Vancouver Canucks: head coach John Tortorella suspended 15 days

The NHL has thrown the book at Vancouver Canucks head coach John Tortorella. The interesting part is that Calgary Flames head coach Bob Hartley has been fined $25,000.00 by the NHL. I guess you could say that the head coaches in the NHL are on notice. 

NEW YORK -– Vancouver Canucks coach John Tortorella has been suspended for 15 days, without pay, for his actions during the first intermission of NHL Game No. 735 in Vancouver on Saturday, Jan. 18, the National Hockey League announced Monday.

"Mr. Tortorella's actions in attempting to enter the Calgary Flames locker room after the first period were both dangerous and an embarrassment to the League," said NHL Senior Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations Colin Campbell. "Coaches in the NHL bear the responsibility of providing leadership, even when emotions run high, and Mr. Tortorella failed in his responsibility to the game."

Mr. Tortorella's suspension is effective retroactive to January 19 and runs through Sunday, Feb. 2. He will miss six games. He is not permitted to have any interaction with his club prior to, during or after games.

NHL looking into Coyotes' antics

Phoenix Coyotes (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

You had to wonder after listening to some the comments that were made by the Phoenix Coyotes - during post game interviews - if there was going to be repercussions from the NHL. I understand that the refs weren't as good as they could have been.

Pierre LeBrun, ESPN.COM --- The NHL is further investigating the postgame actions and comments of some Phoenix Coyotes players after their season-ending, overtime loss in the Western Conference finals, league executive vice president Colin Campbell told ESPN.com on Thursday.

The league is not pleased with some of what happened after Dustin Penner's overtime winner Tuesday night for the Kings, including Coyotes center Martin Hanzal skating aggressively toward a referee and making a gesture, goalie Mike Smith throwing his stick and Keith Yandle's postgame comment in which he suggested it was no surprise the calls didn't go his team's way given the similar colors of the refs' and Kings' uniforms.

"Their actions were unprofessional and unacceptable," Campbell told ESPN.com

Most of us that watched the games this season during the Stanley Cup Playoffs realize that there have been a lot of questionable calls made on the ice in "all" of the series to date. That being said, there is a level of professionalism that NHL hockey players are supposed to exhibit and some of the Coyotes' post game comments were over-the-top and questionable.

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The State of the NHL Officiating Corps.

English: NHL Commisioner Gary Bettman in 2007. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I have to be the guy to agree with a lot of what has been said regarding officiating but I also am going to be the guy to pose a theory to the masses for public consumption.

And, yeah, it is going to sound a lot like an apology for Brenden Shanahan but it isn't.

Brenden Shanahan is in a position no one wants to have but everyone has an opinion of what should be done by a person in such a position.  However, he's not done a good job or even an ok job with the position.  He has been inconsistent and unsatisfying in his performance.  It's just presented all glitzy with videos and bulleted lists.  But looking at it from afar, there's a lot that doesn't add up.

Look at the inconsistency and the double standards of Shanahan's actions doesn't appear to me that the decisions regarding whether or not to suspend players was actually being made by Shanahan.  His actions this year seemed almost identical to that of Colin Campbell's Wheel of Justice system.  There were a few times during Campbell's administration of this position and during Shanahan's administration where they went against the trend (such as suspending Ovechkin and perhaps you can argue that it was the case for Giroux and Backstrom but I'll get to that shortly) but that may only be to prevent appearance to the players that they are playing favors.

Add onto the fact that no matter what, when a fanbase sees their guys suspended for a hit they get mad and point out flaws in previous decisions and also when a fanbase sees their guys get hit and even injured they point to it as justification for the hitting player to get pummeled with the book.

It becomes a mess.

So where does Shanahan come in?  He comes in having never served in such a level of authority.  He only comes in as a face.  People know who he is.  That's about it.  So, when thrust into the limelight like this you have to sink or swim.  And here's where it gets interesting:

Can you improve the quality of a weakness when the primary weakness are the people above you on the chain of command?

Can Shanahan even suspend players like Malkin even if he wants to?  There is no secret that Bettman and Campbell's love children are Malkin, Crosby, and the Pittsburgh Penguins (to a certain extent).  Bettman has certain placed the emphasis on the PR marking campaign on the shoulders of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin by extension.  So would it do for the NHL to see either suspended?  I'm sure not.  So, I doubt Campbell would allow Shanahan to suspend either player (even though Crosby really has yet to administer an illegal or even questionable hit). 

As for Giroux and Backstrom being exceptions, I argue not so much.  I truly don't think that anyone other than Malkin and Crosby are truly exempt from suspension if the situation is right. 

But in the end, all it comes down to is Shanahan's bosses.  They truly do seem to be calling the shots and simply use Shanahan's player profile to deflect all the criticism away from Campbell and onto Shanahan.  Therefore, if it does fail (which it appears that it is so) Bettman can step forward and say "Look, we listened to you and we tried your idea and it failed.  Campbell knows what he's doing and we're just going to go back to the old way and try to hammer out some of the troubles through traditional channels."  Bettman still doesn't look bad that way and the only harm done is Shanahan's image being obliterated.  Shanahan never was a Crosby type so why would Bettman care. 

If this season was a first run test and next year is the real test for Shanahan, I'm betting he fails again because I don't think Shanahan truly has the autonomy necessary for Shanahan to live up to what he talks about.  He can suspend anyone with impunity (provided the situation and circumstances warrant it). 

I claim that Shanahan is nothing more than lipstick on a pig when it comes to the NHL Front Office.  It looks nice and he tries hard but in the end, you're not going to improve on officiating and Shanahan's job description with the likes of Gary Bettman and Colin Campbell still in positions of power.

What says you?

Av's Hack McLeod will not be suspended

This tweet is from Mike Chambers of the Denver Post. Let me be clear, my beef is not with the Denver Post but with the NHL. NHL Senior Vice President of Player Safety is a fraud and is no better than his much maligned predecessor Colin Campbell. BReynolds from the Hockey Wilderness has done a great job of laying out the argument where the NHL has gone wrong. This latest ruling by the Lack of Player Safety is a joke. Am I upset with the ruling, you bet I am.

Next time out the Minnesota Wild should go out and run the top player of their opponents through the end boards because the NHL is not serious about eliminating these types of hits from the game of hockey, and why not, everyone else is doing it to the Wild and getting away with it.

Milan Lucic hit on Zac RInaldo

Boston Bruins forward Milan Lucic was given a five-minute major and a game misconduct for this hit on Flyers forward Zac Rinaldo. In looking at the video, and watching the game, I don't think you will see a suspension to Milan Lucic.

The reason I say that I don't think that Lucic will be suspended is that last night Toronto Defenseman Dion Phaneuf  buried Buffalo Forward Zack Kassian into the boards and wasn't suspended. In my opinion that hit was worse than Lucic's hit on Rinaldo. So I don't see a this and there was no suspension given to Phaneuf.

I know that if Lucic isn’t suspended by the NHL we are going to hear the conspiracy theorist claim that the NHL is in bed with the Bruins because Colin Campbell’s son Gregory plays for the Boston Bruins, however, I don’t think this hit is suspension worthy.

After Milan Lucic's questionable hit on Flyers goon Zac Rinaldo, who has been in eight fights this season, goes after and challenges Bruins forward Nathan Horton to a fight. As a Bruins fan, I get a little worried  seeing one of the Bruins top six forwards, who has suffered a concussion in the past year, fighting an experienced fighter like Rinaldo. Rinaldo (1g-4a—5pts) is a cement head and is on the ice for one thing. Rinaldo is there to fight and cause havoc, you would think he should have challenged Lucic to the fight.

Related articles

• Dion Phaneuf plants Zack Kassian into the boards. (mvn.com)

Kris Letang suspended for two games for hit on Alex Burmistrov

I think that some of the ruling to come out of the Department of Player Safety have been puzzling and I just don't think that this hit warranted a two game suspension. It's not like Kris Letang is a dirty hockey players, and this isn't a Matt Cooke we are talking about.

Don't get me wrong I am glad that Colin Campbell is not spinning the Wheel of Justice anymore but do we really need to suspend every single players that commits a checking from behind penalty? I think it's a legitimate question. The NHL is throwing the book at players that don't have history of being dirty players.

NEW YORK – Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Kris Letang has been suspended, without pay, for two games for boarding Wiinnipeg forward Alex Burmistrov during NHL Game No. 66 Monday night in Winnipeg, the National Hockey League's Department of Player Safety announced today.

Under the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, and based on his average annual salary, Letang will forfeit $37,837.84. The money goes to the Players' Emergency Assistance Fund.

At 13:08 of the third period, Letang hit Burmistrov from behind, driving him into the boards. Letang was assessed a minor penalty for boarding.

Letang will miss games tonight at Minnesota and Thursday, Oct. 20, vs. Montreal. He will be eligible to return Saturday, Oct. 22, vs. New Jersey.

Brendan Shanahan shows what is a legal hit

NHL disciplinarian and VP of player safety Brendan Shanahan shows the correct way to throw a body check. I like what this video does, it also refutes the argument of the NHL taking hitting out of the game of hockey. That being said, the million dollar question going into the season is, will the NHL have a record number of suspensions dished out this season. Also, the season could prove to be tough if you own a fantasy hockey team, you're going to have to be careful who you draft for your team.

Related articles

• NHL: Brendan Shanahan Already Making a Better Mark Than Predecessor Campbell (bleacherreport.com)
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• The end of the Colin Campbell Wheel of Justice. (mvn.com)

The end of the Colin Campbell Wheel of Justice.

It would appear that the Colin Campbell Wheel of Justice has finally been retired, this is good news because it will probably finally silence the conspiracy theorists who thought that Colin Campbell was in the tank for the Boston Bruins.

Nicholas J. Cotsonika, Yahoo.com --- The NHL has a new disciplinarian: Brendan Shanahan(notes). It has rewritten the rules regarding boarding and illegal checks to the head, broadening their scope. And now, every time Shanahan and his colleagues announce a suspension, they will release a video simultaneously explaining what they saw, everything they deliberated and why they settled on that certain sanction. It might be on a case-by-case basis, but they hope to release a video after each disciplinary hearing, not just each suspension, so they can give an explanation when they decide not to take action, too.

I think going forward that the NHL under the direction of Brendan Shanahan is going to be run more smoothly and be more transparent when making their disciplinary decisions than the league did under Colin Campbell… In the past Colin Campbell’s decisions seem to lack consistency and where far from transparent and most of the time Campbell's decisions just left people scratching their heads.

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• Colin Campbell Out As NHL's Discipline Chief; Brendan Shanahan To Take Over (sbnation.com)
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Commissioner promises harsher penalties for head hits - "Next Year."

Image via WikipediaKey word is next year... I guess we will have have more of the same during the Stanley Cup Finals.

VANCOUVER (Reuters) - NHL commissioner Gary Bettman was talking tough Wednesday, promising harsher penalties for violence "next season"and introducing the league's new chief disciplinarian Brendan Shanahan.

Bettman used his state of the league address ahead of Game One of the Stanley Cup final between the Vancouver Canucks and Boston Bruins to announce that Shanahan would be taking over the most thankless job in ice hockey.

A tough as nails former-player, Shanahan replaces Colin Campbell, who had been in charge of dispensing NHL supplemental discipline for 13 years but had come under increasing criticism for what was viewed as wildly inconsistent punishment.

The league continues to struggle to find a balance between player safety and removing the physical component of the game, which is at the heart of the sport and its appeal.

Concussions and the hits that cause them have become the hot button issue in sport this year, particularly in the NHL, and Campbell's uneven suspensions created the perception the league was unconcerned, sparking an uproar among fans and sponsors.

Bettman said Campbell had approached him and suggested a change.

"Collie and I believe it is time to take a fresh look at the standards that we use and if we are going to move to harsher discipline that change needs to send a clear message and we think it would probably be best to do it on a clean slate," Bettman told reporters.

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Bruins have a free pass; No supplemental discipline for Burrows

Image via WikipediaFor the self congratulatory hockey pundits that had said there is a conspiracy for the Boston Bruins because Colin Campbell’s son Greg Campbell plays for the Boston Bruins; that conspiracy has been proven to be unfounded and has been shot full of holes to boot. Vancouver Canucks "hack" Alex Burrows will not be suspended for biting Patrice Bergeron.

VANCOUVER -- National Hockey League Senior Vice President of Hockey Operations Mike Murphy today announced that there will be no supplemental discipline on Vancouver Canucks forward Alex Burrows for an alleged incident in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final.

"After reviewing the incident, including speaking with the on-ice officials, I can find no conclusive evidence that Alex Burrows intentionally bit the finger of Patrice Bergeron," Murphy's statement

Tin foil hats are coming out in Vancouver!!! More whining about the officials…

If you haven’t seen this article you might want to take a look at it, it’s worth a look due to it’s ridiculous nature. All season long Boston Bruins fans have heard fans from fans of other NHL teams whining about how the Boston Bruins have gotten all of the breaks hen it comes to disciplinary rulings because Greg Campbell son of Colin Campbell plays or the Boston Bruins.

Tony Gallagher; The Providence --- We're going to ask this question now, once and for all and then try to hold our peace until the end of the Stanley Cup playoffs. We can't say forever hold our peace, but for a while at least.

Straight up, can the Vancouver Canucks get a fair shake with the officiating in the final? Consider Gregory Campbell plays for the Boston Bruins and his father Colin Campbell is senior vice-president in charge of hockey operations for the NHL. What father doesn't want to have his son's name on the Stanley Cup? And of course what is so stunning about this is that the NHL fails to perceive any conflict of interest whatsoever, even though there is no shortage of lawyers running about the head offices in New York. At least that's the NHL claim.

During the season the biggest problems arose on supplementary discipline, but that's not the consideration here. After all, you only get a one-game suspension for any transgression during the playoffs, and in most cases there are no suspensions whatsoever. You'd have to punch a fan in the face repeatedly to get two or more, so barring some strange circumstances this is not the issue.

If Raffi Torres ran over Patrice Bergeron, for example, Campbell would not make a decision on supplementary discipline because the Bruins are involved. Instead, his best friend Mike Murphy with whom he works every day would make the decision, if that makes you feel any better. Of course, that's a total joke in it's own right as well, but it's not likely to be an issue.

The problem is the on-ice officials. They are appointed by a department for which Campbell has responsibility and the entire progress of their careers is totally controlled by these people. They decide when the officials work, how much they work and as such how much they get paid.

For each round in the playoffs a referee works, he gets an extra $18,000 over and above his yearly salary. For a linesman it's $12,000. So if you please the powers that be, you work lots. If you don't please them for whatever reason, you don't get to work in the playoffs. The officials working the final are the guys the league thinks are the best and as we've seen from the exchange of leaked memos a while back, Campbell can often be involved in those discussions.

And make no mistake, we're not talking about any communication between these respective parties at any time. There's no conspiracy. The officials know what their bosses need and know how to please them.

Now any official who happens to displease the powers for whatever reason—serious mistakes we'd like to believe—could find himself not working the final all of a sudden (although that wouldn't affect his pay this year) and his employment considerations for the future would be open to question. Maybe he gets no playoff work the following year. Maybe it could be so serious that his contract might be re-considered in the future. The bottom line is these guys in the hockey operations department—of which one is the father of one of the games' participants-- control every aspect of an official's employment.

No, no conflict of interest here.

First off; this past season Mike Murphy has dealt with the Boston Bruins during their supplemental discipline hearings because Greg Campbell is the son of Colin Campbell and he plays for the Boston Bruins. Personally, I think this is just more of the Vancouver Canucks fans, media and their front office staff trying to get the upper hand on the Boston Bruins. The comments to this article are equally interesting as well… EDIT: It’s being reported that Colin Campbell is resigning as NHL disciplinarian and being replaced by Brendan Shanahan.

Related articles

• Colin Campbell to step down as NHL disciplinarian: report (thestar.com)
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More Colin Campbell....

Time to strike while the iron is hot, the time has come for Colin Campbell to move on, I believe that Campbell usefulness has come to and end... I can see why people are becoming unhappy with the status quo in the NHL. after listening to this podcast. I have to admit that I had not heard the postcast in question till this morning, this man sounds like a bumbling buffoon.

PITTSBURGH - The NHL hockey operations department has endured a difficult season, and apparently it's far from over.

But perhaps it's time for NHL head disciplinarian Colin Campbell to step down from his role and hand it off to somebody else. Campbell has taken a large amount of criticism this season for his decisions, whether it was from suspensions handed down or plays in which it was deemed a suspension was not worthy.

Campbell is no doubt in a difficult spot, having to answer to the 30 general managers while dealing with plenty of backlash from fans and media for his decisions. And this playoff season has particularly been tough on Campbell as there have been five suspensions already handed out in the first round — there were four all of last postseason — on top of suspensions to Vancouver's Raffi Torres and Pittsburgh's Matt Cooke that carried into the playoffs.

But Campbell is starting to show the strain of the decisions he makes and all but snapped during a radio interview with TSN Radio, based out of Toronto, with James Cybulski and Dave Feschuk. Campbell accused the hosts at one point of having an agenda and not watching hockey.

"Thankless job? Yeah, it's thankless," he said. "Especially at this time of year when there's so much at play here with the playoffs and cities are involved. When you rule on certain situations, all of a sudden you become public enemy No. 1. ... Am I (ticked) off right now? Yeah I'm (ticked) off.''

Time for Colin Campbell to step aside.

I couldn't agree more... To be honest with you I don't know a lot of people that like Colin Campbell and I can't imagine him leaving would have a negative affect on the NHL. All I see is a positive.

Steve Simmons, Toronto Sun --- The time has come for Gary Bettman to take Colin Campbell aside, hand him a nice going-away cheque, and say thanks.

The time is relatively soon — at the end of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Campbell has been on the job as chief NHL disciplinarian for too long. He has become too erratic, too emotional, too exposed to be of real internal or external value to the league any longer. His explosive interview on TSN Radio this week was both telling and startling: There was a Howard Beale element to it all: Campbell may not be mad as hell — in most cases, I’ve found him to be rather sane, terribly human and always approachable — but he doesn’t seem to be willing to take it anymore.

The job of patrolling the out-of-control state of the NHL borders on the impossible. Campbell has had a long run and mostly a good run as sheriff. It’s time for someone else to find out just how impossible this position happens to be.

Wheel of Justice rules; Jody Shelley suspended 2 games for hit on Adam McQuaid

I have read that Jody Shelly while one tough hombre is not a dirty player… When I read that he apologized on the ice, I thought that was a class act. Honestly, with Colin Campbell being as erratic as he is, there really is no way of knowing what to expect when the NHL disciplinary makes his rulings…I think a two game suspension is about right.

NHL.Com ---- Philadelphia Flyers forward Jody Shelley has been suspended for two games and fined by the NHL for his hit on Boston Bruins defenseman Adam McQuaid on Saturday.

Shelley was given a five-minute major for checking from behind and a game misconduct 5:08 into the second period after shoving McQuaid while both players were racing for the puck. McQuaid, who just missed hitting the boards head-first, remained on the ice for several minutes before finally being helped off by teammates.

Shelley will forfeit $11,827.96 in salary, which will go to the Players' Emergency Assistance Fund.

"I mean, I kind of got my hands up, braced myself a little bit, so it ended up not being as bad as I guess it could have been," McQuaid told reporters after the game.

Shelley apologized to McQuaid at the time of the incident and in the hallway outside the dressing rooms. The 24-year-old defenseman did return to the ice in the third period.

"You know, he was saying to me, I could hear him on the ice saying that he didn't mean to, so I guess, I'm not sure if maybe I don't know if he hit a rut or what happened, but he was saying he didn’t mean to," McQuaid said. "When I was coming off the ice, (Shelley) was waiting for me there. He said he was sorry and he didn’t mean to, so I just kind of got to take what he says."