He cost his team because of selfish motivations yet plays himself off as a team guy, and the poster boy in Edmonton for team guys.
Those hits didn't hurt him. So no, he wasn't defending himself, he was avenging his crippled ego by doing something that would get him locked up if it were outside of that hockey rink, and that's about as far as it goes.
Saying you'll do it again is basically telling your team to shove it, and that they can deal with whatever ramifications come of your inability to contain your bad temper.
It seems fitting that they have Smith, Neal and him in the same room. They're all guys that individually seem to cost their team on fairly regular occasion in different ways but will never openly take accountability for it or see those things as things that they need to work on to change.
The fact that people around their team eat up and celebrate these actions that lead to their team's demise just underscores the entire problem with the culture up there that has led to nearly two decades of losing hockey.
And it the lack of self awareness in that regard looks to be as prevalent as ever.
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