So, 2 games… whatever.  Campbells suspension are about as consistent as gas prices.  So the number of games means nothing really.

The most interesting thing I find about this is Ruutu’s post game suggestion that he didn’t put the chomp on, which was laughable then and makes Ruutu look like a goof (even more now).  See (http://www.ottawasun.com/Sports/Senators/2009/01/07/7939886-sun.html) for the article, put aside the fact it is written by the blob and just read the quotes.

That’s one high class fellow.  I am sure this will go a long way to getting things headed in the right direction in Ottawa.  Ouch.

Posted by WingMan from The Q C on 01/07/09 at 03:40 PM ET

So Avery gets 6 games for opening his mouth and Jarkko gets only 2 for biting someone.

Posted by bcrt2000 on 01/07/09 at 03:42 PM ET

...it’s the new math, where less is really more.  It’s all the rave in Sens land.  See win totals.  lol

In reality tho, I agree.  Nice standard.  An attempt to injure, 2 games for you!

Posted by WingMan from The Q C on 01/07/09 at 03:50 PM ET

Ruutu gets 2 for retaliating for some guy shoving a hand in his mouth.

He shouldn’t have been suspended at all.

And I know it’s been, like, a day, but how about a moratorium on whining and comparing this to Avery, as if one has ANYTHING to do with the other.

Posted by Garth on 01/07/09 at 03:57 PM ET

And I know it’s been, like, a day, but how about a moratorium on whining and comparing this to Avery, as if one has ANYTHING to do with the other.

How do you get to decide that two suspension decisions made within the past few months aren’t comparable?  Do you work for the league or something?

Posted by Earl Sleek from Anaheim, CA on 01/07/09 at 05:28 PM ET

Everyone is missing the most important point - where is the proof of Ruutu’s rabies vaccination? 

Posted by Baroque from Michigan on 01/07/09 at 05:36 PM ET

so in the past month we have learned:

okay- punch a player in the sac, punch a guy as third man in, jump a guy

not okay- biting a guy with a glove on

embarrasing- playing the bongos, covering yourself up to not get hurt from being slapped

Posted by good to know on 01/07/09 at 05:41 PM ET

“How do you get to decide that two suspension decisions made within the past few months aren’t comparable?  Do you work for the league or something?”

No, I don’t work for the league.  Do you?  Is that why you can tell me I’m wrong?

Here, for the record, is why they’re not comparable.  One was a retaliatory physical attack that took place in the heat of gameplay and one was an unprovoked verbal attack on the personal life of a player that was said in front of a bunch of journalists in the locker, without any cotext of “gameplay”.

What makes them incomparable?  Well gee, I’d say common sense makes them incomparable.

I’d say they have about as comparable to one another as the Ruutu incident is to Plaxico Burress shooting himself in the leg.

Posted by Garth on 01/07/09 at 07:14 PM ET

What makes them incomparable?  Well gee, I’d say common sense makes them incomparable.

I’d say they have about as comparable to one another as the Ruutu incident is to Plaxico Burress shooting himself in the leg.

If the NHL had handed down suspensions for both these actions, I’d say they were quite comparable.  Sure, they started as different actions in different situations, but if the same governing body applies punishment in the same exact currency (games suspended), it seems like that is begging for a comparison. 

The comparison being: well obviously the NHL frowns more on action A than on action B.  What’s illogical about that statement?

Posted by Earl Sleek from Anaheim, CA on 01/07/09 at 07:23 PM ET

Cholly being Cholly

Posted by FlyersFan on 01/07/09 at 08:55 PM ET

“The comparison being: well obviously the NHL frowns more on action A than on action B.  What’s illogical about that statement?”

Well, what’s wrong is that it’s not a comparison.  It’s a simple statement.

And just because the league hands down punishment for both doesn’t mean anything.  That’s like saying that speeding is comparable to rape, just because both are against the law.

Even your statement is false, because anyone with half a brain knows that Avery was not simply being punished for the sloppy seconds remark, but for all the other things that he has been accused of doing (racial slurs, making fun of people with cancer, etc) that they couldn’t prove and thus couldn’t take action against him for.

Posted by Garth on 01/07/09 at 09:31 PM ET

Fair enough, I suppose.  The NHL frowns more on Sean Avery and his suspendable action than it does Jarkko Ruutu and his suspendable action.

Comparison made, thanks to the NHL’s measurable reaction.  Speeding and rape might not seem comparable, but I can sure compare the punishments handed down by the courts, especially if it’s in something simple like jail term or a measurable fine.

Posted by Earl Sleek from Anaheim, CA on 01/07/09 at 09:36 PM ET

And that was quite the thoughtful comparison that you made, completely ignoring the point I was making originally, just to be an dick about it.

Congrats!

Posted by Garth on 01/07/09 at 09:42 PM ET

Whatever, I wasn’t really going for dick points, I’m genuinely getting quite confused why you think there’s nothing to compare.  To me, a two-game suspension and a six-game suspension are as comparable as a two-game points streak and a six-game points streak.  There’s probably some underlying differences that could use some explaining, but there’s an apples-to-apples comparison that seems fairly obvious.

Perhaps I’m just dense to your point, but I wasn’t really trying to be a dick.

Posted by Earl Sleek from Anaheim, CA on 01/07/09 at 09:52 PM ET

Jarkko was just hungry for the win

Posted by davetherave from Ottawa, Canada on 01/07/09 at 09:58 PM ET

Ruutu was in the wrong on what he did, but it wasn’t as if it was unprovoked.  I’d bite someone who shoved their nasty hockey glove in my mouth, too.  Further, it was purely reactionary.

Avery’s attack was unprovoked, premeditated, and a sign of worse issues than not liking unfriendly fingers in one’s mouth.

Posted by shanetx on 01/08/09 at 02:55 PM ET

Jarkko was just hungry for the win

He’s one of the few enforces about whom you could say, “His bite is worse than his bark.”

Posted by shanetx on 01/08/09 at 02:56 PM ET