The NHL and Colin Campbell have been heavily criticized over the past week for not suspending Matt Cooke for his hit on Marc Savard. It is funny how once again things are lining up perfectly for the NHL to look foolish. Take a look at these two hits and decide for yourself which one is worse:
The two hits happened pretty much at the same spot on the ice and the same distance from the boards. The only difference is that it looks like Ovechkin’s push is harder than Lapierre’s. Maxim Lapierre was suspended four games for this hit on Scott Nichol on March 4th. Many agreed that it was excessive especially considering Matt Cooke was not suspended for a hit that was much more dangerous. Maxim Lapierre was a first-time offender and had never been suspended before that hit while Ovechkin was suspended for two games earlier this year. Scott Nichol missed one game due to the injury while Brian Campbell will likely be out for the rest of the year. Those are two of the criteria that the NHL supposedly considers when giving out suspensions, and in both cases, Ovechkin is in a worse situation.
With all that said, the NHL has two choices: look ridiculous or suspend its best player for at least four games. We’ll find out in a few days what they decide to do.