Neal banned 1 game; Asham gets 4
Daily News Flyers blog
Neal banned 1 game; Asham gets 4
James Neal wrapped up two separate disciplinary hearings with NHL vice president of player safety Brendan Shanahan before even stepping on the ice on Tuesday morning for the Penguins’ practice in Pittsburgh.
It took Shanahan nearly 12 full hours to make a decision as to Neal’s fate.
Turns out, the Penguins will be missing a 40-goal scorer in Neal when the take the ice on Wednesday night, already tilting the ice for an attempt to save their season in Game 4 at the Wells Fargo Center.
Neal received a one-game suspension from Shanahan for two separate attacks on Claude Giroux and Sean Couturier in the third period with the game already well out-of-hand.
Arron Asham, Neal’s teammate and now fellow inmate, will miss the remainder of the series – no matter how long it continues – thanks to a four-game ban for his cross-check on Brayden Schenn in the first period of Sunday’s Game 3 slugfest.
Neal’s hits – in which he left the ice both times to make contact with Giroux and Couturier – were just 42 seconds apart on the same shift.
“While we are willing to accept Neal’s assertion that on (Couturier) play he jumped to brace himself for an unintended collision … he once again launches prior to making contact with Giroux,” Shanahan said in an explanation video released by the league. “It is also important to note that Neal was fined once and also received two warning calls from the Department of Player Safety earlier this season, in addition to having been suspended three years ago for a check from behind.”
Asham required a more serious, in-person meeting with Shanahan for his cross-check to Brayden Schenn’s head in the first period. His penalty was expected.
“Reacting to his teammate being hit, Asham skates directly at Schenn toward the middle of the ice, and intentionally cross-checks him high and with force,” Shanahan explained. “When Schenn falls to the ice, Asham then punches the defenseless player in the back of the head.
“Despite how it appears in certain camera angles, Asham’s stick never makes contact with Schenn’s face. However, the violent, vengeful nature of the high cross-check is not acceptable.
“We’ve taken into consideration that Schenn escaped physical injury. We’ve also taken into consideration that Asham has never been fined or suspended in his 13-year NHL career.”
Pittsburgh will already be without forward Craig Adams for Game 4. Adams received an automatic suspension, as per league rules, for his instigator penalty within the final five minutes of regulation on Sunday.
Roxborough native Eric Tangradi, 23, is expected to replace Adams in the lineup, which would be his second career NHL playoff game. Joe Vitale, the player who tried to decapitate Danny Briere with a clean hit on April 1, and Dustin Jeffrey could replace Asham and Neal.
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Brendan Shanahan is a clown. His inexcusable delay in announcing James Neal's pitifully low ONE game suspension should get him FIRED. If Shanny had stones and addressed the Neal hit promptly and correctly and given Neal 5 games and announced it today, perhaps Marian Hossa isn't in a hospital tonight as a result of an IDENTICAL hit by Torres.
Further ridicule must be levied when one reviews the stupid video explanation. It is the official stance of the NHL that since serious injury was avoided, somehow the intent and action become less criminal.
Watch the Neal hit on Couturier a dozen times, THEN watch the Torres hit on Hossa a dozen times. When you come to the obvious conclusion that the intents and actions are exactly the same, ask yourself this; "Will Shanny suspend Torres for 1 game?" "Should he?". When that answers are no and no, please explain to me why Sean Couturier being incredibly lucky makes Neal somehow more innocent.
FIRE BRENDAN SHANAHAN and revisit the entire effort to limit head shots and head injuries.
Remove the instigator rule, the 'leaving the bench' fines and visors and this disgusting trend of assault with the intent to injure will vanish virtually instantly.— GNIKGNARLY- Couldn't agree more. What a gutless move to release a statement so late at night. Nice way to avoid being the talk of the NHL today. Like you said, makes you wonder if Hossa would be skating right now...
- 1 game for Neal is not right he's a repeat offender. Neal had Couturier lined up for about 15 feet or so. If he had time to "jump brace" he had the time to cut sharp and avoid him. How can the first hit be brushed aside when less than a minute later, on the same shift no less, he goes after Giroux and tries to do the same thing you just gave him a pass for?
If anything, while still a dirty hit, the hit on Giroux was closer to being clean since the time between G passing the puck and getting hit was way shorter than on Couturier. Totally doesn't make any sense. As for Asham, well he got 4 for just being Asham. - PS: To make Neil's 1 game suspension even more ridiculous think of it this way; He has basically been suspended .5 games for each hit. As a repeat offender this is unacceptable. Please PLEASE send these clowns home tomorrow night Fly Guys !
- neal should have been suspended 3 games each for each of the hits if there were any consistency in the way Shanahan issues suspensions (which of course there isn't) .. in each case there appears clear intent to injure— warbiscuit
- I wouldn't suspend them, I'd simply make them wear a dress for the next 10 games.— fmMD
- Hopefully this puts Neal and Adams out for the remainder of the series.— AndyG
- more importantly than the nut-less shanny is the flyers are handling the situation PERFECTLY. they are not retaliating and they are completely in the Pens' heads. good, solid, clean hits will be available tomorrow night. they won't go running around looking for retribution. we can't afford to have someone suspended for the next series. just win baby.— The Boston Strangler
- So Backstrom gets 1 game for a cross check to the head and Neal gets 1 game for taking a run at 2 players, moments apart, and targets the head. They need to make better decisions that are based on intent to injure, not only if an injury occurs. Maybe Hossa wouldn't have been taken out on a stretcher tonight!— RU95
- Plus Shaw gets 3 games for his hit on the Phoenix goalie. That hit didn't look nearly as intentional as Neal's two hits. — RU95
Shanahan messed up again. I still can't believe that he didn't suspend Weber for that hit, he actually cracked Zetterberg's helmet. At the very least he should have given Neal two games, one each for the hits on Couturier and Giroux. bsbullie is right, the hit on Sean was not penalized. You can hit a guy like Couturier when he doesn't have the puck, you can also leave your feet while doing so, and you will not be suspended. Asham deserves more that four games, that was a disgusting cheap shot, then he punched Schenn while he was down. Shanahan's lack of cojones is encouraging more violence.
Hopfully this puts Neal and Adams out the remainder of the series.— AndyG- Disrespected once again by the NHL! What's new? I would have been more surprised if we got justice for once! Oh well, take the high ground and eliminate these bozos Wed. night and take care of them next season. The real prize 3 series away!— AnukKrakatoa
- This is BS... If Rinaldo did the same thing against Crobsy that Neal got away with.. they would have crucified him!!!— nixman101
