I think Wilson should have been suspended. - Mistake
I think the NYR should have been fined for their outburst. - Correct
I think Buchnevich should be suspended. - we will see
Why do I think he deserves a suspension? Just "protecting himself"? No, you can't use that argument. If you start differentiating between what a player does on the ice because of why or what may happen if he doesn't, then you failed (even worse) as a league.
Buchnevich popped him right in the face with a cross-check on purpose. Was Mantha just going to do the same to him? I don't know. Maybe Mantha was going to really crosscheck him, maybe punch him in the face, or maybe he was just going to challenge Buchnevich to a fight and do some pushing and shoving. We don't know what would have happened, but you can't take a side and say that Buch was only protecting himself, and thereby deserves to have nothing happen to him.
It doesn't matter WHY something happens. It just matters that it did.
Just because you screwed up once doesn't mean that now you have to screw up again. That will just confirm that you aren't doing your job properly. They did one wrong thing so far (in my opinion of course). I expect Buchnevich to get a fine or a 1 game suspension because what he did is deserving of one. Any time you cross-check someone in the head - especially in the face - there should be some form of discipline attached, regardless of the circumstance.
I would think that the league as a whole needs to sit down and figure out the overall disciplinary department. I don't think that just one guy should do this. It turns out to be wildly inconsistent IMO, and that's what we are seeing. For now, they just have to do their best in making sure that nothing else is either missed or under/over penalized, and that starts with Buchnevich.
We can see what happens when they don't get it right - stuff like this explodes. However, continuing not to get it right sends even a worse message in my opinion.
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