Giroux suspension too harsh (UPDATED)
Giroux suspension too harsh
Giroux suspension too harsh (UPDATED)
Rich Hofmann, Daily News Sports Columnist
Well, the Flyers have their rallying cry.
NHL dean of discipline Brendan Shanahan has done it. He has suspended the Flyers’ Claude Giroux for one game for a hit to the head of the Devils’ Dainius Zubrus in Game 4 of their playoff series Sunday night. Shanahan has suspended a superstar player with no discipline history, for a hit that did not cause an injury, for a game in which his team can be eliminated.
Brave new world.
I didn’t think the hit was worth a suspension -- because Giroux did not have a history, and because Zubrus did not sustain a significant injury, and because the 6-foot-5 Zubrus was kind of leaning over already -- it was the only way the 5-foot-11 Giroux could have contacted Zubrus’ face with his shoulder. There was all of that, which made it a close call -- and there was Giroux’s status on his team and the precariousness of his team’s current circumstances, trailing three games to one in the series.
It didn’t matter. It was going to be close, and Shanahan has made a clear statement here. His willingness to suspend a star without a rap sheet, on a hit without an injury, at such a crucial moment in a playoff series, will send shockwaves around the NHL -- make no mistake. If this is the way it is going to be, we really have crossed a threshold.
Shanahan typically releases a video explanation after such a decision, and it was comprehensive in its analysis. He placed a lot of emphasis on the entirety of Giroux's shift, which was fraught with obvious frustration about a call that the officials did not make after Devils goaltender Marty Brodeur played the puck outside of the designated area. And, make no mistake: Giroux did hit Zubrus in the head, and that is against the rules, and he was properly penalized and the situation was properly reviewed by the NHL.
But we have broken new ground here. The clean history did not matter. The injury situation did not matter. What have sometimes been considered as mitigating factors were not enough to mitigate things for Giroux in an undeniably crucial situation for his team.
In my mind, the decision was too harsh. It was close, but given everything -- and, yes, for better or worse, that does include the fact it is an elimination game -- it seemed to suggest a fine and and a warning, not a suspension.
But, no. And now the Flyers will undoubtedly attempt to summon up whatever emotion they can as they try to overcome the loss of their best player. And the rest of the league will attempt to recalibrate their expectations for discipline the next time.
Brave new world.
MORE: Here are some additional thoughts, after a couple of hours of thinking about it.
It was after Game 5 of the Flyers-Penguins series. It was, you might remember, the night was the Penguins’ Evgeni Malkin was completing his second straight game of searching and destroying and pretty obviously trying to hurt an array of Flyers players.
In Game 4, there was the sneaky elbow that gave Flyers defenseman Nicklas Grossmann a concussion. In Game 5, there were two incidents: an unnecessary late hit on Brayden Schenn and an assault on Sean Couturier that, if it wasn’t a head shot, was within millimeters of being one. The Grossmann play went unseen by officials. Both of the Game 5 hits were penalized. And afterward, in the corridors below Consol Energy Center, I sought out Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren.
There was a time when it was the general manager’s job to work the officials between games of a playoff series. I was wondering if Holmgren wanted to play on the subject of Malkin. I asked the question, and he thought for a second, and then he shook his head and said, “No.”
Some of that is the man’s personality, not given to histrionics. Some of it, too, was his notion of what it is to be a good citizen in the NHL in 2012, and what it is to respect Brendan Shanahan and the whole discipline process. But there also was the sense, although he never said it, that Holmgren also was operating under the mental rules that have been a part of hockey forever.
That is: that the Penguins were on the edge of elimination, and Malkin is a star player, and those three unspoken words:
It’s the playoffs.
It is why I did not think Giroux would be suspended for his hit on Zubrus. I get that Giroux hit him in the head. But he has no history, and Zubrus was not hurt, and so many other prominent players appeared to receive the benefit of the doubt from Shanahan. Malkin did, a couple of times. The Capitals’ Alex Ovechkin did when he hit the Rangers’ Dan Girardi. The Penguins’ James Neal did when he leveled Couturier.
So why not Giroux? Why did he not receive the benefit of the doubt? Is he not a star, too? Is his team not in a desperate elimination situation, too, just as Malkin was when he spent two games wreaking havoc in the land?
The answer, apparently, is that Giroux’s was such a clear head shot that the league could not overlook it, and that the others were more body checks that involved incidental contact to the head. It is a difference without a distinction when you are the one laid out on the ice, but it is a crucial difference for the NHL.
You watch Shanahan on the video reviews and you almost never disagree with anything he says as he analyzes the pictures. Yes, Giroux was outwardly frustrated. Yes, he hit Zubrus in the head -- even if Zubrus was kind of bent over. It isn’t the analysis, but the conclusion.
If not Ovechkin, and if not Malkin, why Giroux? Because it is not as if any of them were innocent. That's the point.
Shanahan had zero choice. He had to suspend Giroux since he suspended Backstrom in almost identical circumstances just two weeks ago. No one should be surprised by the game suspension.— dpj0122- At a time when the NHL has a chance to make an inroads with the common fan they are becoming an absolute joke! Shanny has been all over the map on decision making, non suspensions when there should have been (Weber), not enough suspension on brutal hits (Neal)and now this on a player with no history that didnt leave his feet and kept his elbow down. A penalty and fine was warranted. Another inconsistent decision....puzzling...— TNFlyerNut
- If this does not get the Flyers emotions going nothing will. Perhaps Giroux's suspension will ignite this team. Why have we not dropped the gloves once in this series? Why did you not park this team with a little Zac Rinaldo.— rockinrob
- This is absolutely the last time I ever get my hopes up for the Flyers. For twenty years now they've ripped my heart out by being so tantalizingly great in spurts and then so calamitously awful when it really counts (2010 aside). Yep. This is the last time. Until next January when they start looking like contenders.— Edward Creed
- I'm sure it's been said but I will say it again...the fact the Giroux gets a suspension for that hit and Malkin got NOTHING after putting Grossmann out for a few games is a JOKE— cheesesteak0
- Because the games have been close and you aren't going to intimidate this veteran team. More time in the box isn't going to help the Flyers.— pveedee
- Amazing that a team that once showcased cheap-shotting Scott Stevens gets this kind of protection. Amazing.— Alpheratz
- Whoa!! There is a huge difference between hitting someone skating the puck with their head down, as Stevens was famous for, and the hit Giroux put on Zubrus....I don't agree with the suspension but Steven's wasn't a cheap shot artist... If he played for Philly you would have a statue of him next to Rocky Balboa. — pveedee
- As a Devils fan, I think it stinks that Giroux will not be in there for game 5. You always want to win against the best, it gives you more confidence moving forward to the next round - which, face reality, the Devils are going to make. And he is the best on that team. Also, I do think it sets a bad precedent as the league is going overboard on protection and making the game less intense for players and fans.— vnz
- Does seem to be a double standard being applied here. Giroux or no Giroux our defenseman make it irrelevant. I swear they look like they are skating on cement but make up for it by coughing up the puck whenever they get a chance
- Just to clarify, a shoulder to the head gets one game. Slamming a players head into the glass repeatedly gets NOTHING (yes, a $2500 fine to an NHL player is NOTHING).— Tar Heel 1
- The articles written about this team become more pathetic with each passing day. My God.— jbruder02
- Looked to me like he stepped in front of Zubie. If the intended target was a hit to the head G could have ended Zubie's season. Insane suspension. Hell it's a stretch to call the "hit" late.— Paul1954
- Where is the video of Shanahan suspending the ref for blatantly missing the call that led to Giroux's frustration, hit, and suspension? As usual, the refs get off without being held responsible for their incompetence. That said, the Flyers are being thoroughly outplayed and, unless something changes, they won't win with or without Giroux.— robertthomas
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