Brendan Shanahan

Now this could just be me but i am starting to struggle with the way suspensions are being handed out at the moment. Originally I loved what shanahan was doing and it seemed that the lottery days of Colin Campbell and his wheel of injustice were over. Then we start to see potential missed calls and a complete lack of consistency.Below are three videos each showing a different hit from behind, each with a different reaction from the league.

First - Letang on Burmistrov



Now I had no problem with this suspension on Letang. He hit the guy into the boards from behind. The guy hit his head into the boards even the homer pens commentators said he would be suspended, and believe me that takes a lot! Two games fair enough.

Second - Lucic on Rinaldo



This is where the consistency starts to get me, similar hit. Maybe not as forceful however when Shanahan goes on to list Lucic's prior history surely a 2 game suspension is needed. Also a 5min major and a game misconduct were called on the ice.

Third - Phaneuf on Kassian



Now in my opinion this is by far the worst of all three. Phaneuf clearly hits him face first into the boards. Kassian is clearly injured on the play. Also Phaneuf was given a major and game misconduct, yet no suspension, no fine nothing. Surely if the others warented a suspension then this deserved 2 games minimum!

Just my thoughts

Wow that Phaneuf hit was nasty. I think the Lucic hit looks a lot less dangerous than the Letang hit. Don't quite see why the penalties are so different for those hits but the Lucic one was in a game that was beginning to get messy. The Letang one is strange because there is a consensus that Lucic's suspension is for politics more than the actual play. Was Burmistrov injured significantly?

I don't know how I feel about the Lucic one. He clearly had time to not splatter Rinaldo, but Rinaldo does pop right back up. Possibly a make up call for the running of Miller?

Can't remember who but someone described is as Shanahan saying "I see you to much". Makes sense alongside the 4/5 idiotic boarding's Lucic throws around each year.

Jonzee wrote:I don't know how I feel about the Lucic one. He clearly had time to not splatter Rinaldo, but Rinaldo does pop right back up. Possibly a make up call for the running of Miller?

Meh, Rinaldo is a hit magnet...

Jonzee wrote:I don't know how I feel about the Lucic one. He clearly had time to not splatter Rinaldo, but Rinaldo does pop right back up. Possibly a make up call for the running of Miller?

He did have time not to splatter Rinaldo, but hadn't Rinaldo just checked Horton? He clearly jumps into the check, feet off ice, so ergo Lucic wanted to make it known that if illegal hits are going to be in play, then he'll deliver a bigger one. I'm not condoning the Lucic hit, by all means its illegal some ban him for 2, but Rinaldo had just comitted an infraction himself (don't know if it was called or not, and frankly the ref wouldn't care after putting Lucic in the box).

You are not comparing Rinaldo going shoulder to shoulder to being boarded, are you?

Of course not, I'm just saying that Rinaldo left the ice to check Horton which I believe Mr Shanahan is trying to stamp out. Rinaldo 2mins for charging, Lucic 5+game for boarding. Lucic 2 game suspension. The fact that Shanahan calls it a legal check in the interview just shows his inconsistencies, as does the lack of suspension for Phaneuf.

but then again to be fair to Rinaldo is a small fella.

But I have heard arguments that people are deliberately putting themselves into a position to be checked into the boards, so they can win a penalty. What do you guys think about that?

But then, and I speak from personal experience, being checked into the boards flaming well hurts!!!!! I'm not sure why anybody would want to do that.

If people are deliberately skating around 5ft from the boards, waiting to get hit, then that's thoroughly retarded.