Ken Campbell Trashes Ovechkin for Hit on Briere
Per TheHockeyNews.com, part of writer Ken Campbell's article has words for Alex Ovechkin's hit on Daniel Briere.
This is not the time to call into question the actions of Colin Campbell, particularly given that he is grieving the death of his mother over the weekend.
After all, the fact that neither Alex Ovechkin nor Dwayne Roloson was suspended for his actions this Saturday was not simply due to the whims of Campbell, the NHL’s top disciplinarian. It is, however, due in large part to a hockey culture that accepts violent acts as commonplace and a players’ association that often looks out more for the offender than the aggrieved player.
How else can you explain why neither player was suspended for what he did Saturday? Both acts were heinous and potentially very serious, but both players escaped without supplementary discipline after a review.
In the Washington Capitals game Saturday Night, Ovechkin drilled Daniel Briere from behind a good two seconds after Briere had dumped the puck into the zone and was clearly headed to his bench for a line change. When asked about it on an NHL conference call Monday afternoon, even Ovechkin had trouble getting his story straight.
He originally said the hit was an accident. Then he went on to say that Briere turned and Ovechkin didn’t have time to let up. But when pressed about what was accidental about the hit, Ovechkin said: “My contact was not an accident. I just saw (Briere’s) back and hit him.”
Well, if Ovechkin saw Briere’s back and hit him, then why did he say Briere turned on him? When asked exactly why he did it, Ovechkin responded by saying: “I can’t answer this question because it is a game. You know, I don’t know.”
So now that we’ve established that its all right to drill a guy from behind, knock his helmet off and almost plow his face into an open door to the bench, things are very clear now.
Apologists will say that Ovechkin didn’t hit Briere that hard and Briere was back a couple of shifts later to play in the game. That’s not the point. Players are responsible for what they do with their sticks, so they should be held accountable for what they do with their bodies.
Campbell then spends a measley paragraph on Dwayne Roloson's shot to Rick Nash's testicles (which is, in my mind, a much more blatant cheap shot than Ovechkin's). But his article is unfounded on it's primary basis, mainly that Ovechkin was unsure of his story.
First of all, Campbell treats Alex as though he were a criminal searching for an alibi while being questioned by the police. That is not the case, Alex made a mistake, he hit Briere at the moment when Briere turned to skate to the bench. It was a freak accident and nothing more.
The big basis of the argument against AO is that at one point he said it was an accident, then later said that he didn't mean to hit him that hard and saw his back. Let me be clear: the contact wasn't an accident, he meant it was an accident to hit him from behind.
Campbell argues that if Alex saw Briere's back, why did he hit him. Ovechkin was lining Briere up as Briere was skating down the wing. At the last second, Briere dumped the puck and turned to enter the bench. It was at that exact moment, that Ovechkin made contact. If Briere had continued skating along the wing (which, I believe, Ovechkin thought he would), Briere would have gotten harmlessly rubbed out along the boards. It was not a cheap shot. It was an accident. Since there is no lasting damage to Briere, hopefully, we can put this incident behind us and concentrate on the Senators on Wednesday.
This is not the time to call into question the actions of Colin Campbell, particularly given that he is grieving the death of his mother over the weekend.
After all, the fact that neither Alex Ovechkin nor Dwayne Roloson was suspended for his actions this Saturday was not simply due to the whims of Campbell, the NHL’s top disciplinarian. It is, however, due in large part to a hockey culture that accepts violent acts as commonplace and a players’ association that often looks out more for the offender than the aggrieved player.
How else can you explain why neither player was suspended for what he did Saturday? Both acts were heinous and potentially very serious, but both players escaped without supplementary discipline after a review.
In the Washington Capitals game Saturday Night, Ovechkin drilled Daniel Briere from behind a good two seconds after Briere had dumped the puck into the zone and was clearly headed to his bench for a line change. When asked about it on an NHL conference call Monday afternoon, even Ovechkin had trouble getting his story straight.
He originally said the hit was an accident. Then he went on to say that Briere turned and Ovechkin didn’t have time to let up. But when pressed about what was accidental about the hit, Ovechkin said: “My contact was not an accident. I just saw (Briere’s) back and hit him.”
Well, if Ovechkin saw Briere’s back and hit him, then why did he say Briere turned on him? When asked exactly why he did it, Ovechkin responded by saying: “I can’t answer this question because it is a game. You know, I don’t know.”
So now that we’ve established that its all right to drill a guy from behind, knock his helmet off and almost plow his face into an open door to the bench, things are very clear now.
Apologists will say that Ovechkin didn’t hit Briere that hard and Briere was back a couple of shifts later to play in the game. That’s not the point. Players are responsible for what they do with their sticks, so they should be held accountable for what they do with their bodies.
Campbell then spends a measley paragraph on Dwayne Roloson's shot to Rick Nash's testicles (which is, in my mind, a much more blatant cheap shot than Ovechkin's). But his article is unfounded on it's primary basis, mainly that Ovechkin was unsure of his story.
First of all, Campbell treats Alex as though he were a criminal searching for an alibi while being questioned by the police. That is not the case, Alex made a mistake, he hit Briere at the moment when Briere turned to skate to the bench. It was a freak accident and nothing more.
The big basis of the argument against AO is that at one point he said it was an accident, then later said that he didn't mean to hit him that hard and saw his back. Let me be clear: the contact wasn't an accident, he meant it was an accident to hit him from behind.
Campbell argues that if Alex saw Briere's back, why did he hit him. Ovechkin was lining Briere up as Briere was skating down the wing. At the last second, Briere dumped the puck and turned to enter the bench. It was at that exact moment, that Ovechkin made contact. If Briere had continued skating along the wing (which, I believe, Ovechkin thought he would), Briere would have gotten harmlessly rubbed out along the boards. It was not a cheap shot. It was an accident. Since there is no lasting damage to Briere, hopefully, we can put this incident behind us and concentrate on the Senators on Wednesday.
posted by The Jet at 11:14 AM
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