Showing posts with label Ron Rolston. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ron Rolston. Show all posts

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Toronto Maple Leafs: Forward Phil Kessel Suspended for the Rest of the Pre-Season



Well, that was swift, the wheel of justice has been spun. I think Kessel's suspension should be longer, because this is the second stick swinging incident for the Leafs star forward in the pre-season. That's unacceptable and that needs to be addressed going forward. We don't want the NHL to start resembling the Swedish Ice Hockey Federation or the movie Slap Shot. Apparently, the head coach of the Buffalo Sabres has been fined an undisclosed amount for his players selection that led to this event.
NEW YORK -- Buffalo Sabres head coach Ron Rolston has been fined for player selection and team conduct as a result of events that took place at 10:01 of the third period during NHL preseason game No. 61 against the Toronto Maple Leafs in Toronto on Sunday, Sept. 22.

The events took place during the face-off after Buffalo forward Corey Tropp fought Toronto forward Jamie Devane. Buffalo forward John Scott initiated an altercation with Toronto forward Phil Kessel, whom he was lined up against on the face-off, resulting in several fights. In total, 211 penalty minutes, including three game misconducts, were assessed due to the various altercations.
With all of the altercations that have transpired in the pre-season, it should be a good exciting and emotional regular season. I also think that NHL's department of Player Safety has set the tone early and sent the playes in the NHL a message that they're not going go easy on players that cross the line.
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NHL Hockey: Did John Scott Break the Hockey Code?

As I suspected, David Clarkson has been suspended by the NHL for 10 regular-season games for leaving the bench to join a fight/altercation. This is the second 10-game suspension of the pre-season already. The think that it's funny; the Toronto Maple Leafs are the only ones in this whole mess that will face any time on the beach. The Leafs Phil Kessel has a phone hearing fo rhis stick swinging incident.



I am not usually a fan of Damien Cox, but he does bring up some good points here. I was thinking about this as well.
Damien Cox, Toronto Star -- But the question NHL hanging judge Brendan Shanahan needs to ask himself is whether justice will be done if Kessel is suspended and the Buffalo Sabres don't receive any sanctions at all, not even a token fine.

If Shanahan chooses that option, he will be in effect opening the door to a strategy in which enforcers can jump star players on opposing teams without the league coming down hard on them. The league should protect its marquee players, although it seldom makes that a priority and instead allows the Patrick Kaletas of the world to run wild. You can say Kessel did wrong, but you better have a explanation as to how he should have handled a 6-foot-8 goon who had already dropped his gloves.

You can argue the goon in question, John Scott, did nothing overly wrong under the rules of the game, other than breaking them and getting a penalty. But in combination with Buffalo coach Ron Rolston, Scott instigated the entire affair by doing what most NHL people would argue is completely against the culture and spirit of the game, and that's menacing a skill player who had done absolutely nothing to provoke Scott.
I know that there’s going to be a few people that think that Phil Kessel had a beat down coming. But I ask you; think about it this way. Interchange Leafs forward Phil Kessel with Sidney Crosby, Patrice Bergeron, Zach Parise or even Jonathan Toews. Now I got your attention, right? Do we really want a two-bit goon like John Scott beating the bejesus out of a star player? Do we want him to just take liberties against marquee players? First off, I am not a dove by any stretch of the imagination. I love a good bare knuckles brawl, but the head coach of the Maple Leafs bares some of the blame in this situation.

Here’s a couple of questions that I will pose to the readers. Should Goons be going after skilled players? How’s a skilled players like Phil Kessel supposed to respond in this situation? Again, you can interchange your favorite skilled player with Kessel. Are skilled players just supposed to accept their beat down? I don’t know. Imagine the outrage if Scott had lined up again Sid Crosby or Patrice Bergeron, both players have had concussion issues. Do we want a cement head like Scott pulverizing the franchise player? You have to expect a player like Clarkson to jump off the bench and come to their aid.
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