esteef 2,679 Report post Posted October 1, 2011 Hockey starting to turn into Ice Basketball! esteef 1 wings1110 reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Scott Stevens 44 Report post Posted October 1, 2011 "Hi, I'm Brendan Shanahan, Vice President of the NHL's Player Safety Division. It has recently come to my attention that none of the fans want to see a game of WNBA basketball on the ice surfaces of the NHL. Therefore I have decided to stop all this nonsense and shinanigans and issue a simple warning to the numbskulls skating around with their heads down out there like they're in a skills competition: KEEP YOUR HEAD UP AND LOOK OUT. Please disregard my previous comments about Scott Stevens being suspended from Hall of Fame induction until the year 2143. As it turns out, the forwards playing against him during his time in the NHL should have kept their heads up and looked out, as well." Funny how many of the announcer's comments after those hits revolve around "clean" and "the player never saw it coming" and the like. The attacking player has the responsibility to avoid getting hit. If he puts his head in the way, that's his fault. The issue along the boards is a much tougher one to call. That line is a lot finer. I've seen plenty of players cranked into the glass when they shouldn't have been, but I've also seen plenty of players bend over at the last minute and get their heads slammed into the boards when it just would have been their body if they had stayed upright. I think the NHL should be looking at these situations a lot more carefully instead of the ones where the offensive player creates the problem. Watch Smith's hit again in slow motion. If you notice, he makes shoulder to shoulder contact FIRST before his shoulder rubs off of Ben Smith's shoulder and moves to his head. For this reason, I believe there is NO intent to injure on this play, and a 5 minute major for elbowing should have been the only call. 1 redwingfan19 reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dimaline312000 51 Report post Posted October 1, 2011 I'd definetly say it deserves a suspension becasue the NHL needs to crack down on all of this but that seems a bit extensive considering all the other rulings. Also I do think it is all the players responsibility to keep your head up and watch where you're going and for any oncoming danger and try to avoid it. I know it can't all be avoided and it can't be taken out of the game completly but the players have to look out for their own saftey. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
IllinoisRedWingsFan 49 Report post Posted October 1, 2011 Wow I thought he'd get three maybe four tops with the pre-season included in that. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SouthernWingsFan 854 Report post Posted October 3, 2011 (edited) We might think it is harsh, possibly because it happened to a guy on our favorite team, possibly just in general we might think it is harsh, but given the inconsistency of suspension lengths of such hits (generally speaking) in recent memory, I'm all for Shanahan laying the hammer down hard and often on anybody as long as he is consistent. Edited October 3, 2011 by SouthernWingsFan Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rrasco 1,312 Report post Posted October 6, 2011 3 games for Smith in the AHL. http://www.mlive.com/griffins/index.ssf/2011/10/griffins_brendan_smith_suspend.html Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
haroldsnepsts 4,826 Report post Posted October 6, 2011 3 games for Smith in the AHL. http://www.mlive.com/griffins/index.ssf/2011/10/griffins_brendan_smith_suspend.html That makes his suspension even more over the top. Even though I think it was reckless, he was trying to make a hockey play and it went bad. Because of the suspension from Shanny he's likely not going to play in the NHL this year, yet the AHL thought that wasn't enough and tacked on three games? He didn't Bertuzzi a guy. He made an ill advised hit. That deserves three pre-season games, 5 NHL games, and 3 AHL games?? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wings1110 184 Report post Posted October 6, 2011 this is just completely ridiculous! do they have there heart set on ruining the game? players are gunna be scared to throw any hit! 1 redwingfan19 reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Konnan511 1,736 Report post Posted October 6, 2011 Wait, you can get suspended in a different league after being disciplined in another league? this is just completely ridiculous! do they have there heart set on ruining the game? players are gunna be scared to throw any hit! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jedi 1,865 Report post Posted October 7, 2011 The 3 game suspension in the AHL would make sense if it was "credited" towards his NHL suspension. But as it stands, suspended for a total of 11 games for a hit that was ruled for an 8 game suspension... If I were Kenny, I'd go ahead and call him up to start serving the suspension with the Wings. If he can't play in the NHL, and can't play in the AHL, might as well get the more important suspension over with... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Red Wings Addict 787 Report post Posted October 7, 2011 The 3 game suspension in the AHL would make sense if it was "credited" towards his NHL suspension. But as it stands, suspended for a total of 11 games for a hit that was ruled for an 8 game suspension... If I were Kenny, I'd go ahead and call him up to start serving the suspension with the Wings. If he can't play in the NHL, and can't play in the AHL, might as well get the more important suspension over with... I wonder if Smith gets semi-injured early that they'll call him up just to get the serving started. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ogreslayer 1,069 Report post Posted October 8, 2011 (edited) Looks like the Wings called him up today to serve his suspension while Commie is out. Real_ESPNLeBrun Pierre LeBrun Wings recalled Brendan Smith today. He can start serving his 5-game suspension now Edited October 8, 2011 by ogreslayer Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
55fan 5,133 Report post Posted October 8, 2011 Good idea, actually. We have a spot open, but it won't leave us with a short bench. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites