Boston Bruins: Max Talbot Suspended Two Games for Interference

After watchin this video again, I don't have a problem with this suspension. I would like to see more plays like this called. I do, however, want to see the league enforce dangerous hits and head shots more consistenly. I want to see star players get the same penalty/suspensions that a third or fourth line player gets. 

NEW YORK – Boston Bruins forward Max Talbot has been suspended for two games, without pay, for interference against New Jersey Devils forward Jiri Tlusty during NHL Game No. 494 in Boston on Sunday, Dec. 20, the National Hockey League's Department of Player Safety announced today. The incident occurred at 14:30 of the second period.

Under the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement and, based on his average annual salary, Talbot will forfeit $19,354.84. The money goes to the Players' Emergency Assistance Fund.

Brad Malone vs Wayne Simmonds

According to Hockey fights, former Fighting Sioux forward Brad Malone has been in four NHL fights this season. The last two, he's fared poorly, and he was beaten badly in both fights. You have to give him credit, he doesn't shy away from a scrap.

In this fight, Flyers forward Wayne Simmonds comes to the aid of a Flyers player that Malone has checked.

Updated: Brandon Dubinsky Will have a Hearing for Dirty Cross Check on Sidney Crosby

There's no defending this bush league cross check by Columbus Bluejackets forward Brandon Dubinsky. I mean seriously, Dubinsky tries to remove Sidney Crosby's head from his body. This dirty hit is worthy of a suspension. If you're a fan of the NHL, there's a chance you're embarrassed that  Dubinsky was only given a two-minute minor for this egregious act of violence. Now will the league step up?

Just for the record, I am not a fan of the Penguins, but I don't want to see the league's superstars knocked out of the game by a senseless, dirty, boneheaded hit.

Wow. Cross Check to the back of Crosby's neck from Brandon Dubinsky gets just a 2 minute penalty. Playoff atmosphere in Columbus tonight.

— John Buccigross (@Buccigross) November 28, 2015

Dubinsky will have a hearing with the NHL Department of Players safety.

Brandon Dubinsky: Will have a hearing with the league regarding his actions in the most rece... https://t.co/VMyqNEGuZ8 #nhl #CBJ

— Left Wing Lock (@Left_Wing_Lock) November 28, 2015

Apparently, former NHL goon Matthew Barnaby didn't think that Dubinsky's cross check warrants a suspension. Wait, what?

The only suspension questionable is one to neck. And not bad at all. 2nd cross check is not suspension. No way no how. We'll discuss Monday

— Matthew Barnaby (@MattBarnaby3636) November 28, 2015

NHL might suspend Dubinsky. I don't think he deserves it all. There was Zero force. Just my opinion. Comes down to their opinion

— Matthew Barnaby (@MattBarnaby3636) November 28, 2015

(Video) Jonathan Toews vs David Backes

Former Fighting Sioux All-American forward Jonathan Toews has been in a grand total of five NHL fights. Two of them have been against the same player, former Minnesota State Maverick David Backes. While fighting isn't Toews' role, he's fought twice already this season.

Gabriel Landeskog Suspended Two Games For Hit On Brad Marchand

Apparently, you can get a two-game suspension for a hit like this in the NHL. So far, kneeing infractions have been okay.

Colorado's Gabriel Landeskog has been suspended by the NHL for this hit on Boston Bruins forward Brad Marchand. Anyone what to defend this hit? Marchand was also fined $5,000 for popping Landeskog.

Colorado's Gabriel Landeskog has been suspended 2 games for an illegal check to the head of Boston's Brad Marchand. https://t.co/e0PHYMclPM

— NHL Player Safety (@NHLPlayerSafety) November 13, 2015

Gabriel Landeskog suspended two games for hit, Brad Marchand fined for punch (Video) https://t.co/9ihOmD0KnG #Bruins #NHL #Avalanche

— Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) November 13, 2015

Oilers Connor McDavid Suffers Upper-Body Injury

The Edmonton Oilers received some very bad news today. Their star rookie forward Connor McDavid will be out long term after sustaining a upper-body injury. Can we say fractured collar bone? The video is painful to watch. This is bad news for the NHL and the Oilers. So far this season, McDavid is leading rookie scorers with (5g-7a--12pts) in 13 games.

Coach McLellan says @cmcdavid97 has an upper-body injury that will keep him out long term.

— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) November 4, 2015

Connor McDavid expected to have surgery to repair fractured clavicle.

— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) November 4, 2015

Zac Rinaldo Hit on Sean Couturier

Boston Bruins forward Zac Rinaldo was given a five-minute major and a game misconduct for this hit on Philadelphia Flyers forward Sean Couturier. Needless to say, Rinaldo's first game against his old team only lasted on period and he played only 2:53 minutes.

I don't think that this hit is suspension worthy, but the league will definitely take a look at it. Couturier was not on the bench to start the second period.

T.J. Oshie Kisses His Stick

Oshie kisses his stick after scoring the 4th Caps goal, and his 3rd of the season pic.twitter.com/ew9wb8gjSO

— Stephanie (@myregularface) October 21, 2015

Classic T.J. Oshie... After scoring his third goal of the year and the fourth goal for the Capitals, Oshie kisses his stick.

Alexander Burmistrov’s Dirty Elbow on Patrice Bergeron

While we're suspending people for dirty hits. I believe that Alexander Burmistrov’s dirty elbow on Patrice Bergeron should warrant a suspension. This is definitely a violation of the NHL's Rule 48.

There's no defending this hit.

NHL Alumni by NCHC School

Lot of players in the NHL that come from NCHC schools.

North Dakota (14)
Taylor Chorney, D (Washington)
Derek Forbort, D (Los Angeles)
Matt Greene, D (Los Angeles)
Rocco Grimaldi, F (Florida)
Brad Malone, F (Carolina)
Brock Nelson, F (New York Islanders)
T.J. Oshie, F (Washington)
Zach Parise, F (Minnesota)
Chris Porter, F (Minnesota)
Dillon Simpson, D (Edmonton)
Drew Stafford, F (Winnipeg)
Jonathan Toews, F (Chicago)
Chris VandeVelde, F (Philadelphia)
Travis Zajac, F (New Jersey)

Denver (9)
Beau Bennett, F (Pittsburgh)
Tyler Bozak, F (Toronto)
Matt Carle, D (Tampa Bay)
Joe Colborne, F (Calgary)
Matt Donovan, D (Buffalo)
Nick Shore, F (Los Angeles)
Paul Stastny, F (St. Louis)
Patrick Wiercioch, D (Ottawa)
Jason Zucker, F (Minnesota)

Minnesota Duluth (8)
J.T. Brown, F (Tampa Bay)
Justin Faulk, D (Carolina)
Justin Fontaine, F (Minnesota)
Jason Garrison, D (Tampa Bay)
Matt Niskanen, D (Washington)
Dylan Olsen, D (Florida)
Mason Raymond, F (Calgary)
Alex Stalock, G (San Jose)

Miami (7)
Dan Boyle, D (New York Rangers)
Andy Greene, D (New Jersey)
Alec Martinez, D (Los Angeles)
Reilly Smith, F (Florida)
Chris Wideman, D (Ottawa)
Tommy Wingels, F (San Jose)
Jeff Zatkoff, G (Pittsburgh)

Colorado College (4)
Curtis McElhinney, G (Columbus)
Nate Prosser, D (Minnesota)
Jaden Schwartz, F (St. Louis)
Mark Stuart, D (Winnipeg)

Western Michigan (4)
Kevin Connauton, D (Columbus)
Danny DeKeyser, D (Detroit)
Mark Letestu, F (Edmonton)
Matt Tennyson, D (San Jose)

St. Cloud State (2)
Matt Cullen, F (Pittsburgh)
Matt Hendricks, F (Edmonton)

Omaha (1) Andrej Sustr, D (Tampa Bay)

(s/t NCHC Hockey)

Raffi Torres Has not Learned his Lesson, Ejected for Brutal Head Shot

While he's not considered a repeat offender per the CBA, this hit could land Sharks forward Raffi Torres a long suspension.

Torres, BTW, is technically NOT a repeat offender (no fines/suspensions in last 18 months) for purposes of how lost wages are calculated.

— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) October 4, 2015

But Torres' history of fines/suspensions CAN be factored into length of future suspension, once @NHLPlayerSafety determines hearing req'd.

— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) October 4, 2015

Brandon Dubinsky not a Fan of Mike Reilly

One has to wonder if this wasn't a drunk tweet or something along those lines. That being said, Columbus Blue Jackets isn't a fan of former Gopher Mike Reilly. 

Obviously, Reilly isn't the first college hockey player to go this route to the NHL, but I can see how Dubinsky and his Blue Jackets teammates might not be that impressed with the ex-Gopher's decision. Dubinsky has since deleted his tweet. 

Mike Commodore goes off on Pierre McGuire

Former NHLer and University of North Dakota defenseman Mike Commodore took to twitter to express his displeasure with Pierre McGuire. He's not alone, there are many fans that can't stand McGuire. I see a lot of NHL fans expressing their thoughts about McGuire on social media often, many of them aren't very flattering. So, what do you think of big Mike's thoughts?

Good morning folks! Can I turn the tv back on yet or is #ShitStain still stinking it up?

— Mike Commodore (@commie22) June 28, 2015

What's up folks! Today's news..charleston rocks, ocean course is legit, and #Shitstain still stinks.

— Mike Commodore (@commie22) June 27, 2015

Hey #ShitStain, the blue jackets didn't draft Jack Johnson. Wake up.

— Mike Commodore (@commie22) June 27, 2015

I can't watch this. Off button. #ShitStain ruins it. Again.

— Mike Commodore (@commie22) June 27, 2015

Pierre? Oh you mean #ShitStain ? RT @railfan514: @commie22 Please tell me you are talking about Pierre.

— Mike Commodore (@commie22) June 27, 2015

Hey #ShitStain, the blue jackets didn't draft Jack Johnson. Wake up.

— Mike Commodore (@commie22) June 27, 2015

Matt Cooke is Waived, Twitter Responds

Today is a very good day. Since my least favorite player in the NHL was finally waived from the Minnesota Wild, I thought I would celebrate by posting some of the Tweets that I found on Twitter.

@sexyreximacrexy I hate Matt Cooke so much and it basically broke my heart when he signed with Minnesota

— CorneliusHardenbergh (@HBAdventure) June 18, 2015

@mnwild I hate Matt Cooke he's a cheap shot artist...he's a disgrace to hockey....

— Richy (@ricnels12) June 18, 2015

Matt Cooke is a fucking joke im glad he on waivers he shouldn't be in the league for what he has done

— Mat Wilson (@matttyboy5150) June 18, 2015

See you never, hopefully! RT @goon48: Breaking News: Matt Cooke put on Waivers in Minnesota http://t.co/IgXEnrPsXR

— JS Landry (@JSLandry20) June 18, 2015

Bye Matt Cooke👋🏽👋🏽 pic.twitter.com/1vk7s2QFQa

— abby☀️ (@ybba2026) June 18, 2015

Wild put Matt Cooke on waivers, will buy him out #nhl http://t.co/NnluPDPJ6o pic.twitter.com/noCHLhWFFm

— WordLink #NHL (@NHLbyWordLink) June 18, 2015

Matt Cooke placed on waivers to be bought out http://t.co/hufP8vUxBf pic.twitter.com/X5eSSJlCC5

— Pominville News (@PominvilleNews) June 18, 2015

Matt Cooke is a LW who is about to be bought out. Matt Cooke plays #classless and #flyera hockey Flyera sign Matt Cooke to a 1 yr 2 way

— #ThankYouKimmo (@FauxGudas) June 18, 2015

See, it's not just me. Many other fans feel the same way. And yes, I agree Cooke is one of the dirtiest players ever to play the game of hockey. He makes Ulf Samuelsson look semi-clean.

Happy to see Matt Cooke being bought out by the Wild. One of the dirtiest players of all time. Doesn't deserve to be in the league. #NHL

— Tom Siino (@rangers_tom72) June 18, 2015

If Cooke being on waivers means he is going to be bought out, I could not be more pleased. I hope no one signs the pile of filth.

— Bryan Reynolds (@BReynoldsMN) June 18, 2015

Video: Kris Versteeg Goalie Interference

Check this out. Chicago Blackhawks forward Kris Versteeg was assessed a two-minute minor for goalie interference. It's almost humorous.

In my opinion, this is a blown call. If you watch the video you will see that Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman actually helps Versteeg into the goal post.

Versteeg was trying to stop there. Gets one-armed tossed into the goalie/face plants on the post. Gets called for a penalty. Ouch.

— Cörey Masisak (@cmasisak22) June 4, 2015

GIF: Face vs. post. pic.twitter.com/EVsdg7RDHd

— Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) June 4, 2015

This is the season, change change change

by Redwing77

Ok, first I see my Red Wings bow out early.  That's ok, I didn't expect them to make the playoffs (none of the pundits did either).  Now... lots of change.

First, Hakstol bolts for the Flyers.  Ugh.  I don't like the Flyers.  Better there than Buffalo or Toronto, perhaps, but still....  it stinks.  I never saw it coming.  That being said, I talked to Hakstol in Kearney, Nebraska while the Tri City Storm (with UND recruit Chris Wilkie) faced off in what would turn out to be the season ending game for the Omaha Lancers (with UND recruit Shane Gersich).  He was a great guy and a splendid ambassador for North Dakota.

I still love to think about the Haters.  I mean, Hakstol couldn't win it all in his 11 seasons with North Dakota even with stacked rosters and a bucket load of tradition (which, by the way, never makes saves nor scores goals but whatever).  So, obviously, Hakstol shouldn't be considered worthy of anything, right?  Or perhaps just worthy of a head coaching gig in the NHL.  Not even the NoDak godcoach Dean Blais garnered that post... or perhaps he turned them all down to get an associate head coaching gig with the Blue Jackets?  Whatever.

Nevertheless, I don't know how it will work out for Hakstol in the NHL.  I hope he's successful.  It's a different world in the pros.  A TON of entitlement and "me first" attitudes prevail in that league.  Maybe he'll be able to convince Ron Hextall (of all people to say what's next) that GOALTENDING might actually be a CONCERN for Philly?  Hmm???  Seriously!  2 career backups and 1 30 something year old rookie isn't going to win you much.

Anyways....

And now Red Wings Coach Mike Babcock will head to Toronto to be the head conductor aboard the second biggest train derailment in the NHL (behind Buffalo).  Ok, there were rumors abounding regarding this pre-season but still!  This is a good deal for Toronto.  I mean, stealing assistants from Detroit didn't necessarily work out (see San Jose) so why not steal the head coach himself?

In any regards, the front runner for the Detroit gig is former WMU head coach Blashill.  Blashill knows the system Detroit runs and has lead the Wings in developing many of the younger stars currently on the Wings roster.  I don't know if this will thrust the Wings back to the Finals but it's not exactly a dumpster hire either.

If he's hired, it may also be good for college hockey.  In the past, I got the feeling that Detroit really didn't have much faith in the NCAA (despite Nyquist, Abdelkader, Howard, and a few others).  They typically invested a lot more in the Scandenavian hockey markets and major juniors as well.  Perhaps there is a shift in hockey town towards a find the best no matter where mentality that will include the NCAA now?  Who knows.

In any case, I haven't the foggiest idea what will happen in Detroit and Philly next season or two.

Final Random Musing:

However, in Toronto, the scuttlebutt is that Babcock's hiring is BAD NEWS for one named Kessel.  Babcock likes solid play at both ends and a complete buy in to the system.  He might be able to do that (much like Trotz did with Ovechkin), but many amateur pundits (including myself) suggest that Kessel should pack his bags in time for Draft Day because he'll be moving out of Toronto.

For Those That were Wondering

I had a few people ask me this week what was going on with Zane McIntyre. Some wondered if the change at the head coaching position would make any difference. It will not make a difference.

One more to go.

Obviously, we're still waiting for Jordan Schmaltz as well.  According to Andy Strickland, it sounds like there's a chance that Schmaltz could be back this fall. We will see how that develops and plays out. For those that wondered, and I saw a few of the comments from fans, Strickland is a credible hockey source and is up on what's going on with the St. Louis Blues.

Zane has decided to leave North Dakota and is committed to the Boston Bruins. We are excited about that. https://t.co/e0meju1ylp

— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) May 20, 2015

Any word on signing Zane McIntyre ? #AskGMSweens

— Jesse Desrochers (@JesseDesrochers) May 20, 2015

Sounding like Brad Berry replacing Dave Hakstol as #UND head coach has #stlblues prospect Jordan Schmaltz leaning towards staying in school

— Andy Strickland (@andystrickland) May 18, 2015

Related articles

• UND's McIntyre Is Leaving Impressive Legacy Behind(thehockeywriters.com)

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The Hamburglar gets a Raise

Last season, former Bowling Green State University goalie Andrew Hammond made a big splash with the Ottawa Senators. In his first season with the senators, Hammond was (20-1-2, 1.73 GAA & .943 SV%) in 23 starts.

For his efforts, the Senators are showing Hammond the money. Last season, Hammond made 750,000 with the Senators and is getting a pretty nice raise to 1.35 million.

Hammond's new deal will have an annual cap hit of $1.35 million. #NHL

— NHLnumbers (@NHLnumbers) May 20, 2015

The Senators sign goaltender Andrew Hammond to a 3-year, $4.05M contract extension. He had a 1.73 GAA & .943 SV% in 23 starts this season.

— NHLnumbers (@NHLnumbers) May 20, 2015

Breaking: #Sens agree to terms with goaltender Andrew Hammond on a three-year contract extension 🍔🍔🍔

— Ottawa Senators (@Senators) May 20, 2015

Clayton Stoner Cross-Checks Andrew Shaw in the Face

Anaheim Ducks defenseman Clayton Stoner was very lucky that he's still in the game. Stoner cross-checks Marcus Kruger from behind, causing him to slide face first into the end boards. Kruger suffered a minor cut for his efforts.

But Stoner wasn't done. The Ducks defender goes on to perform oral surgery on Andrew Shaw.

To quote Brendan Shanahan, "this was a blatant attempt to injure an opponent." In other words, this was an egregious act that deserved a penalty. Also, I think that Shaw has an expectation to not be cross-checked in the face. The play is basically over.

If I was the commissioner of the NHL, these are the types of plays that would be highly punished. My question is, would this hit be worthy of a call from the Department of Player Safety. Is this suspension worthy?

UND Hockey Waiting on Two

The UND hockey team received some good news in the last couple of days. Troy Stecher is coming back for his junior season.

The good news didn't stop there. Leading scorer Drake Caggiula is going to return for his senior season. With these developments, UND should again be one of the top teams in the NCHC based on who's staying and who's coming in.

Now, UND is waiting on two players to make their decision. Jordan Schmaltz and Paul LaDue have yet to make their intentions known. It was thought that Schmaltz was signing with the Blues, but he's not tipped his hand as of yet.

Coveted NHL free agent Troy Stecher says he will return to North Dakota next season http://t.co/h8YOvA9IdS

— Brad E. Schlossman (@SchlossmanGF) May 13, 2015

Former 1st rounder Jordan Schmaltz expected to forego Sr. Season at #UND #stlblues

— Andy Strickland (@andystrickland) April 15, 2015