The wheel of justice spins again. Tkachuk gets suspended, but nothing for Mantha. I seriously hope that Hamonic isn't trying to play through something tomorrow. If he was legitimately hurt by that incident, the Flames should file a grievance with the league.
You don't need to get fighting out of the game. What you do need is to remove all this excessive BS that you rarely see any longer where guys go way too far. That's when the league is embarrassed. That's when players get hurt, and seriously embarrass the league.
Hell, I hope that the players who are suing the NHL use that video of Mantha wailing away on a vulnerable Hamonic off the ice surface, ignoring the linesman, and seeing the NHL not do or even say a damn thing about it. That's the message here in my opinion - as long as it doesn't draw much media attention, we won't do a single damn thing about it, regardless of how dangerous it may be.
I am not sure what is uglier now - Mantha throwing punches on Hamonic in that situation, or the league for not even acknowledging it. To me, it is clear-cut evidence that the league really doesn't push player safety as much as it pushes PR spin.
As an aside, and with the benefit of hindsight, the Flames should have called up Gazdic for his rare (hopefully only) game. Witkowski is a goon and nothing more, and apparently had not dressed for a number of games. He was inserted into the lineup - that should probably have raised an eyebrow or two, but it was missed (and in no way is this a critique of Gulutzan - I think someone like Darryl Sutter may have picked up on it, maybe a few other experienced coaches in the league, but I can see why it was missed). It is incidents like these that make the Flames go looking for toughness in the off-season, and try and reach for guys like Smith and Kanzig who you hope end up being NHL'ers that can fill that role for them. You don't need a tough guy... until suddenly you really need one.
This team really misses Engelland's presence at times. If this was last season, Witkowski would have went after Kulak, but Engelland would have done the intercept (as he would have been on the ice with Kulak if that was the case), and things would have not escalated the way they did. Heck, I would bet that Engelland would have made a beeline to Witkowski immediately on his next shift as soon as he saw Witkowski trying to instigate earlier in the game. Probably nothing would have happened all game, and at least for sure nothing would have escalated.
If the Wings didn't play a goon in the first place, NOTHING would have happened in this game. I look back at that Vancouver game where Hartley started the 4th line, and got a fine for it when the fighting erupted. Other teams can start their 4th line - there is no rule stating you can't. Now the shoe is on the other foot, and Witkowski was instigating all game. Yet somehow the Flames are once again taking a hit for it. Sure, Witkowski got suspended for the next 10 games, but he probably wouldn't play the next 10 games either. Flames are the only team that took a hit here.
The league's department of player safety is really a joke. I thought that considering the moves they made in that department this year, things might actually improve. Nope. Still the damn stupid wheel of justice. "Irrelevant" teams like the Flames will always get the short end of the stick somehow, big name players will always get the benefit of the doubt, and the NHL is confused as to why a bunch of ex players with CTE is suing the league in part for the league not protecting them.
I guess a guy who mounts another guy off the ice, and then proceeds to ground and pound with impunity, is too difficult a link for the league to grasp.
It is a joke of a league that does next to nothing to stop concussions even when they are staring at a lawsuit square in the face. Justified the Tkachuk tap. Now justify to me why Mantha didn't receive a thing.
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