Colin Campbell, the NHL's executive vice-president and czar of discipline, has suspended the Flyers' Steve Downie for 20 games for his vicious hit on Senators forward Dean McAmmond in Thursday's exhibition game. If Downie is cut, he will have to serve the suspension when he returns to the NHL.
The 20 games is the fifth longest suspension by the league. Chris Simon holds the longest at 25 games for his two-handed stick to the jaw of Ryan Hollweg last March.
Downie, who received a match penalty, skated almost the length of the ice before leaping into an unsuspecting McAmmond. He said the high blow was unintentional and apologized afterward to McAmmond, who suffered a concussion.
In my opinion, the NHL is sending a strong message on shots to the head: Don't do it.
Your thoughts? Too long? Too short? Just right?
Comments (15)
I think this suspension was dead on, well deserved 20 game suspension for a horrible hit.
Too short to send a message.
The game needs to be rid of the garbage that can end careers.
Just finished reading this a while ago, good piece:
http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/columns/story?columnist=johnson_george&id=3040600
Not only is he right about Mr.Campbell needing to do better but, he is right about the players needing to unify about the same garbage.
A little respect for each others lives before we see the worse happen.
its a good sized penalty.
imho the hit was very similar to what Sutter did to Cherepanov, which went more or less unpenalized. Hits to the head need to be outlawed. I think every hit to the head should have a mandatory 5 game suspension added to it (upon league review). I hate them, and think they have no place in the game.
Just right. Congrats to the league for finally handing down a stiff penalty for a head shot.
I just wonder if they'll have the guts to make such a statement the next time if it's an established player like Chris Pronger or Chris Neil throwing the hit.
Too short. McAmmond is lucky to just get a concussion.
Honestly, no matter the player or from what team... when a player hits another like that, they should be suspended until at least the victim is back on the ice playing, and then slapped another penalty (like a 15 game ban) on top of that.
Hits like this are cowardly (and yes, I'd lump Simons hit in March the same) and extremely dangerous to the victim.
Longer suspensions are needed to curtail these type of hits.
Punishing hits to the head can be difficult. You have guys like Chara (6' 9" without skates!!!) hitting guys like Prucha and St Louis (5' whatever). What if Prucha is bent over trying to play the puck and a taller player checks him and his head gets jarred ??? A player who is bent over has their head about 4 feet from the ground.
Dont think that I am against punishing hits to the head. I like the 20 game suspension. But Laurie bring up a good point - what if its Chris Pronger doing it, or .... Chara, do you REALLY think they're gonna suspend those guys for 20 game ?? No freaking way. Pronger got suspended in the Stanley Cup finals for 1 game, and Colin Campbell even admitted that he only handed out a 1 game suspension cause it was in the Stanley Cup Finals. What type of suspension would he have gotten if it was the regular season; what if his name was Andy Sutton ???
McAmmond could have died from this deliberate violence. Why exactly does Downie get to come back?
Bring on the 5-minute major with all those ideas as well.
If the league deems a suspension is necessary it needs to come with a minimum. (of 20 games). Across the board, no ifs, ands or buts.
These are people we're talking about here.
If you are caught using your stick as a sword, you should lose a year. ONE YEAR! I’d consider complete removal from the NHL if I thought it was blatant enough. Like hitting a guy in the face with your stick when he isn’t looking at you. Intention to harm.
If I did that to an Islanders fan, I’d be in jail.
The team should also be responsible for that salary against the cap that whole time too. Full amount.
According to the NHL release on the Flyers' web site, Downie has to sit out the last preseason game against the Rangers tomorrow. How come he has to sit while Simon gets to play in preseason games during his suspension?
Kevin, different plays at different times in the year warrant different penalties.
Simon was required to sit out of playoff games, Downie has to miss 1 preseason game.
Too long---c'mon, 10 would be fine. Then again, if the damn anti-fighting establishment would bury their heads, this crappola would not happen. Police themselves.
I'm getting thirty games, I got my money.
Haven't seen the hit, but how bad was it if it's getting 20 games? Must be pretty bad if Simon's attempted murder only got 25 games.
Just saw the hit on YouTube, it was the first search that came up for "Steve Downie."
He looks like he jumped like Rayden in Mortal Kombat, and 20 games is a fair punishment, but will he do this again? I know he had a messed up childhood, but he has gotten in a lot of trouble in the minors/junior leagues.
What will he do next? Sad thing is, he has a lot of skill but his temper and illogical thought process gets in the way. Theo Fleury meets Chris Simon meets Freddy.
Extrememly cheap shot! Of course you can crush someone like that when they're not looking. My 4 year old daughter could. Not impressive at all and a disgrace. We know from postmortem studies on ex football players that there is quite severe brain damage that occurs with multiple concussions. They should crack down even harder on this kind of cowardly cheapshot play.