Penguins' Kris Letang suspended one game

The National Hockey League's Department of Player Safety has suspended Pittsburgh Penguins Kris Letang for one game for interference against Washington Capitals forward Marcus Johansson.

So, is this the right suspension? Is a one-game suspension too much or just about right? You can watch the suspension video right here. I know my friends that are Penguins fans are going to disagree with me, but I think this is the right call.

Kris Letang didn't face an NHL hearing for smashing Viktor Stalberg's mouth. He has one for hit on Johansson https://t.co/efYqyZbBu4

— Justin Tasch (@J_Tasch) May 3, 2016

Penguins' Kris Letang suspended 1 game for 'high, forceful hit' https://t.co/RNeajdg6tx pic.twitter.com/XlitcDSeou

— HockeyNightInCanada (@hockeynight) May 3, 2016

Was Jarret Stoll's hit on Kris Letang worthy of a Suspension?

real dirty hit from stoll on letang pic.twitter.com/mcWttguGal

— Rich Miller (@atrichmiller) December 27, 2015

Last night, at the 03:19 mark of he third period, Minnesota Wild forward Jarret Stoll hit Pittsburgh Penguins forward Kris Letang in the head his shoulder. For his efforts, Stoll was given a two-minute minor penalty for illegal check To head.

First, Stoll got lucky, he could've been assessed a five-minute major, but for whatever reason, he wasn't. Checking social media  Pens fans weren't very happy with the call. Do they have a point for their unhappiness?

Further complicating things, today, the league decided that Stoll wouldn't be having a hearing for his illegal check to Letang's head. Finally, Letang didn't play in the Pens game tonight against the Winnipeg Jets. This made Pens fans, even more, unhappy.

My question is: was this hit worthy of supplemental discipline? Did the NHL's Department of Player Safety blow it? Personally, I don't think that every illegal check to head deserves a suspension. In this case, it looks like Stoll went for a shoulder-to-should hit and missed. It's not a malicious hit, dirty, sure.

Kris Letang is out tonight vs WPG, per #Pens Coach Sullivan. Wasn't feeling great this morning. Precautionary hold out.

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) December 27, 2015

#mnwild's Jarret Stoll isn't expected to face hearing for hit on #penguins D Kris Letang. Looks like hit thru the shoulder, no extension

— Michael Russo (@Russostrib) December 27, 2015

Pittsburgh Penguins: Kris Letang talks about his stroke

Kristopher Letang of the Pittsburgh Penguins, at a 4–1 win over the New Jersey Devils (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

If you haven't seen it, this article by Josh Yohe who's the Penguins reporter for the TribLive.com, its worth a look. 

Yohe's article is about Pittsburgh Penguins defensman Kris Letang and what he has gone through after suffering a stroke. Very scary story. 

Letang's absence to the Penguins line-up is a major loss, but his long term health is more important right now.  

It was a scary time.

On the morning of Jan. 29, Letang's wife woke up to find him laying on the floor of the couple's bedroom. He was alert but knew something was wrong.

“I was not able to function,” he said.

Letang's mother-in-law is a nurse and was at their home at the time of his stroke, which stopped him from calling 911. He felt better enough later in the day to fly with the Penguins to Los Angeles.

But after a series of tests, it was determined that Letang had a stroke. He said he is still having “good days and bad days” and is still dealing with fatigue.

Letang looked noticeably thinner than normal. He has recently been given permission to work out though he isn't skating and continues to take blood thinner medication. [Read more]

A "Dirty" Hit that wasn't (RW77)

Last night, I watched the Dallas vs. Pittsburgh game (unfortunately, Pittsburgh won in a shootout). However, during the game, there was a hit that got everyone talking.

I do not know how to embed but: Here is the video.

The Stars (and former Michigan star) Eric Nystrom hits Pens Defenseman Kris Letang high-ish.

Mike Milbury (aka the idiot in this post) and Jeremy Roenick (who usually is the idiot but in this case was right on) had an on air argument over this hit.

Here's the pros and cons on it being a dirty hit:

1. Pro: Nystrom makes no move to get the puck.
2. Con: If Nystrom made head contact, it was the brushing of his shoulder on Letang's chin.
3. Pro: Injury to the head occurred.
4. Con: Injury was more to the effect of the big hit rather than the shoulder.
5. Con: Main impact area is Letang's shoulder/collarbone. He got rocked and the impact alone would have knocked most guys out of the game anyways, imo.
6. Con: Letang was coming out of the corner and his head was down.
7. Con: Letang was away from the boards and his back was not turned to Nystrom at the time of impact.

In the end, Milbury ended up having a stroke on air (exaggeration) because even incidental or the brushing of the head should be a suspendable offense. Roenick correctly stated that if there is fault for the hit, it rests on Letang. Nystrom did not leave his skates nor made any distinguishable upward motion of the shoulders to attempt to headhunt.

Milbury went on to rant that hits like these should be eliminated from the game. This was NOT a head shot! It was whiplash due to the extreme and sudden change in direction of Letang's right shoulder exaggerated by the helmet hitting the ice.

This hit cannot be made illegal or the slippery slope will become a cliff.

Are you confused yet?

I am wondering if anyone is confused yet? The hit above by Nashville Predators defenseman Shea Weber's hit is worth a $2,500 fine by the National Hockey League. Color my cynical but there just seems to be too many inconsistencies in the recent rulings by NHL Director of Player Safety Brendan Shanahan.




This hit by Kris Letang  on Alexander Burmistrov of the Winnipeg Jets, in my opinion isn't as bad of a hit as the one by Nashville Predators defenseman Shea Weber's on Jannik Hansen. Yet one hit is worth two game suspension while the other hit is worth a 2,500.00 fine which is really a drop in the bucket for someone that is making 4-5 million dollars a year to play hockey. WTF? I am really confused here.

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.