Saturday, March 15, 2008

Simon wonders at lack of Pronger suspension...along with the rest of the world

In general, I find Chris Simon to be an idiot. But he might actually have a point on this one:

Chris Simon thinks there's something wrong with the NHL's system for handing out discipline.

After watching Anaheim's Chris Pronger step on Vancouver's Ryan Kesler and walk away unpunished, the oft-suspended Minnesota Wild forward wondered why.

"It would be nice to have things treated fairly, at least," Simon said after the Wild practiced on Friday. "I don't think in that instance it's fair at all. I couldn't believe right away that nothing was going to be done about it. I still can't believe it."

The play happened Wednesday night when Pronger and Kesler became tangled behind the Vancouver net. As Pronger turned to head back up ice, replays show him stepping on Kesler's leg as the Canucks forward lay on the ice.

That is pretty ridiculous. You cant suspend a player thirty games for an incident like that, then look the other way when the next guy does it. There has long been the feeling that the NHL doesnt have the clearest policy on suspensions, and this incident isnt going to help it at all.

UPDATE: As commenter Dan, Jr. pointed out, the NHL rethought not suspending Pronger and he is now on the hook for 8 games. What I still dont understand is why their wasnt an automatic suspension, and why the length is so much shorter then Simon's 30 game ban. This isnt just a double standard (remember, Pronger now has 8 suspensions in his career, and Simon has the same number), its actually a full blown mental fart.

3 comments:

Dan, Jr. said...

There may still be hope for justice being served, now that they've found an "isolation" view video.

See this update:
"On second thought: Pronger faces hearing with NHL over incident"

At:
http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=3294889

Dan, Jr. said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
FAUX RUMORS said...

1) Sorry, we don't for a second believe the explanation that a "new angle" helped turn the tide here.
2) The NHL has access to ALL angles, etc. Its just cover for their change of heart after the heat was aplied. Largly by us, the fans/bloggers!