Last night, during the Pittsburgh Penguins-Ottawa Senators game, Sidney Crosby delivered a hard slash across the hands of Marc Methot resulting in one of the nastiest injuries this season in the NHL (*WARNING: GRAPHIC*). Senators’ head coach Guy Boucher said after the game that Methot would be out “weeks” with a “destroyed” and “shattered” finger, and owner Eugene Melnyk was upset about it this morning on TSN 1200 (via Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia and Frank Seravalli of TSN):
You hammer these [players who slash], you take away their money, and you say you know what? You are done for 10 games. We all know who [Crosby] is. The guy is a whiner beyond belief. You do this kind of stuff—I don’t care who you are in the league, I don’t care if you’re the number one player in the league—you should sit out a long time for this kind of crap.
Melnyk said that he was sure the league would be looking at it, but Pierre LeBrun of ESPN reports Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly will not be evaluating it further. Crosby will receive no discipline for this incident, just as he faced no penalty for his spear in an unfortunate area of Ryan O’Reilly’s lower body.
- For anyone hoping to catch Nolan Patrick in the first round of the WHL playoffs, you might have to wait a few days. Mike Morreale of NHL.com reports that the projected top pick in the upcoming entry draft won’t play in game one due to a lower-body injury. The Brandon Wheat Kings take on the Medicine Hat Tigers in the first round of the WHL playoffs.
- The Calgary Flames have sent Garnet Hathaway back down to the Stockton Heat. The 25-year old forward didn’t play in his most recent call up, after Micheal Ferland returned earlier from his mumps quarantine. With Matthew Tkachuk now eligible to play after serving his two-game suspension, the need for Hathaway has lifted. Playing in 26 games for Calgary this season, Hathaway registered five points in under 10 minutes a night.
- Similarly, the Minnesota Wild have sent Gustav Olofsson down to the minors, liking meaning Christian Folin is ready to return to game action. Olofsson has played in 13 games for the Wild this season, but will have to wait until next year to really make his mark at the NHL level. The 22-year old will try to help the Iowa Wild make the postseason for the first time in their short history.
- Tom Gulitti of NHL.com reports that the Albany Devils have signed Austin Cangelosi to a two-year AHL contract. The 22-year old forward just graduated from Boston College where he had back-to-back 20-goal seasons the past two years. The 5’7″ forward will try to prove that his size won’t stop his skill from shining through at the professional level, as he moves up to the next challenge in his hockey career.
I know everybody loves watching Crosby play, but come on, Sid should sit himself for 10 games after that slash.
Sid gets the crap beat out of him every night, very few penalties called.
He is not known as a slasher purposely.
Shouldn’t matter that he isn’t known as a slasher. An action worthy of suspension merits a suspension, no matter who commits it. If this was anyone but Crosby, they would be suspended. God forbid someone did this to Crosby, the league might’ve banned him for life.
So all first time offenders in life should be let go free…”I know he killed that guy but it’s not like he’s known as killer purposely”….
If either slash happened to Cindy the offender would’ve gotten 10-20 games, and an enforcer would’ve gotten a lifetime ban.
I’m sorry but Melnyk is off base. I’m nowhere near a Pens fan but Sid’s slash had zero malicious intent and does not warrant any type of discipline. However, it certainly should force the league to start calling any and all slashes from here on out. That’s two significant injuries to happen on these so called “hockey slashes” this year.
2 in a whole season?
Need a rule for that?
Naw!
How about all the grabbing, clutching and interference?
Fix that and the rest will be glorious
Yes, 2 major injuries, one of which saw the player(Gaudreau) slashed over 20 times in the game with not one penalty was called. Obstruction needs to be called but the continuous slashing seen game in and game out will lead to more injuries. All the obstruction does is limit scoring.
There’s been plenty of injuries in the sport that have come from hits or stick play that didn’t have “malicious intent” but the fact is that he did serious damage. He should have to pay. But because of who he is, he won’t. Intent has nothing to do with it.
Injury should NEVER determine punishment. An in game penalty for sure should have been called but that’s it. This exact play happens 20-30 times a game so unless you want to supplementally punish players for every single one of them that happens, Crosby should not be punished just because of what happened to Methot.
Sorry, don’t agree with you. He has a history of slashing people and playing cheap. Other players who have a similar history have and do get punished for causing injury. He gets a pass because of who he is. He’s protected by the league, especially this time of year. Do you really think if the roles were reversed, Methot wouldn’t be facing league punishment? Come on man. If it was some 4th line grinder, I’m sure that guy would’ve gotten something. #87 gets a pass.
I don’t disagree that if the roles were reversed, Methot would get a suspension. I wouldn’t agree with it but I know he’d get it because the league is broken. And if it was some 4th line scrub, he’d get the axe. Sid has a long history of questionable plays, hell he pretty much speared Ryan O’Reilly in the groin a few days ago. But to suspend someone for a play that we see on every offensive zone entry is wrong in my mind. I blame the league for essentially ignoring the slashing issue and the refs for never calling the damn penalty. If they call the penalty when it happens, Sid likely doesn’t do that.
I didn’t see anyone calling for Kopitar’s head when he collided with Alex Galchenyuk, knocking him out for 8 weeks(actually longer than what Methot is expected to miss). It was deemed incidental despite the fact Kopitar saw Galchenyuk and still ran into him with a knee on knee.
I definitely agree. 100% the league’s fault. They gave Erik Johnson a couple games years back for a similar slash that left a bone in the hand broken. Unfortunately, the league lets its star players get away with things that a lesser known player would have to fall on the sword for. I get it, it’s a business, and they need their stars on the ice to create as much revenue as possible, but there should be an even playing field for all the players in the league.
Injury has determined punishment though. A punishment will often be more lenient if the player isn’t hurt. Look at Gustav Nyquist earlier in the year as example. Yes Nyquist’s case is slightly different because there was an intent to hurt/injure, but the NHL came out and basically said that since the guy he hit (I want to say it was Jared Spurgeon of the Wild) wasn’t seriously hurt, the suspension was less than what it could’ve been. Intent to injure was a huge part of that suspension, but suspensions should be handed out for dangerous and/or dirty plays that result in significant injury.
I agree that injury has determined punishment and I hate that they do use it. But they also use it on an inconsistent basis which is even more frustrating.
Here’s the way I see it. If Methot doesn’t suffer such a gruesome injury, are people still calling for a suspension? I firmly believe no one even bats an eyelash at it and chalk it up to being a “modern hockey play” because the league and the refs refuse to call slashing unless its to these barely put together sticks and only if the stick breaks.
The dude got his finger cut off by Crosby. If Tanner Glass or Daniel Carcillo or a known enforcer did this they’d be punished. I don’t care if it was an accident a slash is a slash. You got superstars like Ovechkin, Kane, whoever but then you have Crosby who can do no wrong in the leagues eyes
Exactly. Reasons like that are exactly why other players and non-Penguins fans don’t like him. They respect him because they know he’s the best player on the planet, but the guy does all of the little tacky and dirty plays that warrants confrontation but will hide behind his bodyguards and the league. The league won’t ever suspend him for plays like that because it’ll set a bad image for them that they’re suspending their golden child. Like you said, if a known enforcer or even someone with a history of discipline did this, the league would’ve suspended him already.
He constantly whines and complains like Ottawas owner said and nothing is ever done. Like you said he hides behind his bodyguards (Sestito) and the league.
If the roles were reversed and Sid had lost a finger, or part of a finger, there’d be hell to pay with the league.
That was a blatant two-handed slash. It is a clear penalty & the ref saw it. Call the penalty. It should be a penalty no matter who his doing the slash & that includes Crosby. It looks like the NHL is giving Crosby preferential treatment. He spears O’Reilly in the groin the other night & there is no penalty & there was no fine. Then, he does this slash & there is no penalty. This a bad precedent to set because at some point, a player is going to retaliate & Crosby could end up injured. That’s something the NHL doesn’t want. When Crosby does something wrong, call him for it.
Imagine if someone who had multiple disciplines from the league in the past did it like Tanner Glass from NYR
It’s not like it’s fair that Crosby is gonna walk away with nothing for this when some lesser player would get crucified… but the magnitude of the injury is way greater than the magnitude of the slash. I had to watch that clip three times to see it.
Man, do the people who call him “Crysby” WWWWWWHHHHHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNEEE.
And the ones who call him Cindy have some other issues that are very obvious to everyone but them, no doubt.
NHL Tonight had a montage of Sens players, including Marc Methot, delivering slashes that were just as bad or worse. It happens 25 times a game. Blame his gloves.
If you want to cry, whine about him circumcising O’Reilly. That was dirty AF.
Yeah as a Pens fan I gotta admit I’m sick of all this Crosby bashing! I’m not saying that if he commits a penalty he shouldn’t get penalized or even suspended(1-2gms def not 10! R u nutz?), cuz he should, just like any other player in the league if the infraction warrants it! Also, everyone calls Crosby a whiner, however, does everone realize that he’s also the MOST HIT player in the league?!! There’s been many times where he’s lost playing time due to injuries because of those hits, and alot weren’t called! He’s just as sick of it as you all are of him, so I don’t mind if he fights back a little or gets in the refs ear. Funny how the only ones here whining are not affiliated with the Penguins organization.
Also, y’all can’t tell me that whoever the Star of your team is, that if the league came to them in their rookie year, and asked them to be the “Face” of the NHL that your player wouldn’t have done the same thing Crosby did. Yes if ya accept that kinda responsibility ya gotta take the good with the bad, but inturn don’t be a hater just to hate ither! Difference is? Crosby actually ended up being the “Next One”/Best! Pat Kane might be a close 2nd and maybe Ovi 3rd(tho I can’t stand the Thug), but atleast I can give him his props. Just saying Crosby is the Best and it’s hard to argue the results? #HallOfFamer
What annoys fans and other players is that he does things to warrant confrontation yet he doesn’t fight his own battles. Almost every other player (including stars) will stand up for themselves if they do something dirty, Crosby will go hide behind one of his bodyguards.
Nobody is arguing that Crosby isn’t the best player in the world. I respect the hell out of him because of it. But I also hate him because he plays dirty and gets away with it. He gets hit the most because everyone is trying to hit him back for the ticky tacky stuff he does during a game.
Crosby takes a lot of hits because he whines. If he stops so will everyone else
Too bad enforcers have been banished from the game, it’s the reason this nonsense goes on without any retribution. Gretzky had Semenko and McSorley, Cindy just has the men in stripes and they protect him both ways.
I know Crosby fights ALOT more than Lemieux ever did! That’s Y I was a Jagr fan back in the 90s. Respect the he’ll outta Lemieux but Jagr was the man! Think Crosby is more similar to him than Lemieux, he just isn’t as strong(especially 1on1) as Jagr was. 1on1, that guy could put it in the net at will in open ice! He just leaned his weight/muscle into the defender, created space, and fired off wristers like no tomorrow!