(Image source: Yahoo! Sports)
BY: SAM KOROTKIN
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8-time NHL all star and 600 goal scorer Brendan Shanahan is making his presence felt once again. Not on the ice, but watching over it.
The NHL’s new head disciplinarian has quickly embraced his role, already dishing out several lengthy suspensions. But it’s the way he’s handing them out that’s grabbing attention.
“Wisniewski engaged Clutterbuck in defense of his own teammate by knocking Clutterbuck down to the ice. While that may have lead Wisniewski to believe that he potentially had to defend himself, this is not a justification for intentionally hitting a player in the head.”
Shanahan has introduced video explanations detailing each illegal hit, and the reasons for his decisions. As Yahoo! Sports’ Greg Wyshynski explains, Shanahan…
“...introduces himself; gives the 'who, what, where and when' of the incident; breaks down the illegal play; reads the rule it violated; drops his catchphrase "as the video shows …." as he revisits the play; and then reveals the duration of the suspension. The videos are concise, informative, emphatic and professionally done.”
Many people around the NHL are commending the new style, and TSN’s Bob McKenzie thinks it’s about time the NHL cracked down.
“Most fans and most media are saying ‘awesome, bravo, long overdue,’ I mean how many times have you heard the media and many fans clamor ‘give that guy a ten game suspension! Start sending a message here.’ Well, suddenly we’ve got a ten game suspension.”
But some players think it’s the wrong message. New Jersey Devils future hall of fame goalie Martin Brodeur spoke out and told the New York Post…
“Not everybody is following preseason, and when it’s over, the only thing people are going to hear about is, ‘Twelve suspensions for 37 games or whatever it turns out…That’s not good for the game. No other sport does anything like that to itself.”
Shanahan’s largest suspension came at the cost of Columbus Blue Jacket’s defenseman James Wisniewski. Wisniewski is suspended for the rest of preseason and eight regular season games, and stands to lose more than a half a million dollars of salary. The Province believes Shanahan may run into some trouble when he suspends a player from a bigger market.
“Outside of Columbus, who really cares? It’s only the Blue Jackets. Just wait until it’s—oh, I don’t know – the Canucks in his crosshairs. He wont be so popular then.”
Next up for Shanahan- he plans on showing videos of controversial hits where no suspension is handed out. As The Globe and Mail explains, Shanahan is not messing around.
“If you’re expecting Shanahan with 24 beauties behind him holding suitcases with various suspensions in them, don’t hold your breath. He takes the process very seriously.”
Transcript by Newsy
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