Colin Campbell proves himself a hypocrite yet again. In Thursday night’s 7-4 win for the Pittsburgh Penguins, Carolina forward Ryan Bayda was assessed a match penalty for a crosscheck to Penguins defenseman, Kris Letang’s, head. Letang also received a game misconduct for his altercation with Tim Gleason. The match penalty in the NHL states “in addition to the match penalty, the player shall be automatically suspended from further competition until the Commissioner has ruled on the issue.” Campbell, the NHL Senior Vice President, doesn’t seem to understand this definition or the term “automatic.”
In round one of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Boston Bruins played the Montreal Canadiens. I am sure all Bruins fans remember the reason why Boston’s fan favorite, Milan Lucic, was suspended. Lucic received a match penalty towards the end of game two, for crosschecking Montreal forward Maxim Lapierre. The NHL felt as though Lucic was intentionally trying to injure Lapierre as he, just like Bayda, gave a crosscheck to the opposing player’s head. If this is the case, why wasn’t Bayda suspended then? The thing is, Campbell and his fellow NHL executives are inconsistent with their ruling.
Bayda was simply fined $2,500 for his actions which is like pocket money for professional athletes. If Campbell is going to keep washing out the automatic suspensions of match penalties, he should either change the definition of the match penalty or have the same reaction for all cases. He is making himself look bad by making it seem as if players who receive the match penalty only will get suspended when he feels like doing so.
Letang, who was interviewed after the incident, said that Bayda got him right in the mouth with that crosscheck. Even though Letang was frustrated he stated that, “I’m not the guy who gives the suspension. There are people hired for that and they have to make the decision.” Exactly, they have to make the decision, but it doesn’t mean it will be the right one.
The Hurricanes take on the Penguins tonight at 7:30 with the series shifting over to North Carolina. The Pens lead the series 2-0 and although some emotions might carry over into game three, both teams need to stick to their game plan. You never know though, if emotions run wild and more players take questionable action, they might just get let off the hook by the laid-back Colin Campbell.
In round one of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Boston Bruins played the Montreal Canadiens. I am sure all Bruins fans remember the reason why Boston’s fan favorite, Milan Lucic, was suspended. Lucic received a match penalty towards the end of game two, for crosschecking Montreal forward Maxim Lapierre. The NHL felt as though Lucic was intentionally trying to injure Lapierre as he, just like Bayda, gave a crosscheck to the opposing player’s head. If this is the case, why wasn’t Bayda suspended then? The thing is, Campbell and his fellow NHL executives are inconsistent with their ruling.
Bayda was simply fined $2,500 for his actions which is like pocket money for professional athletes. If Campbell is going to keep washing out the automatic suspensions of match penalties, he should either change the definition of the match penalty or have the same reaction for all cases. He is making himself look bad by making it seem as if players who receive the match penalty only will get suspended when he feels like doing so.
Letang, who was interviewed after the incident, said that Bayda got him right in the mouth with that crosscheck. Even though Letang was frustrated he stated that, “I’m not the guy who gives the suspension. There are people hired for that and they have to make the decision.” Exactly, they have to make the decision, but it doesn’t mean it will be the right one.
The Hurricanes take on the Penguins tonight at 7:30 with the series shifting over to North Carolina. The Pens lead the series 2-0 and although some emotions might carry over into game three, both teams need to stick to their game plan. You never know though, if emotions run wild and more players take questionable action, they might just get let off the hook by the laid-back Colin Campbell.
4 comments:
Campbell is a total joke.... It's ridiculous how inconsistent he has been. I don't know if he was this bad before or not, but this year has been crazy....and not in the good way...
I know, I can't stand him or any decision he makes. He needs to be fired!
You gotta love those rules that are carved in stone until they become inconvenient. A well written blog, Hailey. I love how you manage to keep it tight without letting it get choppy. It moves well.
AmandaLyn
yeah, gotta love the rules.
thankyou :)
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