UPD: Kassian suspended seven games for kicking Cernak

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Vansmack

Could you Imagine if he connected with Cernaks face or neck instead of the chest? We could be talking about murder. The NHL and Kassian are both lucky it didn't end up worse. There are probably owners of 30 teams that are extremely pissed off about this incident, his suspension should 10+ and probably should be the rest of the season.

Okay, thats a lot. You're not wrong, but thats a bit much.

On that note though, he connected with Cernak's chest protector. A few inches down and its right into his unprotected stomach.

So yes, it could have been a lot worse and somehow my confidence in Kassian's ability to deliberately connect with a protected area is low...hes lucky as all hell he got Cernak in the chest and that his skate didnt slip a little up or down.

Dangerous as hell.

They showed a similarity to Skinner years ago kicking out, but he was kicking out at someone who was standing so its at leg-height as opposed to this incident where hes on his knees.

[Split98]

Originally Posted by CroFlames

Can the NHL afford to have McLottery miss the playoffs AGAIN? I would not be surprised if its a small suspension and hand wave it away saying the player wasn't injured.

Kassian isn't some superstar, but they are running out of NHL bodies if he's out 10-20 games.

My first thought was that any actual hockey-mind would actually consider taking Kassian off their roster as a good thing for the Oilers... but then you're right. You look at the roster and they actually get worse without Kassian, which is just remarkable.

But I do wonder what the NHL thinks of the Oilers these days though. Most of the yammering we hear comes from the Oilers or Rogers-owned media outlets unless it's McDavid fawning. The NHL and other outlets are usually silent or opposed.

If anything, I thought the NHL preemptively posting that the Tkachuk hits were legal told me a lot of what the league thought of the Oilers. "Better get ahead of this publicly" coming from the league towards a professional team seems like the league regularly disagrees with the team's views, and is preparing to oppose that team's anticipated public outcry.

[Rando]

Hockey skates are sharp, he connects with a neck it's potentially deadly. It's the worst case scenario but isn't that far fetched. It's why skates should always stay on the ice and why this incident should be taken seriously.

[Igottago]

You can't allow kicking in any way, shape or form in this game, for obvious reasons. Should be a pretty harsh suspension really. However, given Kassian's place as an upstanding hockey citizen and upholder of "the code", maybe they'll go easy on him.

[Vansmack]

Originally Posted by Locke

Okay, thats a lot. You're not wrong, but thats a bit much.

On that note though, he connected with Cernak's chest protector. A few inches down and its right into his unprotected stomach.

So yes, it could have been a lot worse and somehow my confidence in Kassian's ability to deliberately connect with a protected area is low...hes lucky as all hell he got Cernak in the chest and that his skate didnt slip a little up or down.

Dangerous as hell.

They showed a similarity to Skinner years ago kicking out, but he was kicking out at someone who was standing so its at leg-height as opposed to this incident where hes on his knees.

I agree it is a lot, and thankfully there was no harm, but it could have been a complete disaster for the NHL.

[Split98]

Originally Posted by Locke

Okay, thats a lot. You're not wrong, but thats a bit much.

[...]

Not to single you out, but I have wanted to see sides of this conversation as I wonder it myself.

Is it sensationalizing the incident to say that he could have really hurt the guy?
Or is it gut-wrenchingly lucky that the next few seconds of the play weren't terrifying?



I watched it a few things thinking "am I just a Flames fan who hates Kassian... or is this one of the scariest things we'll see this year?". If he connects with the neck or face... that is very likely to be a really bad cut - there's no way around it. And I don't think Kassian was in control, and just 'pushing off' from a safe place on the player's body. He pulls back and delivers a kick... with a teammate that could pop up at any time towards a player who's arm you just released and you're in the middle of a hockey game.

The probability of that going horribly is pretty high honestly.

[KootenayFlamesFan]

Originally Posted by Robo

It's like 2nd Christmas now we wait

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by DeluxeMoustache

Do you think Kassian may be stupid enough to think that if he just takes the hearing by phone, instead of in person, he will get 5 games or less?

Yes.

[FlamesAddiction]

I hope a lot of the talking heads that were ready to canonize Kassian a few weeks ago for getting lit up by Tkachuk with clean hits, look back on their statements and feel dumb.

Kassian is the last player in the league anyone should feel obligated to "answer the bell" to. He is a lunatic that needs to be leashed quickly before he ends someones career. George Parros should be attending every Edmonton game from now going forward.

If I am not mistaken, after the attempt to injure on Tkachuk, Parros pretty much stated that Kassian was basically on probation going forward. I hope they bring the hammer down hard on him.

They should also drug test him. Normal people don't act the way he does.

[motorcrosser]

He's going to use the "I was addicted and got through it, but still have things to work on" bit to guilt them into leniency.

[Toonage]

If he's asking for mercy, not showing up to do it is a pretty big mistake.

Suspend him the rest of the year.

[Split98]

nm

[CroFlames]

If it is a big suspension, I hope people screenshot Spector's take that the kick was "innocuous".

The NHL must be in the business for suspending players 10+ games for innocuous plays then.

[Toonage]

Kassian went from assaulting a player from behind, trying to punch him in the back of the head repeatedly to trying to kick an unsuspecting player with a skate blade.

Thats a pretty big jump.

What does he do for his next trick?

Why give him that opportunity?

[Igottago]

Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction

I hope a lot of the talking heads that were ready to canonize Kassian a few weeks ago for getting lit up by Tkachuk with clean hits, look back on their statements and feel dumb.

Kassian is the last player in the league anyone should feel obligated to "answer the bell" to. He is a lunatic that needs to be leashed quickly before he ends someones career. George Parros should be attending every Edmonton game from now going forward.

If I am not mistaken, after the attempt to injure on Tkachuk, Parros pretty much stated that Kassian was basically on probation going forward. I hope they bring the hammer down hard on him.

It was amazing how the prevailing general attitude in the hockey world was wrong about that entire situation. Was a really weird phenomenon. It's like all logic went out the window and irrationality took over on a mass scale. And now the hypocrisy is pretty much exposed only a matter of weeks later with this incident. I will laugh any time I hear anyone talk about "the code" as if they have any actual definition of what it is and when to apply it. That whole situation and the media reaction to it was a farce.

[Infinit47]

Originally Posted by motorcrosser

He's going to use the "I was addicted and got through it, but still have things to work on" bit to guilt them into leniency.

If he says this, and if it's believable then he really needs help and should be away from the game while he gets it. I can't imagine playing a high stress game trying to make the playoffs while in a battle with lingering addiction issues. I'd like to think the Oilers organization would be accepting of that need.

[Split98]

Originally Posted by Igottago

It was amazing how the prevailing general attitude in the hockey world was wrong about that entire situation. Was a really weird phenomenon. It's like all logic went out the window and irrationality took over on a mass scale. And now the hypocrisy is pretty much exposed only a matter of weeks later with this incident. I will laugh any time I hear anyone talk about "the code" as if they have any actual definition of what it is and when to apply it. That whole situation and the media reaction to it was a farce.

And because it was Kassian, there was a plethora of identical and much worse hits that those same people could be quoted raving about it.

The prevailing theme of our times is gaslighting ...everywhere

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by Igottago

It was amazing how the prevailing general attitude in the hockey world was wrong about that entire situation. Was a really weird phenomenon. It's like all logic went out the window and irrationality took over on a mass scale. And now the hypocrisy is pretty much exposed only a matter of weeks later with this incident. I will laugh any time I hear anyone talk about "the code" as if they have any actual definition of what it is and when to apply it. That whole situation and the media reaction to it was a farce.

IMO the incident highlighted the deep seeded issues with NHL culture. If a grown man doesn't want to fight nobody should have the right to grab them by the collar and start punching their face. Tkachuk's hits were never penalized nor were they deemed illegal by the NHL yet as you say the prevailing attitude around the hockey world was Kassains actions were justified, basically enabling the guy to so something like this again. Low and behold a few weeks later here we are. I long for the day when the dinosaurs in NHL head office and media are replaced one by one. I never liked how Tkachuk was pressured to have to fight this clown in the next game because of this prehistoric code. Nobody should ever feel pressured to fight anyone.

[SuperMatt18]

The Edmonton media just continually shows how biased they are

Called for both Tkachuk and Giordano's head after those "incidents".

And now an Oilers player blatantly kicks a guy, and they step up to defend him.

Just the worst media group in the league.

[flamingred89]

So this is going to be his 5th(6th?) time suspended? That puts him at Matt Cooke, Raffi Torres levels. And that’s not including his 20 game suspension in junior. All this needs to be taken into account and the book needs to be thrown at him. Some players are just dangerous and a detriment to the game. Somebody needs to stand up for the safety of the players.