KjellShocked

I shoulda kept quiet. Now I like your new one better!

Dude - that's my photo. Parking lot. 3:45. Just kidding. You can never see enough of her.

I'll agree they got both wrong. Both are guys who have never been disciplined and don't have reps as dirty players. Some times good players make mistakes. I think that was the case with both Staal and Stewart and thought BOTH should have been fined.

"He wasn't always a Flyer and he didn't get his *** cracked down on until he became one. Besides, saying Briere is sneaky dirty and saying Staal is not is way too subjective to be included criteria in a disciplinary hearing." Yes he did, PG. You gotta be fair here. Staal is not a dirty player. Briere is. Briere has been suspended 3 times in his career including once with the Sabres. He's taken whacks at guys from the bench and we all know about his famous shot to the onions on Ovie. To compare the two is way off. "Thats why you punish the action and not the reputation you decide to give to a certain player. Hence, the NHL's discipline enforcement is a joke. Its just like the NFL. They say they want to protect players from concussions, however, they only protect QBs and WRs and not ball carriers like RBs and the likes. Translation: They are only concerned with keeping the scoring in the game up. Fans want to see passing plays and great catches and hot-shot QBs. Therefore you have to protect them specifically so it keeps the scoring up." Guys have reputations for a reason. A rep is really another way of saying a guy has a history. Most "reps" have at least some truth to them to it's not some huge injustice to take a guys "rep" into account. I definitely agree with you that there should be come kind of standard but I DO think two players can make the same bad hit and not be deserving on the same suspension. If it's Datsyuk that levels Coburn, does he deserve the same # of games if it's Lucic? Hell no.

PG: Is this the slew you are referring to? http://www.sbnation.com/nhl/2012/1/20/2720810/matt-cooke-slew-foot-video-brad-richards-penguins-rangers If it is, I have to disagree. It's a good link and the guy arguing that was not a slew is a Flyers' blogger but like he points out, Dreger said so - so it's gospel. Take that out of the equation and Cooke's been on his best behavior since the 17 games. I get to see the Pens more than most teams since I live in NNJ and get all the Rags, Debbies and Isles games and I can't recall anything controversial with him this year. Now, Lucic I agree. If you were asking me about Cooke last year I'd agree but not now. As for Rinaldo, Shanny has made it clear history counts. Rinaldo has a history that was less than a week old when he go two games. Two fines and he didn't get the message and he should have been suspended and not fined for his slew so I can't take issue with him getting two games for that his when he was "warned" via the fines just a week earlier.

That's what missus' said when she posed for that photo.

"I didn't see the slew foot. I guess you mentioned it was the Devils game? I didn't see that whole game." Yeah - that's the game. The slew preceded the Kovy/Schenn fight. Pretty bush i/m/h/o. I agree on Lucic and have no idea why he gets away with so much. His hit on Miller was total bush league, too. Cooke did get away with a lot but got the book thrown at him, too. It was 10 plus playoffs which is pretty serious so in the end "justice" was kinda done. I haven't read anything about a slew from him. Most accounts have him being a model citizen but I have to believe he's under closed scrutiny. If he reverts back to his old ways my hunch is he gets more than your more "reputable" player would. "You think the fact that he's a Staal and the fact that he is a Penguin didn't play into his non-suspension at all? I'm asking you if you honestly believe that it didn't." Honestly - yes. What does being a Staal have to do with it? If that's former Lady Byng winner Martin St. Louis or any other player generally regarded as a "clean" player making that hit, I think they get a fine. "By the way, whether he is a first time offender or not shouldn't matter. Danny Briere got a 3 game suspension for a bad hit and he isn't a dirty player. Why not Staal?" Bad example. Briere is "sneaky" dirty. Don't forget, he's the guy who gave Ovie shot to the onions and it's no secret he can be a bit laissez faire with his stick. If Briere weren't a Flyer, I would hate him. Don't get me wrong - I am not arguing that the discipline is inconsistent or even biased to a point. I just don't think these recent incidents are good examples of that. Even if you think Staal got away with one and Rinaldo's suspension was not deserved, you have to concede that Rinaldo also got away with one, too. But yeah - scratching my head on Lucic. We can't even call in Bruin bias now that Campbell is gone. Add Marchand to that list, too. My blood is boiling just from typing those names.

I understand - no hard feelings. I'll ask the same question again though - where was the suspension for the Rinaldo's slew? We got away with one there. No way around that.

"Rinaldo didn't get suspended for a slew foot. He got suspended for his hit on Ericsson." That's my point. He should have been suspended and wasn't. I'm not arguing that the discipline is inconsistent. God knows it is. I can't buy the bias argument though because Rinaldo got suspended for the Ericsson hit when he got a slap on the wrist for what was by far the worst incident out of all the ones we are talking about here. "So what the hell is the point of suspending anyone when you aren't going to discipline the action? They are making their case based on the logo on the front and the name on the back. Not what actually happened on the ice. How much **** have you seen Lucic get away with?" Then explain no suspension for the slew foot if the logo on the front of the jersey matters so much. "The Kronwall hit and the Rinaldo hit are practically the same. Rinaldo didn't target the head he hit the guy in the chest. Rinaldo gets a suspension and Kronwall nothing. Then Staal blatantly crosschecks Coburn (you say there was no intent to injure then I ask you what did Staal hope to accomplish on that hit in that area with a crosscheck from behind?) so its justified that he doesn't get a suspension? Doesn't make any sense man. Thats what baffles me about this league. Punish the act based on what transpired, not based on the reputation of the team or the player or the rest of the Staal boys." First, Rinaldo did target the head. Agree to disagree but if you watch the explanation video he definitely goes for the head i/m/o. As for the reputation - don't you HAVE to take that into account a little bit? Would a guy like Staal - who has a pretty clean reputation - just decide that he wants to injure Coburn for no reason? Then you have a guy like Rinaldo who DID try to injure with a slew a week earlier and now goes after a guy's head? Staal made a mistake and got fined and will be suspended if it happens again. You can't convince me that's what Rinaldo was doing when he slewed Parise and hit Ericsson.

I agree that Staal should have gotten a major instead of 2 but I really don't have a problem with a fine there. Now, if it happens again it's another story. I also agree that Stewart should not have been suspended. Just because they get one wrong doesn't mean they have to get them all wrong. If Rinaldo hadn't been fined - not once but TWICE - just two weeks earlier, there is no guarantee i/m/o that he gets 2 games for that hit. My point is that he SHOULD have been suspended for the slew foot but wasn't so I can't buy a bias argument using these examples. I just can't.

Thanks. I'm still amazed my wife let me put that up.

No - but it's not like Staal leveled the guy and admired his work either. This is his first "offense" if you will. Rinaldo was fined two times for incidents in the same game just a week before. I/M/O his slew was worth at least 2 games yet he got away with a fine. The only purpose a slew serves is to injure. Watch the replay of his slew and tell me you think Shanny is biased when that does not get him at least two games. Now you are left with two players with pretty bad hits with Staal on Coburn and Rinaldo on Ericsson. Shanny sent a message to Rinaldo just a week earlier and what does he do? Launch himself at a guy's head. Not "as bad" as Staal but considering what happened just a week before the 2 games was warranted.

LOL. Well said. I love Nash but he's overrated and at $7.8 million he's REALLY overrated.

C'mon guys - we really need to question the suspension for Rinaldo? He was fined just a week earlier for two separate incidents in the Devils game. Did you guys see the slew on Parise? That alone should have gotten Rinaldo suspended. It was well after the play, sneaky and total bush. Then a week later he leaves his feet and targets a guy's head. If anything, Shanny was lenient the first time around. Staal isn't a dirty play and seemed to be genuinely concerned right after the play. If Staal does it again, he should get 2. I've got no problem with the fine here. I will say that these fines do need to be higher but the $2,500 max is the player association's doing.