Evgeny Malkin slewfooted the crap out of Paul Mara TWICE at the end of a playoff game in 2008, shown here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DN99_E0tLhg), the incident occurs at the 1:45 mark, and again at 2:10.  Not a single look by the league, and it’s not due to the lack of media outrage, seen here:  (http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/hockey/rangers/2008/05/01/2008-05-01_classless_evgeni_malkin_shows_frustratio-4.html) The second one (on the power play) looks a little more incidental, but the one with time running out looks nothing short of malicious, and it’s those incidents that caused the ruckus at the end of the game.  Couldn’t agree more with you that Colin Cambell makes more mistakes than he does fair rulings.  I’m pretty sure he goes by this:  http://www.downgoesbrown.com/2009/11/nhl-suspensions.html

Posted by Amos on 03/17/10 at 10:34 AM ET

Looked to me more like they just got tangled up.  But to each his own.

Posted by 42jeff from Minot, North Dakota on 03/17/10 at 11:06 AM ET

42jeff

I suggest you watch the video here.  It happened behind the play.  The only reason Downie got tangled up with Crosby was that he wanted to in order to agitate and possibly injure him.

At any rate, if you seriously believe that they “just got tangled up” then you must think that Campbell totally missed the boat by fining Downie for innocently getting tangled up with another player.  Where is your outrage?

Posted by PuckStopsHere on 03/17/10 at 11:10 AM ET

Wrong sport. Feet got tangled is the NFL.

Posted by Moq from Denmark on 03/17/10 at 11:12 AM ET

Evgeny Malkin slewfooted the crap out of Paul Mara TWICE at the end of a playoff game

Key word is “playoffs”. Scott Walker barefist cold-cocked an unsuspecting Bruin in last year’s playoffs and got nothing.

Posted by steve on 03/17/10 at 11:15 AM ET

It appears that the current NHL suspension policy depends upon media outrage for the event.  If two events happen on the same day, it is not uncommon that one grabs more headlines than the other.  The one without the headlines appears to be not suspension worthy because of its lack of headlines and not based on the merits of the event that occurred.  If there was any consistency between NHL suspensions, Steve Downie would be suspended right now and he isn’t.

Which is why nobody is talking about the shoulder-on-head blindside collision by Raffi Torres on Darren Helm in Detroit’s game against Buffalo last week, which is especially weird considering it became such a huge hot-button issue lately.

I saw the Downie play and I thought it looked like Downie was trying to slew-foot Crosby, but couldn’t get him off-balance enough to finish the job, so he improvised with a clever takedown that could have torn ligaments.  a $1,000 slap on the wrist fine is not acceptable.

Posted by J.J. from Kansas on 03/17/10 at 11:23 AM ET

+1 JJ. Well said.

Posted by redxblack from Akron Ohio on 03/17/10 at 11:26 AM ET

Downie could have torn every ligament in Crosby’s knee and should have received a significant suspension. This is the major flaw of suspending based upon outcome. One player may make a just-over-the-line play yet seriously injure someone thus get handed games off while another might try something outrageously dangerous out of malice and get nothing. Hypothetically.

Posted by false_cause from DC on 03/17/10 at 11:29 AM ET

Which is why nobody is talking about the shoulder-on-head blindside collision by Raffi Torres on Darren Helm in Detroit’s game against Buffalo last week, which is especially weird considering it became such a huge hot-button issue lately.

Two reasons.

1) Isn’t up on youtube. Unless someone was watching the game, or NHL onthefly on that particular night, nobody saw it.
2) Raffi Torres, having spent his career in Edmonton and Columbus (two markets ignored outside their city limits), is a relatively unknown quantity to the greater hockey consciousness, even among fairly knowledgeable fans. Darren Helm’s a young grinder—not well-known outside Detroit and it’s rivals.

PSH’s theory:

It appears that the current NHL suspension policy depends upon media outrage for the event.  If two events happen on the same day, it is not uncommon that one grabs more headlines than the other.  The one without the headlines appears to be not suspension worthy because of its lack of headlines and not based on the merits of the event that occurred.

Is exactly right. Sadly.

With Cooke, you had a known quantity taking out a star player for the umpteenth time, on a hit that mirrored another hit people were still raw about, a day or two before the big meeting about head injuries. It was made for headlines.

With Ovechkin, anything he does is a headline, and that he took out another all-star in a nationally televised game—the third or fourth player he’s taken out this year—is going to grab any headlines the Cooke hit doesn’t.

In that environment, even an incident such as another known thug (like Cooke) trying to take out the other piller of NHL marketing can’t get traction because Downie failed to do so. What chance would a play that few people saw between two below-the-radar players have in resulting in suspension?

There’s no oxygen in the room right now for more outrage about any hit that results in less grievous injury than Campbell’s or Savard’s.

Of course, this just underscores that Colin Campbell has to go. Outrage should have little or nothing to do suspensions. Neither should result. The only thing that should matter is what guy X did to guy Y.

Posted by steve on 03/17/10 at 12:11 PM ET

Two reasons.

1) Isn’t up on youtube. Unless someone was watching the game, or NHL onthefly on that particular night, nobody saw it.
2) Raffi Torres, having spent his career in Edmonton and Columbus (two markets ignored outside their city limits), is a relatively unknown quantity to the greater hockey consciousness, even among fairly knowledgeable fans. Darren Helm’s a young grinder—not well-known outside Detroit and it’s rivals.

Reason #3 is that Helm wasn’t seriously injured in the play.  I looked for the hit on YouTube after the game, but couldn’t find it anywhere, nor was it on the NHL On The Fly game highlight reel.  The Fox Sports Detroit guys went over the replay, but that was the end of it. 

It’s just sad that the fans have to complain so much the media gets involved, then the media has to complain so much the league actually takes action.

Posted by J.J. from Kansas on 03/17/10 at 12:26 PM ET

Reason #3 is that Helm wasn’t seriously injured in the play.

In the current environment, I’m not even sure Campbell would have bothered to look at it unless Helm was taken off on a stretcher (if it was, say, a separated shoulder instead of a serious concussion—I didn’t see the play, so I don’t know what the hit looked like). Which is very sad indeed.

Posted by steve on 03/17/10 at 12:37 PM ET

I think we all agree that the saddest part is that it takes the media and the fans to create an outrage before the NHL seems to do anything when in reality it is the NHL’s job to find these incidents and make sure they are punished. In the case of Torres the NHL could have at least stated they looked at it and didn’t do anything, but that would expose their lack of accountability and consistency.  I tried to find a listing of NHL suspensions for this season on the NHL website and couldn’t find it.

I personally don’t want to have to search for every cheap shot to express outrage at who is suspended and who isn’t. I would prefer that these incidents don’t consume hockey coverage, but that’s my privilege as a fan to pick and choose what entertains me. The last few suspensions and non-suspensions have become issues way beyond the number of games missed becasue it has become a referendum on the arbitrary nature of the suspensions. If the NHL seemed to have a plan in place people would be less likely to question every decision and these sorts of things would last a day in the news cycle.

Posted by hockey1919 from montreal on 03/17/10 at 02:48 PM ET

while i dont agree with the cooke non suspension, do agree with the ovechkin suspension, and somewhat agree with the downie fine, i think all of the suspensions and punishments everyone is clamoring for are maybe a little too much.  if the league sets a line and says this is punishable and this isnt, then the conversation turns from why didnt he get a suspension to why did he get suspended.  the league has their hands tied.  every incident has to be dealt with on a case by case basis.  they just make the wrong decisions in each case.

Posted by Boo Kershaw from K on 03/17/10 at 03:56 PM ET

How is Ovechkin suspended and Cooke isn’t? It’s a joke. I like the NHL but they are looking more foolish than Tiger Woods. Somebody needs to get fired because the NHL is currently somewhere between the NBA and the WWE as far as credibility goes….

Posted by kevin from boston on 03/17/10 at 08:13 PM ET