The NHL got it wrong again as usual - for all of the right reasons: they had to appease the NHLOA and the public (suspect mostly the "American public") who wanted blood. So they gave them blood - for all of the wrong reasons: they failed to consider in any way (at least judging by the result) that Wideman could have been seriously groggy and had little idea what he was actually doing.
Whether he did or not is not the issue - but it raises a reasonable doubt that the hit was intentional or planned in any way. If they'd been smart, they would have given him 10 games with an explanation of how they got there:
"We considered 20, but there was a consideration that he was out of it at the time - nonetheless, his conduct is culpable and he is still responsible." Done - gets the message out to the NHLOA and the public, and is seen to do justice in a responsible and thoughtful manner.
He should appeal to both Bettman and an arbitrator - $500K is a lot of cheese to give up without a fight and is out of all proportion to the incident that took place.
Just my 2 cents worth (I don't make $6M a year....)
|