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Originally Posted by KootenayFlamesFan
The quietest career-ending hit of the season.
The only ones who raised a stink about it were Flames fans. Nothing from the NHL, their silence was so telling. They want to get rid of head shots, but a player like Smid?..........apparently it's not a big deal. I'm sure if that was Ferland on Crosby we'd still be hearing about it.
So stunningly sad. They need to get their act together. How someone's career can be ended and the player who committed the act gets not so much as a fine is just unbelievable.
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It really is kind of disturbing that the status of a player or exposure of the organization determines the punishment. When it happens to a guy like Smid on a team like the Flames it's quickly buried as I expect outside of Calgary few in the media and around the league even know what happened. If this happened to a bottom pairing defenseman on the Leafs it's probably big news because of the market exposure especially if he's forced to retire. If it happens to Crosby its news every single day and there's a guaranteed long term punishment.
The NHL really needs to place more value on the person than the player as their tiered justice system is quite frankly an embarrassment of the sport. Lots of people hate on Goodell but in the NFL it doesn't matter who you are or who you injure in the sport everyone gets severe punishment that escalates with repeat offenders. If the NHL used their system there's a chance Mat Cooke never gets the opportunity to end Marc Savard's career.