Penguins' Kunitz going unpunished; NHL rulings a joke
No matter how I say it, it's going to sound like I'm being a homer.
Penguins' Kunitz going unpunished; NHL rulings a joke
Sam Carchidi, Inquirer Staff Writer
No matter how I say it, it's going to sound like I'm being a homer.
Trust me, I'm not.
I'm for fairness. And Colin Campbell, the NHL's discipline czar, is not being fair with the way he is handing out suspsensions.
Or, more to the point, NOT handing out suspensions.
Campbell should have suspended Pittsburgh's Chris Kunitz for his violent hit to the head of the Flyers' Kimmo Timonen in Sunday's playoff game.
Not only wasn't Kunitz suspended, but as of Monday night, there was never even a hearing scheduled on the matter.
In another playoff incident, Calgary's Mike Cammalieri also should have been suspended for hitting an unsuspecting Martin Havlat of Chicago across the jaw and sending him down on a faceoff.
The Flyers' Dan Carcillo was suspended, rightfully so, for hitting Pittsburgh's Max Talbot acorss the head in Game 1 of their current playoff series.
I tried to talk to Campbell Monday and discuss the incidents. An NHL PR guy just laughed. Apparently, I'd have better luck getting Barack Obama. Colie won't talk about it, I was told.
Campbell did a CBC interview the other day and looked foolish as he tried to explain why some players are suspended and others aren't. For proof, check out this link. Flyers coach John Stevens is one of the subjects in the interview.
Campbell said Cammalieri was not suspended becaue he was not a repeat offender. By that twisted logic, he will NEVER be suspended because he will never be a repeat offender.
Campbell also said Carcillo "has a history" and that's part of the reason he was disciplined.
In other words, only the players with bad-boy reputations will be punished.
As I said, Carcillo deserved his punishment _ especially when you consdier the referee had just warned him not to do anything stupid.
But Kunitz and Cammalieri deserved punishments, too. There's no consistency in Campbell's decisions. And, because of that, he is leaving the impression that the NHL is trying to control which teams advance in the playoffs.
Comments (28)
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thanks for exposing the injustice Sam. Everyone should know what a joke Colin Campbell and the league office is.— potus
Boooo hooo. It's called hockey. You would think fans of a team monikered the Broad Street Bullies wouldn't be so sensitive.— R3
R3 is a dope. We are ticked because of the pitifully uneven calls. Not the violence! Consider this- if you put together a you tube poll showing Carcillo's hit in the face off circle and then Kunitz' charge/interference/elbow to Timonen's head and had 100,000 people who don't watch hockey vote- knowing simply that the league is trying to cut down hits to the head- you wouldn't find 5 votes saying the Carcillo hit was worse. Heck- you probably wouldn't find ONE. If your immediate response to me involves saying something about people who don't watch hockey don't know the Flyers- then you make my point for me. If you are deluded enough to think I'm wrong then you should not be allowed to procreate for the good of the global gene pool.- Are you kidding? You sir are the biggest hypocrite in a city full of them. The Kunitz hit on Timonen was unreal, brutal, and nasty - but it was 100% legal. Of course no mention of Harnell's knee on knee hit on Letang was ever mentioned in your "article". If Kunitz deserved to be suspended, what do you think should happen to Hartnell? Let me guess - you thought there was nothing wrong with that hit...? Do you want to know why the league seems to be a little harder on the Flyers? Here you go..... The Flyers are a product of their own self made environment - they want to be the roughest team in the league. Management (always former players) thinks the game is still played like it was in the 70's - but generally they employee players that don't know the difference between hard play and intent to injure. Then they think the league is always against them. This ignorance by the management is "bought into" by the players (it has to, if they want to play there) and it trickles down to their fans, who are realistically probably the worst in professional sports, because they just don't get it. Because they are easily confused, they turn to conspiracy theories to help them sleep at night. Carcillo was suspended - because he's a goon, and was taking a faceoff (which he very rarely does) with a few seconds left in the game. He was put out there to start stuff, which he did. Thats also why Stevens was fined - makes sense to everyone outside Philly, i guess. Cammalieri didn't get suspended for the same action because he regularly takes face offs, and isn't a goon with a history of being a goon - big mystery solved. So the "injustice" is your own fault people....sheesh— not_a _hypocrite
- not a hypocrite believes Jeff Carter has earned the right to stab Sidney Crosby. By his logic, a player's past reputation is the defining factor in interpeting his action. (By the way, with replay readily available, why does the NHL deny actions which fans can see with their own eyes) I have seen Carter's play from day one and while he takes a minor penalty from time to time, he mostly plays a gentlemanly game and rarely takes major penalties. In not a hypocrites world, then, he has built up enough good will "juice" to be able to commit felonious assault on another player. This isn't about hockey, it's about stupidity and after-the-fact denials.— waynoNE
- Not_a_Hypocrite.... It would seem you are right about how easily I get confused. Forgetting for the moment that the hit on Timonen was not legal (more than 2 strides with direct intent to hit a player is charging, elbow to the face is elbowing, directly hitting any player who does not possess the puck is interference)- your point is that Carcillo should be suspended, not necessarily for the hit but for his or the Flyers' history, while Cammalieri should not even though the hits were identical because he does not have a history? OK- please educate me then. Is your point that if I steal your car I should be allowed to keep it because I've never stolen a car before? Or is it that I should be arrested because I'm a goon who has a history of DRIVING cars?
- Once again, Pens fans make themselves look foolish— duffers
- It's mind-boggling that people still hold the Bullies era against the Flyers. I guess maybe they'll let it go when all those guys are dead and gone... Yet nobody made a peep when Anaheim employed the modern day equivalent strategy to win the Cup a few years ago. Pittsburgh has been a dirty team for a while now, basically since the advent of Crosby. But everyone knows that Crosby is the face of the NHL, and that can't help but factor in to how Pens games are called, even without any direct instructions to the refs from the League. Naturally Crosby feels entitled, with all the fawning by the League, and the whole organisation follows along. Getting away with hooking/holding/interference is one thing; getting away with a dangerous, dirty hit that could have put one of the NHL's classiest players in the hospital, or ended his career, is another matter.— element_104
- Just curious, anyone remember the last game the Flyers had more power plays than the other team? I sure can't.— kevin.carroll
- Watching the tape of Campbell only convinces me that several changes need to made in the NHL. The administration of Bettman and Campbell need to end...Someone with more intelligence and hockey sense needs to reestablish sanity in the league. The 2 referee system needs to end...neither official knows who is charge, each calls his own game and they all look like inconsistent idiots. The shoot-out needs to go the way of many of those in Congress--retire!!! This is a team sport and shoot-outs have no place in a team sport. This has adversely affected playoff positioning and possibly the way teams approach a game. The hit on Timonen was deliberate, stupid and should have been a 5 minute major for intent to injure, particularly if one takes into account the major give Coburn several weeks ago in NY for much less. Colin, I would be embarassed by this interview and would work on your speaking skills and know your facts.— sugardoc54
I've always said the 74-75 Flyers must have been fierce. 30 years later and still drawing penalties.— flyler- I am now convinced that there are pens fans that do nothing more with their day then put their asinine two cents in EVERY single column of the flyers sport section. Seriously you guys think you are bringing balance to the equation but only maybe one or two out of the whole lot of you has more than 1 braincell working in their heads give it a rest and go worship your cindy crosby shrine that you will take down and forget about when the pens eventually get too overloaded with their salaries and fade back into oblivion where they belong. one word PATHETIC, ANYONE that views the game without a bias can see the league is trying to stack the deck in favor of their "darling" teams. Luckily the flyers are that much better and are still capable of winning this series even in light of this.— PhoenixFlyer
- So as a Penguin fan, and more importantly a hockey fan...here's my insight. There was a difference in the hit Kunitz made and the one made by Carcillo. Kunitz's hit could have been a charge, i'd be ok with that...I don't believe it was intent to injure, I think he saw an opportunity to make a big hit and went for it during the play of the game. The difference from what I saw in Carcillo's was, he went out at the end of the game for a reason...that reason was to hit someone and send a message. He didn't do it during play, the puck dropped, after he was warned, and attacked Talbot. If I recall correctly, the Calgery hit was more similar to the carcillo and happened when the game was out of hand? If that's the case, he should have been suspended as well. I don't believe in the "history" rule. My question to Flyer fans is...Do you not expect to be treated "unfair" at times? Flyer fans from what I see want to be known as the "bullies" and the "worst place for teams to play". Everything I read shows how Flyers and their fans want to literally scare the other team and show how physical they are. Well, that's fine, but that is going to lead to more penalties. I have seen a LOT of lazy penalties against the flyers. Grabbing the stick or hooking...like Asham in game one - he was so lazy that he just sticks out a stick and gets Crosby in the arm...why would you do that? Flyers are a good team...they have some talent. Why do you need this ultraviolent team to win? Prove you are the better team and simply outplay the Penguins...score more goals, and don't take dumb lazy penalties. My final point is...If you think Kunitz should have been suspended, how bout Hartnell for instigating a fight? Didn't the NHL basically just say it is illegal for another player to jump in and start a fight after a clean hit? Which is exactly what Hartnell did. IMO, if the Penguins win this series, Hartnell and his stupidity throughout this series will be a big reason. /flame-on— pensfan82
- Pittsburgh fans are idiots. Plain and simple. They are hillbillies who toss around their goats and children for fun. I do however like Iron City 40's and Heinz ketchup.— DirtyBirds
The only difference between Kunitiz assault on Timomen and Steve Downies assault on Dean McAmmond is that McAmmond was injured. Other than that, they are the same. Downie got 20 and Kunitz got kudos. The NHL is erring badly by thinking they are getting new fans in their ridiculous, win at all costs Crosby. They are turning off real fans (I count myself) and the real fans are and are going to leave in droves. I know I am. What kind of league allows a team like Pittsburgh to deliberately tank a season in order to get the top draft picks, not once, but twice? And they wonder why hockey plays 2nd bannana to NCAA Lacrosse.— fgomarty- That blackhawk flames game last night was great. I watched the whole game because of the emotion and the refs let them play. That means more sponsors got to my eyes. Today, I'm already on the the computer after that richards 'trip' penalty on the goalie. I can't watch the bs penalties being called in this one...on both sides.— swany65
- Sam, You might want to take a look at the game tape from the Capitals/Rangers game on Monday night. Sean Avery flat out punched Sergei Varlamov in the face with no precedent to do so. Yet this wasn't even remotely discussed ANYWHERE. I think anyone that knows even a smidgen of hockey knowledge knows Avery's reputation. So Campbell's "bad-boy" argument remind me of the excrement that falls out of horses once they've digested.— GiggsOho
- Stop Philadelphia Cryers, you guys are always complaining about something. You guys just aren't good enough to be on the same ice as the Penguins. Kunitz hit him as clean as can be, Kimmy Timonen was Okay after he peeled himself of the ice,LOL. See ya next year! Actually, the Cryers are probably praying that they don't, sorry to scare you guys like that.— Kgfarken
- the consistency of NHL discipline has always been garbage anyone that has followed the game for any length of time should know that. the flyers have some legitimate gripes about why several incidents in other series have been over looked by the league. i would be less than thrilled about it if i were a flyer fan. mr carchidi's outrage over the kunitz hit is understandable however where was this outrage when hartnell gave letang a knee on knee hit? wasn't that a dangerous hit as well? why was he not tracking down colie for that offense? or was he simply outraged because it was a flyer on the receiving end? you can't have it both ways.— pens08
- Colin Campbell does not hide his anti-Flyers bias in the clip. According to what the NHL discipline czar said, the No. 1 factor in handing out suspensions is the score of the game at the time of the incident. Genius.— Snap Crackle Propp
- Flyers fan here. It was a clean hit. Stop whining. Kimmo isn't a rookie, he's an experienced NHL defenseman who has 200+ pound guys trying to take his head off every night. He should know by now to keep his head up. We can dish it out. We can take it too. I don't think Timonen needs some typical Flyers fan that doesn't understand the concept of a shooting lane (SHOOOT ITTT!!!!) to take his back.— DRocco
- Things at the top definitely need to change. Problem is, how is that going to happen when Bettman hands out fines any time a coach or a GM critizes the way the league does things? I give Bettman credit for getting the NHL back on its feet, but he will just ruin it again if constructive criticism is banned. He's gotta go, and Campbell with him.— bcon22
- First, Mr. Kevin.Carroll, Flyers were 0-8 on the power play last night. You asked your question one day too soon. And by the way, the calls stunk in both directions. Take off your jaded glasses. Second, the Penquins are 7 wins and 2 losses in the last 2 years in the playoffs against the Flyers. Perhaps talent has more to do with it most people are willing to admit.— xarcher
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Broad Street Bull is the Inquirer's blog covering the Philadelphia Flyers and the National Hockey League.
Reach Sam at scarchidi@phillynews.com.
Sam Carchidi
Inquirer Staff Writer
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