NHL gets it wrong again

If anyone reading this follows hockey, you are probably aware of what happened in a recent game between the Flames and the Canucks. Well, part of what happened. I can't ignore that the hockey media does a horrible job in providing an even remotely neutral perspective.


If you don't follow, let me explain some of the events. The Flames decided to start the game with their gritty fourth line. The Canucks' coach, John Tortorella, was concerned by this move and matched lines. The Flames had a tough guy, Kevin Westgarth, take the opening face-off. This tough guy does not normally take face-offs, and it appears that they had someone on the ice who does. I don't think the Canucks had any natural centers on the ice, and they initially put in a rookie (first NHL game) to take the face-off. A defenseman, Kevin Bieksa, saw what the Flames were doing and decided to protect the rookie by taking the face-off himself. As soon as the puck was dropped, Westgarth jumped Bieksa. Even the league has acknowledged that this was a "premeditated fight with an unwilling opponent." Five fights broke out.

Not surprisingly, John Tortorella was furious at the Flames' coach, Bob Hartley, for the brawl. He failed to calm himself down and was seen shouting at the Flames in their hallway during the first intermission.

As I have repeatedly stated, the hockey media is horrible. They acknowledged the brawl but downplayed a lot of the details. The frustrations of Tortorella, however, became the story of the game.

Yesterday, the league announced decisions regarding supplementary discipline. John Totorella was suspended 15 days without pay. That includes 6 games, and he is not allowed to communicate with the team. Bob Hartley was given a measly $25,000 fine for the role he played.

I agree that what Tortorella did was wrong. I feel that he was definitely worthy of a fine. I completely disagree with the suspension, especially considering the events leading up to the heated display. By comparison, I feel that a coach instigating a brawl should face severe penalties including a suspension.

Basically, the league said that they won't provide any real deterrent from the filth in the game. To go even further, the league will actually reward these kinds of embarrassing displays by providing severe punishment to those who stand up to them.