News Article: James Neal Suspended 5 Games for Kneeing Brad Marchand

[qc]

No offense to bagged dirt, but James Neal is a ****ing dirtbag.

 

[Braunbaer]

already 1 fine and 2 suspensions and then only 5 games for THIS?
ridicilous.

 

[ReggiesLemons]

Really wish injuries weren't a factor in these decisions. With that said, 5 is better than nothing and more than I thought he would get.

 

[ksp1957]

I just read the reaction on the Pens board. I need a shower now, but most of the posters there were good with the amount of games. Of course, most of them want Thornton keelhauled, but that's another story.

 

[whatsbruin]

I'm good with 5 games. The fact that Marchand wasn't seriously injured plays a part.

I don't get, nor subscribe to this theory/line of thinking.

If the play is dangerous he should be suspended even if the playerisn't seriously hurt.
In my book, he should get the same suspension if the player is or is not hurt.

 

[Hali33]

I just read the reaction on the Pens board. I need a shower now, but most of the posters there were good with the amount of games. Of course, most of them want Thornton keelhauled, but that's another story.

I think most Pens fans were on board with it being a dirty hit and there were only a few nutcases trying to say it was an accident. Most are fine with the suspension too it seems.
I think the biggest issue is that a lot of Pens think that what Thorty did was much worse than what Neal did when in reality both players' behavior was dangerous and wrong and could have seriously hurt someone. I don't see one being worse than the other and they both deserve a good suspension for their actions.
The biggest differences I notice are that one was unprovoked and other was after watching one teammate get kicked in the head and another leave the game with the concussion. Oh, and one copped to it and was apologetic and the other pretended it was a mistake. So there's that.

 

[FONZIE]

Thornton will get double what Neal got to appeal to the masses.

 

[RussellmaniaKW]

I don't get, nor subscribe to this theory/line of thinking.

If the play is dangerous he should be suspended even if the playerisn't seriously hurt.
In my book, he should get the same suspension if the player is or is not hurt.

agreed. Consider this: if Neal had done the exact same thing to Bergeron instead of Marchand, with Bergeron's history of concussions, it could very well have ended his career.

 

[DKH]

Is there video of the dirty two hander from Clarkson on Dougie that felled him

 

[Kazcram]

if neal did that to bergie he ould not leave the arena alive . I am kinda disappointed with our team remember when emelin hit seguin and chara just skated right over to him to send a message , well what happened to our bruins ? marchand Erickson miller all got hit dirty and no fightback ?? sad

 

[Hali33]

if neal did that to bergie he ould not leave the arena alive . I am kinda disappointed with our team remember when emelin hit seguin and chara just skated right over to him to send a message , well what happened to our bruins ? marchand Erickson miller all got hit dirty and no fightback ?? sad

WAT.
Thorton is getting a big ole suspension very soon because of his "fightback". This is probably the one game lately you can't criticize the Bruins for letting things go.

 

[BMC]

I'm surprised & delighted. I didn't think he'd get anything- Marchand was not hurt and the ref only called a two minute minor.

I agree it is the intent to injure that should be penalized the most. A dangerous/dirty play is a dangerous/dirty play no matter the outcome.

 

[Kazcram]

neal should have been dealt with and phaneuf too that's what I mean

 

[Kazcram]

if we play them in the playoffs it will get out of hand

 

[RussellmaniaKW]

Is there video of the dirty two hander from Clarkson on Dougie that felled him

I thought Dougie was hurt by a clean check into the boards after dumping a puck in, not from a slash, but I could be wrong.

 

[NeelyDan]

Give or take, I see the Neal intent to injure completely parallel to the Thornton intent to injure, and will be disappointed if Shawn sits more than 5. I can see 7, though, to placate the whiners out there that for some reason place intent with fists differently than intent with stick, or intent with knee, or what have you.

 

[qc]

I thought Dougie was hurt by a clean check into the boards after dumping a puck in, not from a slash, but I could be wrong.

Yeah, they got tied up awkwardly and it looked like Dougie tweaked his leg or something.

 

[Scotto74]

someone posted this tweet on the main board. Not sure who this is but would be interesting for sure.


Ian Altenbaugh‏@IanAltenbaugh
Neal's lack of own accountability postgame irked Pens management. Maybe more discipline to follow internally.

 

[Paddington]

I don't get, nor subscribe to this theory/line of thinking.

If the play is dangerous he should be suspended even if the playerisn't seriously hurt.
In my book, he should get the same suspension if the player is or is not hurt.

I agree. The act was the same regardless of whether Marchand was injured or not but based on the criteria by which the NHL makes their decisions, I'm fine with the 5 games.

On the flip side, Thornton gets 2 minutes for roughing if Orpik stakes to the bench and finishes the game. No suspension. No "controversy".

 

[Minny Shinny]

Was surprised when I heard. Bummer for my fantasy team but as a wise person told me during lunch "screw fantasy." I thought he'd end up with 2-3. Yes, he is a repeat offender, but his last offenses were outside of the 18-month parameter...a statute of limitations, so to speak...so as much as we want to call him a repeat offender, my understanding is that by the terms of the current CBA, he is not (and if I'm wrong, please correct me).

Now yes, I think he earned more than 5 but it wasn't happening. It also doesn't speak to the bigger issue of a pervasive lack of respect among players that just seems rampant. I thought I read "nickel and dime" in the Thornton thread, and the same applies here. Neal's making good coin this year...so yeah, 5 hurts his team but does it really hurt him?

I'm not saying this is an example of institutional lack of control, but if the NHL is really serious about player safety and really serious about trying to reduce flagrantly dangerous hits, it can't just stop at the player. Yes, the player is ultimately THE most responsible for the act and in many cases, the only person responsible for the act...but in cases where the attitude of recklessness and lack of respect for fellow players where it just seems to permeate through the entire organization, the NHL has to start looking at the whole organization.

Will that happen? Who knows. I'm not optimistic.

Otherwise we'll just keep going round and round.

 

[TCL40]

well then the real problem is that while the rules of the game have evolved to better reflect modern medical understanding of what head injuries can do to person as well as reflect the speed and nastiness of the modern NHL game, the system for enforcing those rules has not evolved in several decades. As long as the NHL insists on relying to two refs to police 12 guys on the ice at a time there is going to continue to be inconsistency and blatantly missed calls.

What the NHL really needs is a 3rd ref watching from the press box who sees exactly what the broadcast crew sees and can call down and override the on-ice officials' call or call a penalty on something that the on-ice refs totally missed.

And if a particular hit looks bad enough that it will warrant a hearing and the on-ice refs only gave it 2 minutes (or none at all) then the 3rd ref in the press box needs to be able to step in and have the guy committing the infraction tossed from the game.

I mean look at the Neal knee...they apparently saw it on the ice but only gave it 2. A ref in the booth with the benefit of a video replay could have seen almost instantly how blatant it was, called down to the ice and had Neal thrown out of the game on the spot.

I wouldn't mind this idea for big things-like head shots or easily reviewed if it's a stoppage (like delay of game however I would like to see this penalty go away and replaced by something similar to icing where the offending team can't change lines).

I wouldn't want to see this for minor crap but would like itnfornthe egregious stuff.

Or add something like the football rule where a team has one challenge but if they are wrong they are charged a time out.

 

[Artemis]

someone posted this tweet on the main board. Not sure who this is but would be interesting for sure.


Ian Altenbaugh‏@IanAltenbaugh
Neal's lack of own accountability postgame irked Pens management. Maybe more discipline to follow internally.

Interesting. Perhaps all those years of dealing with a smirking Matt Cooke has lowered their tolerance level.

 

[Minny Shinny]

someone posted this tweet on the main board. Not sure who this is but would be interesting for sure.


Ian Altenbaugh‏@IanAltenbaugh
Neal's lack of own accountability postgame irked Pens management. Maybe more discipline to follow internally.

You know what? This directly applies to what I just said.

As much as I loathe ****sburgh, I'm glad to see this happen and hope Pens management does do something. This is exactly what should happen. It addresses off-ice issues of an attitude of disrespect to fellow players and personal accountability, and sends a very clear message from your direct employer that what happened (act and sense of accountability for the act) is not acceptable.

Will certainly be following that part of this story.

 

[Tim O'Reilly]

Knob. He doesn't think he did anything wrong. Screw him, the Pens, Mario and all!

Sadly I think that Thornton gets 10-15 games for something I don't think was as bad.

Hope that stiff Phaneuf gets 10 for what he did to Millar but he will most likely get 2

 

[xgallantx]

More than I thought he would get but a deserved 5 for sure. Obviously Marchand wasn't hurt so the suspension maxed at 5. If Marchand leaves with a concussion he ends up with an in-person hearing. That said I tink Thornton is in for a long one. My guess 15-20. Maybe 12 for being a 1st timer but I don't think. NHL will make an example of Thornton like they did Scott. They don't mind handing them out to enforcers...