In what can only be called selective punishment, Allen is being suspended.
Got the following from TSN's website,
Quote:
Allen faces possible suspension
TSN.ca Staff
11/5/2003
The Vancouver Canucks could be without defenceman Bryan Allen for tonight's game against the Nashville Predators.
Allen has a hearing scheduled today with the NHL following his slash on Detroit's Henrik Zetterberg, who suffered a broken bone in his leg during Monday's game.
Allen is facing a suspension of four games or less due to the fact that the hearing is being conducted by telephone.
Zetterberg is scheduled to be out of the Red Wings lineup for the next four to six weeks.
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Call me blind and stupid but I didn't think the slash was that bad. But the league is trying to crack down on slashing. so I will agree that a suspension is needed.
I found the following in TSN's archives, its an article by Bob MacKenzie but everything is factually correct,
Quote:
NHL cracking down on slashing
TSN.ca Staff
10/15/2003
They say timing is everything and nobody should know that better than Washington Capitals’ forward Jeff Halpern, who could have been suspended just as easily as teammate Mike Grier.
Grier got a one-game suspension for his elbow to the head of Toronto’s Robert Reichel. Halpern, meanwhile, got nothing more than a stern talking to and a $1,000 fine from the NHL for his two-handed whack across the arm of Toronto’s Gary Roberts.
Even before Halpern’s chop on Roberts, the league had noticed a disturbing trend in the first week of the season: a high frequency of slashing across the hands and the arms. At the best of times, this is a common tactic, but it seemed to be epidemic in the early going and with some over-the-top intensity.
Columbus Blue Jackets’ forward Trevor Letowski is out for six weeks with a broken finger courtesy of a slash from New York Rangers’ defenceman Boris Mironov. Florida defenceman Mathieu Biron had his hand fractured by Boston’s Dan McGillis.
Before Halpern’s wicked whack on Roberts, the league was planning on instructing NHL officials to call the slashing of the hands and arms a lot more tightly and to send a message to the NHL general managers (and ostensibly the players) to let them know that there would be punishment to fit the crime.
A conference call with officials was held Tuesday afternoon and a memo to the GMs has now been sent out. If Halpern or any other player re-enacts the chopping routine, it will be the league that does a little slashing of its own in the form of a suspension without pay.
Ok I can agree with that. But what about Boris Mironov who nearly took Trevor Letowski's finger off with a slash, he didn't get suspended.
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Mironov, no suspension. McGillis, no suspension. Allen, suspension. Oh that's fair. I think there's a double standard in the league, its ok to chop fingers off or break the hands of the average player but you hurt a star or future star and you're getting suspended. What a crock. Bettman and Campbell need to get their heads out of their asses and start dealing with everyone the same.
Just had another thought. What if Illitch put pressure on Bettman to suspend Allen?
Another thought. If Allen deserves to be suspended then why wasn't Marchment suspended everytime his "knee on knee" hit put players out for the season.
Second to last thought. What must Letowski and Biron be thinking right now? It is reported that Letowski nearly lost the finger and Mironov didn't get suspended and Biron has a broken hand; yet McGillis didn't get suspended. I would be feeling pretty crappy that the league could care less about me because they're kissing up to the stars.
Last thought. While the suspension of Allen could be justified, the way the NHL is handing out suspensions, it looks like Allen's suspension is a way to appease the Wings organization. We're sorry Zetterberg is hurt, to make you happy we will suspend the bastard who slashed Henrik.