Stick, Gloves, Suspension

For the second game in a roll The Blackhawks have lost a top four defenseman by a reckless and a vicious, skate-leaving hit. Campbell is out for at least the remainder of the regular season after suffering a broken collar bone as well as a few broken ribs when he was boarded by an irresponsible Ovechkin push from behind. The 3-time All-Star was more than arm’s length away from the boards as he chased the puck behind his net when Ovechkin caught up to him from behind and gave him an arm-extending push sending Campbell right-shoulder-first into the boards. It was reckless because he has to know where his opponent is relative to the boards and he has to know he’s an extremely strong individual. Campbell aka “Soupy” admits he had his head down, he was also in an awkward position and the toe pick got caught in the ice, but that in no way warrants anybody, especial someone who in my opinion is the best hockey player in the world, to board another player with his back to him. It was a unique situation and it was essentially a perfect storm to inherit the result that came from the play, but Ovechkin must be more conscience of where players are on the ice. Campbell was lucky to come away with only a few broken bones because he could have been paralyzed. Just think of the girth and magnitude of that word and you'll understand.
The Seabrook situation was slightly different. Seabrook finished his check on Perry just as he got rid of the puck behind the Blackhawk net. It sent Perry into the glass who was also caught in an awkward position and did a sort of twist and tumble before he hit the ice and slid all the way to the corner. The puck effectively made a circle in the Hawks’ zone and Seabrook found himself with it and quickly passed it behind the net as he stood behind the end line. Wisniewski came from about fifty feet out and just before he met Seabrook he left his feet, raised his forearms and bashed Seabrook’s head into the glass. Seabrook was unconscious on his feet before crumbling to the ice. Seabrook awoke a short time thereafter and skated off the ice under his own power. Meanwhile, there was scrapping in the corner in a Blackhawk attempt to protect their defenseman. Wisniewski was obviously trying to protect his teammate in letting the opponent know that if you layout his player he’s going to do the same to you. BUT, he took it too far. Players don’t have enough respect for each other on the ice. Yes this is a game and hard hitting has been a part of it probably since its conception, but we’re also talking about guys’ livelihood here. They’re earning paychecks at a job to support themselves and their families! There’s no room for hits like Wisniewski’s on Seabrook in hockey. Players have been “allowed” to police themselves on the ice, but there needs to be a line drawn somewhere. And skate-leaving, forearm raised headshots are a pretty good place to start. The refs are often afraid to pull the trigger on a certain call in a certain situation because they want to get the call right, yet there isn’t a defined rule given by the NHL on exactly what call to make in such a circumstance. The league needs to step in and define the call on such illegal hits and define the consequences. Wisniewski has been given an eight game suspension. Fine. For now. There should be some sort of suspension tier for illegal hits or other similar infractions. Example: The purposely vicious hit on Seabrook should be a ten game suspension. If Wisniewski commits the same hit on another player ever again in the NHL, he should be suspended for 25 games, once more for a third time and a possible expulsion from the league is in order. Also, the team in which the suspended player is on should not be allowed to pick up another player to fill that roster spot. So the punishment should be on both the player and team. Maybe then players will think twice or maybe even thrice before making a hit like that on another human wearing skates.
Some fans have been saying the Hawks have been soft in not protecting their players, but you can pick your battles without it being detrimental to your team. They’ve also been calling for an enforcer. No, just no. Play the game and score more goals than the other team to win the game.