The main characters?
Brendan Shanahan. NHL Discipline Distributor. I've talked about his strict, awesome discipline so far this preseason.
Sean Avery. One of the most hated players in the NHL whom I mentioned in passing when taking about Wisniewski's suspension and past interactions between the two.
Wayne Simmonds. The target of an apparent racial act.
So, the Rangers are playing the Flyers and they combine for 77 minutes of penalties (what?!) proving the rivalry is strong. Those jokes told on the dugout of the Phillies seem less funny now.
I've said that so far, there hasn't been a major penalty that people think the NHL should suspend for but haven't done so yet. Again, based on my very limited view. I do have a life outside this blog and NHL rules and the Jets, but I do try to keep up. Anyway, now there's been an incident that has many talking suspension. Here's what happened.
Philadelphia’s Tom Sestito racked up 20 minutes in penalties after boarding New York’s Andre Deveaux behind the net in a move that will likely draw another suspension for the Flyers.
After the play, Sestito and Stu Bickel fought, resulting in misconducts for both players. Bickel also was given an instigator penalty.
Rangers coach John Tortorella called for Sestito to be suspended.
“Shanny should have a field day. As far as hits from behind, he should have a field day,” he said. “Jody got what, 10 games? This one is worse than that.”
Yeah. Jody Shelley of the Flyers did get 10 games, 5 preseason and 5 regular season.
The gauntlet has been set. Or laid. I forgot the phrase, but there is a call for Shanahan to step up. Will he? Is the Rangers coach right? Is this a worse hit?
Oh hell ya, that was a horrible act. The player was not playing the puck. His back was to the attacker. He didn't make any sudden movements beforehand. It seems to meets the criteria set up in the Shanahan era. So will we see the 6th suspension of the preseason?
It should be. If not, Shanahan has failed me and the NHL.
On a somewhat seperate note, it will be interesting to see what the suspensions will be during the regular season when the preseason is over. I don't know if Shanahan is considering preseason games really "games" as far as suspensions goes or not. What I mean is, if the exact same play happens in the regular season (say Shelley's hit), would he still issue a 10 game suspension?
I may need to reanalyze everything after a few weeks in the regular season. It's a little hard to judge, though I think it will still be stern, strict, and fair.
This is the first test for Shanny on my end.
But that doesn't have to do with Simmonds and Avery? What happened there?
Simmonds made a homophobic slur towards Avery. Not even apparently. Camera caught it and the post game conference with Simmonds is not a denial.
When Avery was asked by reporters after the game if Simmonds called him “what we think he called you,” he answered: “Yeah, yeah.”
This kind of thing happens all the time. The cameras just happen to catch it. I cannot find any of that video right now. Guys jaw with each other. I'm not justifying it, but it happens. It's kinda a non-story if it had been any other players.
But with Simmonds being the target of a, well, basically a hate crime, it makes it ironic that he would now be an aggressor with some hurtful words in the same vein.
And, it's Sean Avery. One of the most polarizing figures in hockey. I don't like him. I mean, they actually had to create a rule dubbed the Sean Avery Rule during the 2008 playoffs as the Rangers faced the Devils.
Avery turned his back on the play in order to face and screen goaltender Martin Brodeur during a two-man advantage on the power play. He waved his hands and stick in front of Brodeur in an attempt to distract him and block his view. The puck was later cleared out of the Devils' zone but on the second Rangers offensive attack, Avery scored the power play goal.
While it was not an explicit rules violation at the time of the game, many NHL commentators and players described Avery's actions as unsportsmanlike. The following day, the NHL issued an interpretation of the league's unsportsmanlike conduct rule to cover actions such as the one employed by Avery, which would now result in a minor penalty.
Avery's tactics during that series against the Devils earned multiple power plays. Avery had particularly agitated Brodeur during these games, causing Brodeur to crash into Avery on several occasions. Avery's actions coaxed Brodeur into trying to draw penalties on Avery which led to poor positioning on several Rangers goals. During game two, Avery confronted Brodeur despite the play headed towards the other end, with Brodeur even leaning his head against Avery's helmet during the exchange. His controversial, yet very effective antics helped lead the Rangers to a 4-1 series win. At the end of the series, Brodeur refused to shake Avery's hand. He was the only Devils player not to.
And that's just one reason I'm anti-Avery.
HOWEVER:
Did you know that Avery was the first professional athlete to come out in favor of same sex marriage?
He is a supporter noting that many of his friends are gay. He also worked with men's fashion label Commonwealth Utilities to present a clothing line for Fashion Week in New York City and is a documented clothes lover. This adds to a popular rumor that Avery is himself gay, but thoses are just rumors.
Okay, so he does have a good quality in that he took up a controversial issue and supports it. You have to give the man credit for that. And to use a gay slur against a man who, for lack of a better terms, is a face of gay marriage is wrong. I hate Avery for his agitator status on the ice, so it feels weird to defend him. In any circumstance. But this was wrong. Just as wrong as the Wisniewski incident with Avery where Wisniewski acted out an oral act towards Avery.
Here's the interesting part. Should Simmonds be punished for the act?
I have mixed emotions on this. He shouldn't because a lot of players make remarks about each other, insult each other, and call each other out. Plus, Avery isn't gay, so it's technically not an assault on him. But it is because of his open support. But Simmonds should be punished because it was unsportsmanlike. Specifically, it's written in Rule 75. 75.2i - Any identifable player who uses obscene, profane, or abusive language or gestures directed at any person should get a minor penalty. It can be escalated to a misconduct, or even a game misconduct depending on the situation and persistance.
The League has a delicate issue to deal with here. They are already dealing with a tolerance problem with the banana throw, and now you have a homophobic slur that could be viewed by some as further evidence the NHL is not tolerant.
But the banana was tossed by a fan who wasn't caught. There can be no punishment and it wasn't someone whose actually a part of the game. But now. You know exactly who said the slur. You can easily punish that person because he is an actial part of the League and therefore represents them.
But it's the same person whose a victim of the banana incident. So if you do punish him, even if you have every right to, you could be seen as even harder towards the black community while appeasing the gay rights group. Don't punish Simmonds and the black community remains even at the moment, but same sex marriage advocates have a solid argument that the League allows "gay bashing".
A PR nightmare.
It will be interesting how the League handles this incident.
I said I'd be brief, but this is such an interesting topic it's hard to stop talking about.
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