it, it was a brilliant move I guess. Way to go refs!

[sharks25 9]

Calm down with the retarded and scumbag comments about Clowe. Yeah, it was a dumb move by him. But one move like that doesn't define a person. If Stoll hadn't stopped skating he could have continued on his break in. Heck, with the way Niemi has been playing he probably could have scored. But the puck moved slightly to the left, and he forgot about the play. That seems pretty retarded to me... Also, if the LA defenseman wasn't holding Pavelski down, the ref wouldn't be looking back into the defensive zone and probably would have caught Clowe being an idiot.

[Coldclay 53]

Yeah, lets blame Stoll, or the Kings defenseman for distracting the ref(s) instead. Blaming the victim is so much easier...

All I'm saying is Clowe is seriously nuts to even think of doing such a thing. If he was on your opponent's side and pulled that garbage, you wouldn't like it either, but of course in this case sharks fans see it differently. Sure one move doesn't define a person, but in Clowe's case, it only proves to me what an idiot this guy really is (actually to most who saw the play).

[sharks25 9]

I view it as dumb. I view it as funny. (many people that commented on the video found it funny too). But, I don't view him as dumb. Commentators actually brought those two facts to light for me, they highlighted the fact that Pavelski was being held down, and the fact that the puck hardly moved. Im not justifying it, and I don't like it. I'm just saying that you have based 3 comments on him being an Idiot.

And as said earlier, I'm sure kings fans don't mind the two blindside hits by the kings.

[Tailboard Jockey 25]

Here's a news flash: Every team cheats. Some get away with it, some don't. Every time a penalty is called, it's because somebody got caught trying to cheat. That's hockey. Get over it.

[Axxion89 32]

Yeah, lets blame Stoll, or the Kings defenseman for distracting the ref(s) instead. Blaming the victim is so much easier...

All I'm saying is Clowe is seriously nuts to even think of doing such a thing. If he was on your opponent's side and pulled that garbage, you wouldn't like it either, but of course in this case sharks fans see it differently. Sure one move doesn't define a person, but in Clowe's case, it only proves to me what an idiot this guy really is (actually to most who saw the play).

Why don't you blame the refs who failed to see this egregious and horrible act against humanity. I mean it's their job to watch over the game and it's a players job to win the game. Also I am sure Clowe does not care that you think he is scum, as their have been plays far worse in the NHL...

[goblue9280 33]

I don't think there's really a need for a fine/suspension as there's no need to make an example. Reason being that 99.9%of the guys in pro hockey have too much respect for the game to pull that crap. There's really no defense, Clowe deserves all of the critism he's getting for disrespecting the game.

[BenderHockey 127]

Scumbag, idiot, retarded, disrespecting the game?

He didn't lay someone out with a dirty hit, or spit on someone, or use racially/ethnically inappropriate language or anything of the sort. He touched the puck from the bench.

Let's get ahold of yourselves people. Reality check time.

[goblue9280 33]

Let's get ahold of yourselves people. Reality check time.

Reality check is admitting that it was a cheap play that most players in the league have the integrity not to do. Was he an idiot for trying it? Yes, as most times the refs will catch it and he'll have put his team down 2-men late in a tie game. Was it disrespectful of the game? Absolutely... have some respect for the game that's paying you millions of dollars a year. Should Clowe be forced to wear a scarlet letter for the rest of his career? Of course not... he's a good, hardworking player who made a stupid decision in the moment.

[TeamHonda401 54]

If he would have came off the bench and blindsided someone like Drew Doughty apparently thought he did....then it would have been as big of a deal as some people thought it was. Should have been a minor penalty, nothing more.

[Coldclay 53]

Reality check is admitting that it was a cheap play that most players in the league have the integrity not to do. Was he an idiot for trying it? Yes, as most times the refs will catch it and he'll have put his team down 2-men late in a tie game. Was it disrespectful of the game? Absolutely... have some respect for the game that's paying you millions of dollars a year. Should Clowe be forced to wear a scarlet letter for the rest of his career? Of course not... he's a good, hardworking player who made a stupid decision in the moment.

This.

[sharks25 9]

I agree, goblue! I've said it was a dumb play. I especially agree with the part you said about him not being remembered for it, which is why I find it ridiculous to call him an idiot.

[BenderHockey 127]

Reality check is admitting that it was a cheap play that most players in the league have the integrity not to do. Was he an idiot for trying it? Yes, as most times the refs will catch it and he'll have put his team down 2-men late in a tie game. Was it disrespectful of the game? Absolutely... have some respect for the game that's paying you millions of dollars a year. Should Clowe be forced to wear a scarlet letter for the rest of his career? Of course not... he's a good, hardworking player who made a stupid decision in the moment.

I personally don't feel it was any more or less "disrespectful" than any other minor breach of rules, e.g. tripping, hooking, holding. But that's just my personal opinion, and anyone has the right to agree or disagree.

[iceNsteel 0]

I'll level that I'm a Sharks fan, but I think this is getting blown out of proportion. If had been called it's a minor penalty. As far as it's impact on the game, it's not like he stopped a clean break away. It was a rush that had gotten to center ice and the puck carrier forced near the boards. It's not like he reached out and clothes lined someone with his stick or something.

[IPv6Freely 2092]

And if the refs had seen it and called it, nobody would be talking about it, except maybe on a blooper reel.

[goblue9280 33]

I personally don't feel it was any more or less "disrespectful" than any other minor breach of rules, e.g. tripping, hooking, holding.

Minor penalties by on-ice players are an accepted part of the game... an off-ice player going out of his way to interfere with the game is not. Can you imagine if an NBA player was about to shoot a three late in a close game in front of the opponents bench only to have a player form the bench hop up and slap the ball away at the top of his shot? Or an NFL team on a 2 minute drill goes to complete a sideline pass when an opponent from the sideline jumps onto the field and knocks the ball down before it reaches the receiver? How is what Clowe did any different?

[iceNsteel 0]

DISCLAIMER: I am not a Kings fan...

Had the shoe been on the other foot, I'm sure you would've been up in arms about it.

Not really, if you get up in arms about anything involving a team you're not on I think you need to get a life. I like to watch the NHL because it's good hockey and it's entertaining, but that's about the size of it. I would have found it equally funny and stupid regardless of who do it.

My problem with this is that the league feels that the problem with the clock at Staples Center earlier in the season was such a big deal and needed to be investigated because it potentially, if found to be human error, ruins the integrity of the game. What Ryan Clowe did was a lack of common sense which ruined the integrity of the game.

The clock is a machine, and the NHL has a vested interested in making sure every piece of equipment is up to spec. Players routinely commit minor infractions of the rules, and they're penalized for it when caught. Sometimes they aren't caught though, those are the fortunes of war. We don't have melt down every time someone gets away with a hook, a trip, interference, and so on.

At the very least, a player outside of the playing surface should be admonished for interference with the game so that ALL players know it is a serious offense. A two minute penalty in this instance does nothing to rectify the greater issue, and is even worse when not caught at all, as now, it has gone unpunished.

Again, this is just nonsense. If he two handed a guy to stop a clean break away, even if he got away with it, no one would be having a melt down. There are rules on the book for this sort of thing, it's a minor penalty. The refs don't see everything, and in almost every game that's played there are penalties that go uncalled. That's the nature of sports.

Clowe's action, had he been caught, could've changed the entire playoff structure in the Western Conference. The Kings would've had a 5 on 3 PP for 41 seconds, and had they scored, they would be Division Champs and seeded 3rd instead of 8th (no excuse for shitting the bed in the final game of the season).

Actually, I'm fairly certain Phoenix would have won the division either way. But even if that were the case I don't think you could have fit any more shoulda's and coulda's in that sentence. The Kings might have scored, and they might not have. The Kings also could have not lost so many games and then they wouldn't have needed to win these last two. Should every game be reviewed so the league can hand out punishments for everything that the refs miss during the course of a game?

Minor penalties by on-ice players are an accepted part of the game... an off-ice player going out of his way to interfere with the game is not. Can you imagine if an NBA player was about to shoot a three late in a close game in front of the opponents bench only to have a player form the bench hop up and slap the ball away at the top of his shot? Or an NFL team on a 2 minute drill goes to complete a sideline pass when an opponent from the sideline jumps onto the field and knocks the ball down before it reaches the receiver? How is what Clowe did any different?

It wouldn't really be any different. I'm not entirely sure what the rules of basketball would call for in that situation, but I'm fairly sure it would be free throws. In football they'd get 10 yards closer to the end zone and a chance to replay the down. In either case if it wasn't caught then the wronged team would get nothing at all. It's merely less likely you could do something like that in football or basketball because of the nature of the sidelines and get away with it.

[Gr8erade 1]

I guess I need to get a life on top of the one I already have...

I agree with what you wrote earlier.

Penalty or no penalty, it is bush league, reflects poorly on the player and reflects poorly on the league. And by the way, here's what happened in the NFL when someone on the sideline interfered in a play.

http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2010/12/30/nfl-fines-jets-100000-for-coachs-tripping-incident/

Think a message was sent by the league here? A message should have been sent to Clowe too.