[News] NHL suspends Wideman 20 games. UPD: Bettman could take to next week to decide appeal

[Vulcan]

They admit he was concussed. IMO he shouldn't be fully responsible for his actions since a concussion shouldn't be left up to the players determination since by the nature of his injury he isn't able to do judge the severity.

[dino7c]

Originally Posted by dissentowner

Well isn't that convenient... Sounds shady to me but I guess we will never know.

linesman gets up and drops the puck (before Dennis is back on the ice), finishes the entire game, tells reporters he is fine, then spends the night in hospital and is still injured

seems convenient

[dino7c]

so what two more weeks before we know what the real suspension is?

Gary will uphold it and then 3rd party

[sun]

Originally Posted by sureLoss

Willie Mitchell @Willie_Mitch33
Feel bad for Wideman.Clearly not himself going to bench & puts hands up as he runs into someone(ref)no intent @FriedgeHNIC #rule40.3 or less

What a homer.

[Lanny'sDaMan]

Hahah holy crap Marty..

Martin Biron ‏@martybiron43 2m2 minutes ago
Martin Biron Retweeted NHL Public Relations
NHL decided rule 40.2 was the answer. Intent to injure but with a new meaning so they don't have to prove the intent

And Wyshynski's take

Greg Wyshynski ‏@wyshynski 7m7 minutes ago
NHL drops hammer to appease refs. Bettman confirms suspension. Arbitrator knocks it down to 10. Anyone see it otherwise?

[Phanuthier]

Kind of feel bad as a Flames fan - our player ends up vilified, our training staff look like they f'ed up even though this probably happens more than we think, the overall NHL looks bad with this concussion controversy... lose, lose lose all around. Kind of sad. Easy to blame the overseeing "NHL" entity, but I hope this doesn't all come crashing down on our players and staff, though it inevitably will. We need to get them in the all star game so they can get a feel good story too!

[dissentowner]

Originally Posted by Vulcan

They admit he was concussed. IMO he shouldn't be fully responsible for his actions since a concussion shouldn't be left up to the players determination since by the nature of his injury he isn't able to do judge the severity.

Oh I see. So he was coherent enough he had the presence of mind to tap his stick on the ice indicating he wanted a line change but he had no understanding about cross checking a linesman from behind. Sure.

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by Phanuthier

Kind of feel bad as a Flames fan - our player ends up vilified, our training staff look like they f'ed up even though this probably happens more than we think, the overall NHL looks bad with this concussion controversy... lose, lose lose all around. Kind of sad. Easy to blame the overseeing "NHL" entity, but I hope this doesn't all come crashing down on our players and staff, though it inevitably will. We need to get them in the all star game so they can get a feel good story too!

Montreal and their staff were vilified for not taking Nathan Beaulieu out of a game before Christmas where he was knocked out in a fight and clearly did not look right. Frankly, the Flames and their staff deserve the same. So too does the league and the officials association given Henderson should have come out as well.

All sides wanted a half measure. Half measures exist to be taken advantage of.

[sureLoss]

The crux of the appeal will be whether being concussed mitigates any of the responsibility and/or intent Wideman had for his own actions.

The NHL doesn't believe it does, the PA disagrees.

[Vulcan]

The thing is it looks bad now for Wideman, the Flames and the NHL but if it brings in stronger protocol for treating concussions it will be worth it.

[Vulcan]

Originally Posted by dissentowner

Oh I see. So he was coherent enough he had the presence of mind to tap his stick on the ice indicating he wanted a line change but he had no understanding about cross checking a linesman from behind. Sure.

Well in court being intoxicated is a mitigating factor for sentencing of a crime so I don't see why suffering a concussion wouldn't also be a mitigating factor.

[dino7c]

so what two more weeks before we know what the real suspension is?

Gary will uphold it and then 3rd party

[DJones]

Originally Posted by sureLoss

The crux of the appeal will be whether being concussed mitigates any of the responsibility and/or intent Wideman had for his own actions.

The NHL doesn't believe it does, the PA disagrees.

I don't think that's quite it. If he had punched him or went out of his way to hit him the concussion wouldn't matter.

The concussion would just prove he was out of it and there was no intention

[getbak]

Ekblad was concussed in Edmonton a couple of weeks ago and didn't undergo the concussion protocol, then he missed 4 games.

Clearly, the stricter protocol isn't strict enough.

[dino7c]

how can the league justify giving him the longest suspension in NHL history for abuse of official to the arbitrator?

[dino7c]

Originally Posted by getbak

Ekblad was concussed in Edmonton a couple of weeks ago and didn't undergo the concussion protocol, then he missed 4 games.

Clearly, the stricter protocol isn't strict enough.

good point

[Igottago]

Originally Posted by Passe La Puck

It's interesting that the NHL intentionally avoids showing alternate video angles which make the incident look much less severe. No matter which side you take, you can't just look at half the "evidence".

I was asked by a poster earlier if I thought the NHL didn't have all the angles of the play. Apparently they didn't, or chose to ignore the other one.

Pretty damning to the NHL that they won't even utilize all the information available to try to make the correct determination. I said it earlier and I'll say it again -- the NHL is incompetent. The severity of this suspension is unwarranted when you take all angles and facts into consideration. That explanation video is completely unprofessional IMO because I've seen the other footage. Its no better than a hysterical and selective tweet on the internet.

Frankly if they just gave him 5 games everything would be done and everyone would move on. But they've opened up a can of worms with the appeal and now concussion protocol questions.

The NHL is a complete joke sometimes.

[JJ1532]

But what are clubs supposed to do when a player refuses to leave the bench? Get some guys to drag him away? Tell the coach and then have him not play a shift until the end of the period?

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by dino7c

how can the league justify giving him the longest suspension in NHL history for abuse of official to the arbitrator?

It was actually only the fourth longest in NHL history for abuse of an official.

And the league can justify it because the parameters set by rule 40.2 say 20 games for contact with intent, and the league has decided there was contact with intent.

[CMPunk]

Originally Posted by JJ1532

But what are clubs supposed to do when a player refuses to leave the bench? Get some guys to drag him away? Tell the coach and then have him not play a shift until the end of the period?

Pretty much.