What’s the conundrum? You apply the rules until the light bulb in Ovechkin’s head starts to function.

Posted by Moq from Denmark on 03/15/10 at 06:01 PM ET

I don’t understand all the hand wringing over this or any of the other incidents in the past few weeks. Although they were all slightly different plays, the end results were the same, a player was seriously hurt.

I don’t know if cooke or alex had intent to injure in mind or not, but it’s irrelevant.

If during the course of play your actions cause a player a grade 3 concussion, or a broken collar bone, or a blown out knee , the decision is simple.You are suspended.
Period, end of discussion, no matter if you are a 2 time. MVP, or a knuckle dragging 4th liner.

The only job campbell has is to decide how many gamesyo are suspended. If you are a repeat offender, you get 5 games minimum . Next time 10, and 3rd time the rest of the year.

No competition committee or BOG meetings needed. Your just suspended, no appeal.

Posted by Down River Dan on 03/15/10 at 06:04 PM ET

Posted by Down River Dan on 03/15/10 at 07:04 PM ET

The problem with that is guys like Chris Pronger would spend half their time suspended.  As much as Ovie’s taking heat here, it’s really Pronger that for years has been the poster boy for Double Standard when it comes to discipline.  And it’s been him getting wristslaps when other players would have been run out of the league.

Posted by Primis on 03/15/10 at 06:11 PM ET

Am I remembering right that Burke had far less qualms suspending Lindros for anything out of line than Campbell has had over the years with guys like Pronger and Ovechkin?

I could swear Lindros would get stray 5 or 10 game suspensions from time to time on exactly the type of play you would expect a suspension. No hand-wringing, nothing. If he did something that looked suspendable he’d just get tossed for a few, right up until the point Burke left the job and took over as Canucks GM.

Am I remembering wrong?

Posted by steve on 03/15/10 at 06:20 PM ET

Mog:  too much Aquavit?

What about that rapist Cooke?  Ovie clearly needs some discipline, but he’s not nearly as dangerous as is Cooke?

Posted by Unicorn Force from DC (but like everyone here, I'm not a local) on 03/15/10 at 06:52 PM ET

What’s the conundrum? You apply the rules until the light bulb in Ovechkin’s head starts to function.

Posted by Moq from Denmark on 03/15/10 at 07:01 PM ET

Bam

Posted by Greg on 03/15/10 at 06:56 PM ET

What about that rapist Cooke?  Ovie clearly needs some discipline, but he’s not nearly as dangerous as is Cooke?

Other than the weird rapist remark, nobody disagrees with that. But you’re arguing in the form

p=>q
r =>s
~q
therefore
~s

It’s a complete miss.

Posted by steve on 03/15/10 at 07:07 PM ET

What about that rapist Cooke?  Ovie clearly needs some discipline, but he’s not nearly as dangerous as is Cooke?

The article primarily deals with Ovechkin, hence my reasonable and correct response. I’m not going to evaluate every single agitator and goon when articles dealing with disciplinary action - or lack thereof - surfaces here.

But, obviously, the exact same rules applies to Cooke and everyone else. However, I don’t think it’s unreasonable to expect better behaviour from Ovechkin, and Cooke is unlikely to awaken a similar suspension conundrum among league executives.

And I responded despite your use of the word “rapist”. Please moderate your language.

Posted by Moq from Denmark on 03/15/10 at 07:14 PM ET

Unicorn Force, I sure hope you have another definition of rapist. 

It would help you out if you clarify that remark.

Posted by Paul from Motown Area on 03/15/10 at 07:17 PM ET

What about that rapist Cooke?  Ovie clearly needs some discipline, but he’s not nearly as dangerous as is Cooke?

Posted by Unicorn Force from DC (but like everyone here, I’m not a local) on 03/15/10 at 07:52 PM ET

nice knowing you…I think you’re done here.

Posted by Greg on 03/15/10 at 07:21 PM ET

How do you solve a problem like Ovechkin?

1. Solve “problems” like Cooke first.

2. Ditch the instigator rule.

Posted by TJ on 03/15/10 at 07:57 PM ET

The key here is that they simply need to crack down so that the players learn to police themselves.

Richards and Cooke should have been shown that even on plays inside the rules, the league would not hesitate to punish what is still obviously dirty and injurious.

The need to show Ovechkin and his enablers (Boudreau, McPhee and Leonsis) that his dangerous style won’t be tolerated.

Start handing out suspensions like they’re candy.  Over-suspend for a while to get the message across and to cut into these ridiculous should he/shouldn’t he suspension lotteries that someone, somewhere is bound to hate. 

Don’t be shy with the longish suspensions either, fire away with them.  If Cooke had sat for 7 games after Anisimov, maybe Savard never happens.  If Ovechkin had gotten 5 games for Gleason, maybe Campbell doesn’t happen.

Two game suspensions are a rest break.  5 game suspensions would get more attention from the players, and they’re the ones that have to police this.

Posted by HNBCTB on 03/15/10 at 08:15 PM ET

They need to show Ovechkin and his enablers (Boudreau, McPhee and Leonsis) that his dangerous style won’t be tolerated.

Exactly. It is especially astonishing what Boudreau has said about the “unjustified” suspension. http://capitals.nhl.com/

Posted by AYKM on 03/15/10 at 08:29 PM ET

How do you solve a problem like Ovechkin?

Trade him to San Jose and let him carpool with Dany?

Posted by Cruelella on 03/15/10 at 08:35 PM ET

Ovechkin isn’t the problem.  Campbell’s toe of his skate got stuck in the ice and made him fall awkward. 

Cooke and Richards are the problems.  They’re the headhunters.  Cooke took off Anisimov’s head earlier in the season and tried to kill Savard.

Posted by Bruce from DC on 03/15/10 at 10:42 PM ET

Campbell’s toe of his skate got stuck in the ice and made him fall awkward. 

That’s a novel explanation for boarding, I guess.

Posted by steve on 03/16/10 at 01:16 AM ET

Yes, Campbell’s toe did get caught, and that made it worse than it should have been.  But that is no excuse for the hit - even if it was just a push.  I’m a lifelong Caps fan and a big AO supporter, but lately I have been waiting to see what stupid thing he does next.  I figured he was due for a bad shot, it’s been a couple of months.  At least he hasn’t embarrassed us as badly as Dale Hunter did in 93 - yet…

He is still pretty young and hopefully he will grow up soon.  As one of the best players in the world and captain of his team, he should learn to be a little bit more aware of the rules and the consequences of breaking them.  I don’t want to see the energy and exuberance (and the clean hits) go away, just the dumb ones.

BB and GMGM both need to be a little more realistic in their comments, I know they are defending their guy but come on, and who cares what Ted thinks anyway.

But he is not a dirty player, just incredibly stupid at times.

Posted by Thag from Hyderabad on 03/16/10 at 03:13 AM ET

Ovechkin is not the root cause of the problem, he is just the latest symptom. If the NHL treated Chris Pronger like Chris Simon we wouldn’t be seeing some of the inconsistency we see today. Part of it has to do with the old boy network that runs the NHL, so I think Ovechkin is being used as an example because he is Russian and doesn’t play in a traditional market.  Having said that he deserved a pair of games, but the optics are terrible.

The other cultural part of it is that Ted Leonis doesn’t understand hockey. He’s a great marketing owner, but he doesn’t understand the on-ice traditions of what is considered a dangerous play and what isn’t. This isn’t basketball were a hard foul leads to a sprained thumb. Colin Campbell is inconsistent because he is easily swayed by owners and GMs that speak in terms of the Ontario frathouse. Its boys will be boys being tough honest hockey players when it is Cooke, Richards, Hollweg or Pronger and those sneaky outsiders when it is Ovechkin (Russian), Laperiere (Quebecers) or Simon (Ojibiwa) and the intent is somehow determined to be different. 

There was joy across much of the media when Boyle slewfooted Semin at the Olympics, but condemnation when the same thing is attempted on Crosby a week later. If the double standard is stopped maybe we’ll get a little bit fo consistency and fans won’t complain that my player shouldn’t be suspended becasue what the other teams idiot did was worse.

Posted by hockey1919 from montreal on 03/16/10 at 07:49 AM ET

BB and GMGM both need to be a little more realistic in their comments

This, I think, is key. Even when Ovechkin does wrong, his bosses are conditioning him to think he can do no wrong.

Craig Patrick was an enabler of Jagr’s bad behavior (off the ice and in the locker room) for years until he had morphed into a monster who demanded to have his friends on the team (some of whom could play, some of whom could not) and would miss shifts to call his stock broker.

Posted by steve on 03/16/10 at 11:41 AM ET