Jesse, why are you such a jackass?
By now, we've all heard about and seen the vicious hit delivered by former Hurricane Jesse Boulerice of the Flyers to the head of the Canucks' Ryan Kesler.
Just in case, here it is:
Absolutely disgusting.
The game was well in hand. Flyers up 7-2, eight minutes left in the game. There is no need for that kind of aggression ever, and in this case you can't blame "heat of the competition".
Sure, the two players had been going at each other all night, but this kind of thing is completely outrageous.
The most disgusting thing about it is that Boulerice, who is completely useless outside of his "agitator" role, stood over Kesler and shook the gloves loose as if to suggest that he was going to give Kesler some more.
Steve Downie, who wouldn't have made the Flyers squad anyway, was suspended for 20 games for his violent head-high checking during the preseason. This was meant to send a message to the players that hits to the head will not be tolerated.
Apparently it didn't work.
I would expect a double digit games suspension. I seriously hope that "The Bull" gets tossed for the remainder of the year.
Was this as violent as McSorley/Brashear? No. As gruesome as Bertuzzi/Moore? No. Simon/Hollweg? No. But it deserves a suspension as long or longer than any of those.
Boulerice was once banned for an entire season from the OHL for a stick-swinging incident. He also faced assault charges in civil court for that incident. I think Colin "Clownshoes" Campbell would be remiss if he failed to take Jesse's history into account.
Unfortunately, the disciplinary office has been terribly fickle. They might decide that since Kesler was able to skate off on his own power, Boulerice should only get three games.
My hope is that he gets in excess of 25 games. I also hope that the league sends the Flyers a message. Surely at some point the coaches and front office have to have some accountability. A Flyer just pulled some jackass stunt two weeks ago, and now another Flyer with another jackass stunt. The league has got to send a message of some kind before things get even more out of control. I'm sure John Stevens didn't tell Boulerice to go out there and decapitate Kesler, but I don't know how else to send a message to both the players and the coaches.
What do you think? How many games does the Bull deserve?
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4 comments:
I never played organized hockey as a child, but we played roller hockey in the schoolyard every weekend, players from age 12 to 50. There are a few things I learned from those old guys, one of the most important being, "your stick is not a weapon." I always thought it was the epitome of cowardice to attack another player with your stick. Players in the NHL need to learn some respect for one another. That doesn't mean don't play physical and don't fight; it means don't hit people in the head with your stick fercryinoutloud!
Glad you pointed out the glove shake. I noticed that as well, but hadn't heard anybody else speak to it. Yeah, 20+ games minimal, and at some point the NHL has gotta go after an organization with repeat incidents like this. Although, I'd venture to guess that Boulerice acted all on his own here. He was out to settle a score. With the score 7-2 late in the 3rd I doubt the coach is sending him out after anyone.
I agree that something needs to be leveled at the Flyers organization considering the Downie incident just a couple weeks ago. Suspending a scrub who can barely skate doesn't hurt them significantly, perhaps they need to think about taking away draft picks, like the NFL just did to the Patriots.
I'm thinking he'll get no less than 25 games. That's what they gave Simon last season after swinging his stick at Hollweg.
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