Goon Veilleux crosses the line
Now that Minnesota has pushed the tone of this NHL playoff series against Colorado from Wild and dangerous to the edge of insanity, what is commissioner Gary Bettman going to do about it before more reckless damage is done to a wonderful sport already dismissed by too many Americans as a bad excuse for a bar brawl?
Well, the commish could start by ordering a suspension for Minnesota winger Stephane Veilleux, who apparently views the NHL's penal code as a chance to write his name in the Guinness Book of World Records.
Should the league take punitive action against Veilleux?
"Definitely," Avs veteran Ian Laperriere said Wednesday, on the eve of Game 5.
Mr. Misconduct needs to be suspended. If the NHL had any sense of justice, Veilleux would be banned from participating tonight against the Avs, with the tense best-of-seven series tied at two victories apiece.
A goon-gone-wild act by Veilleux included a dangerous blindside shot on Avs star Paul Stastny late Tuesday in a 5-1 Colorado victory that saw the Wild overdose on testosterone and embarrass any Minnesotan in the great state of hockey who truly loves the sport.
Although Laperriere respects the unwritten rule of sending a we're-not-going-take-it message in the closing minutes of a lopsided playoff loss, he believes Veilleux definitely crossed the line by leaving his feet to deliver a nasty hit to the back of a defenseless Stastny.
"The league has been talking blows to the head and how we want to get rid of that. (Veilleux) jumped in the air and went right between the numbers," Laperriere said. "There's a fine line between being physical and trying to hurt someone."
Although shaken, Stastny was able to skate away from the cowardly assault by Veilleux in the third period. Should that leave a combatant who was obviously looking to cause mayhem off the hook with the league office?
"In my mind, don't wait for a guy to break his neck to do something about it. But they pay me to play, they don't pay me to hand out suspensions," said Laperriere, no angel himself, with a nose permanently bent in the shape of a 25-mph curve that proves what a tough road he has taken in 14 NHL seasons.
I like who Kiszla keeps coming back with quotes from Ian Laperriere. Just for the record Ian Laperriere is a gutless hack and a goon that has spent the series against the Wild running the skilled players of the Minnesota Wild and is nothing more than a toothless goon. Former North Stars coach and current Wild scout Glen Sonmor was right when he wondered why somebody on the Wild didn't go after the Avalanche's Cody McLeod and Ian Laperriere and ring their necks.
The Veilleux checking from behind on Av's player Paul Stasny was a questionable hit and you could call it dirty, however, the action did not warrant anything more than a 5 minute penatly in my opinon. Just for the record Veilleux is not a goon and is a good hockey player and also a decent defensive forward.
So when an Avalanche player runs a Wild player their gutless but when the Wild run the Avs they are playing hard?
ReplyDeleteWere you even watching that game? The Wild took way more runs at Av's players in game 4. I was worried that an Av's player was going to get hurt and then Veilleux leaves his feet to hit Stastny from behind, that is way more gutless then anything Laperrier or McLeod did. I personally think Veilleux should have gotten suspended for that hit just because he left his feet.
And how can you say Laperrier just a hack? He's a great defensive forward and great leader. That is why he wears the "A".
Slappy is a hack and yes I have watched the games, I am less than impressed with the antics of Slappy and McCloud.
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