That said, I was rather surprised that Coach Quenneville defended Carcillo’s hit saying,

“It’s a quick moment when you’re going for a counter hit fighting for a puck…He (Carcillo) probably had better leverage than the other guy. His intent certainly wasn’t what happened.”

There’s that word again: intent.  I’m not so sure there wasn’t intent there.  Certainly Carcillo didn’t mean to hurt Gilbert, but he did intend to slam him into the end boards that hard.

And how do you defend a forceful hit like that when the guy doesn’t even have the puck? In fact, remember James Wisniewski’s hit on Brent Seabrook in 2010?  After that despicably dirty hit, which earned Wiz an eight game suspension without pay, Quenneville said:

“You hit a guy without the puck, you could kill a guy…It’s the most dangerous hit in the history of the game…He tried to hurt him…If that’s not intent, that’s as bad a hit as you could ever have in the game.”

Ok, so how can Q decry Wisniewski’s dirty hit on Brent Seabrook, who didn’t have the puck, and not Daniel Carcillo’s dirty hit on Tom Gilbert, who also didn’t have the puck?  In both cases extreme force was used against the boards.  How do you justify that?

It’s one thing if you’re going full-bore trying to beat a guy for the puck, run out of ice, and meet the end boards; but it’s another thing entirely to see the end boards, high-stick a guy in the face, and plow him into the end boards because you know it will shut him down.   That’s what Carcillo did and it’s what NHL disciplinarian Brendan Shanahan called “using the boards as a weapon.”  I agree.  So, does Q really want to make the argument that Dan Carcillo just doesn’t know his own strength?  Q’s own prior statement about dirty hits on guys who don’t have the puck is a direct contradiction to his current argument about Carcillo’s hit not being dirty.

That brings to mind the other problem that I consistently see with these suspensions.  It’s nice that a team will send a coach to back their player at a press conference or in interviews, but perhaps the teams’ managers, coaches, and even owners should start taking responsibility for how their players play.  Again, I have to come back to the Vancouver Canucks and the 2004 Todd Bertuzzi incident.  Certainly Bertuzzi didn’t mean to so severely injure the Avalanche’s Steve Moore that it ended his career, but that’s what happened.  Now how much responsibility should the Canucks’ owner, management, and coaches have borne for that goony type of play?  According to the NHL, $250,000.  That’s it.  Meanwhile, Todd Bertuzzi was forced to walk the plank and face the sharks virtually alone.  But everyone knows that the goony type of play that the Canucks engage in does not come solely from the players themselves.  So, to make Bertuzzi take almost the whole of the punishment — bad press, civil lawsuits, a criminal investigation, and a resulting sentence — sold Bertuzzi up the river. (It was like how after the congressional investigation Major League Baseball and the teams themselves took no responsibility for the steroid problem in baseball, as if the pressure to juice had all come from the players themselves.)  And what did the Canucks get?  A slap on the wrist and a fine.  Is that fair???

Perhaps the NHL should start looking a little further up the food chain when assessing blame for dirty hits and overall goonery.  Rough, aggressive play and fighting are part of the game.  But goonery is bad sportsmanship and is proving season after season to be more and more dangerous.

However, in pre-season play it has been delightful to watch Brandon Pirri’s rising star.  This kid is amazing!  He almost had a hat trick in last night’s loss to the Penguins.  And while the guy in the Hawaiian shirt at the bar where I was watching the game disagreed with me, the call on Pirri for “interference” in the last minute or so of the game was in error.  Unless I missed something, it looked like Pirri was just following through with a check on the boards, though it was difficult, judging from the camera angle, to see where the puck had gone.  What wasn’t hard to miss was Pirri on the ground, on his back, getting his ears boxed by, it looked like Pens’ Zybnek Michalek.  Still, it looks like Pirri will go far.  Apparently opponents think so too or Pirri wouldn’t have become an early target.   So bang on Pirri.  You’ll get that hat trick yet! 

And speaking of pummelings, how in the hell could Red Wings’ coach Mike Babcock defend that nasty hit to the head from Wings’ defenseman Brendan Smith on Hawks’ winger Ben Smith during the September 28th pre-season game???  Babcock called Brendan Smith’s resulting suspension “extreme.”  Really Babcock?  Extreme?  You know what’s extreme is when you get your bell rung so hard that you can’t move, have no idea where you are, and need a trainer and your teammates to help you off the ice!  Babcock’s comments really shocked me.  Normally he is pretty level-headed about such things, but not this time.

You can clearly see from the video that Brendan Smith intended to throw a shoulder as his elbow was flailing out well after the hit. (In other words, the shoulder and elbow were going and there was momentum there well after the hit.):

It clearly wasn’t an accident and the NHL was more than justified in suspending Brendan Smith for the remainder of the pre-season and for 5 games of the regular season.  Well done NHL, and rule 48.1 concerning ‘illegal checks to the head’ will be a good one if applied and enforced properly.

What additionally concerns me is that the refs weren’t calling many of these goony hits during the Sept. 28 Hawks/Red Wings game.  I saw lots of elbows and shoulders being thrown and spearing well before the hit on Ben Smith, so part of the blame for Ben Smith’s injury must lie with the officiating.  Too many missed calls.  Oh but the refs didn’t miss a beat in sending Brent Seabrook to the box for a five-minute major for “fighting” when Seabrook was just trying to defend Ben Smith.  Really?  That’s what constitutes fighting now?  I didn’t even see Seabs throw a punch!  Third-man-in rule maybe, but if you call a major, it better be…well…major.

And sorry Brendan Smith.  I don’t buy your aw-shucks routine, your apology to Ben Smith, or your lame explanation that you were “never targeting his head.”  Perhaps the minor leagues will teach you about playing respectable hockey.  Shame on Mike Babcock too.  There is no defending that kind of hit, though it’s not unexpected from the Red Wings, one of the gooniest teams in hockey. (They used to be THE gooniest team in hockey ’til the Canucks started giving them a run for their money.)  Still, the Hawks got the ultimate revenge by winning over the Red Wings, 4-3, a win that was clearly for Ben Smith.

And speaking of injuries, it is unfortunate to lose Viktor Stalberg to a knee injury before the season has even started.  We eagerly anticipate his return of course; the Hawks need and clearly miss his grit, though Michael Frolik exhibits a fair amount of grittiness too.

Grit is something the defensemen have needed the past few seasons too, and it looks like the Hawks have beefed up by pairing Niklas Hjalmarsson with Brent Seabrook and Duncan Keith with Nick Leddy.  I love these pairings and hope they continue.  I also love that Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews are on separate lines.  These two may work well together on special teams, but Jonathan Toews can excel much more without having to constantly set Kaner up for sweet goals.  I also don’t think Patrick Kane is effective as a center, but time will bear that out I’m sure.

Also on kind of a sad note, I was sorry to see Marty Turco go after last season.  I thought maybe he had another season in him with the Hawks if for no other reason than to impart some of his veteran moves to the up-and-comers, but if he had to be on his way, so be it.  Corey Crawford is coming along nicely, though I still miss Antti Niemi. And, hopefully it is not in doubt that Alexander Salak should be back-up net-minder.  Ray Emery just doesn’t have what it takes, at least, not yet.

All-in-all it looks like the kids are alright.

So, as they say, let’s go to the film.

Despite the commentators in the above YouTube video obviously stumping for a suspension and purposely not seeing what was right in front of them in a slow-mo, slow-frame replay, this was NOT a dirty hit from behind.  It was a side hit, and probably a hard one, but Hjalmarsson didn’t even throw an elbow, again, despite what commentators were saying (and the commentators are suspect in this case because they knew that, upon review, the NHL would hear their comments and be swayed by them). 

So, with hindsight being 20/20, what the NHL should have seen is that while there was an injury, it was as a result of a clean hit with unintended consequences.  I mean, seriously, are there no accidents anymore?  No, really, how much of an example is the NHL willing to make of a player?  How intensely are they willing to scrutinize hockey ’til it’s nothing resembling the sport we all came to know and love?  And what’s next, no-tackle football? These contact sports — like hockey and football — are dangerous.  Yes, you can make rules and punishments to deter dirty play and prevent injury, but you can’t prevent all injuries.  You just can’t, at least not without ruining the game.  So, I have to ask, is that what the NHL seeks to do?  Are they trying to ruin hockey by so overly scrutinizing it that no one will want to watch?

And before critics accuse me of being blinded by favoritism, since I have always been a big fan of Niklas Hjalmarsson, readers should remember that I came to the defense of Alex Ovechkin for his hit on Brian Campbell last season.  I did not think that a dirty hit either, at least not intentionally, but it was a hard one. (Although I think the entire hockey community, including Ducks fans, can agree that James Wisniewski’s hit last season on Brent Seabrook was pre-meditated, given the charging from across the ice and his leaving his skates to deliver that knock-out hit, and deserved the suspension Wiz got and then some.)  So, believe me when I say, if a Hawk is guilty of a dirty hit, you won’t see me defending them just because I’m a fan. I was certainly not shy about criticizing Dustin Byfuglien for instigating with goalies last season, so neither would I defend a dirty hit, no matter if it was from a Hawk or an opponent.

So just to sum up, the NHL needs to unclench.  Punish true offenders and stop tarnishing the reputations of good hockey players who are just doing their jobs. (Poor Niklas Hjalmarsson looked like he’d been flogged after he was suspended two games he was so dejected.)  I’ve spoken my piece, now I’m going to crawl back into my hockey withdrawal.

P.S. Just so this post isn’t entirely negative, I was pleased as punch to see that the Hawks had signed Bryan Bickell and Jack Skille.  These guys more than proved their worth to the organization last season and so it’s good to see them rewarded, though I’m not quite sure Corey Crawford is ready for the bigs.

Thanks for the season so far Hawks, and now on to the playoffs!  Go Hawks!

P.S.  Hats off to the 4th line too.  They used to play about 8 minutes or so a game, and now they play about 12 minutes a game.  They’ve earned the ice time with their points contribution of late, particularly Colin Fraser.  Keep it up Fraz!

It’s lame enough to grab a guy by the hair, but by the beak???  Really?  Isn’t that a little like grabbing a guy with a piercing by his nose ring in a bar fight?  Or kicking a guy in the cubes?  It goes against the bro code and it’s a cheap shot.   Ok, so the Blues are out of playoff contention and have to act as the spoilers.  But no respect can come from cheap shots.  Still, I think the Hawks had plenty to say by scoring four goals in the first period.  Ha!  Take that baby Blues! (And in the coming periods it would be nice to see the Hawks have a go at T.J. Oshie and David Backes.  They’re just crying out for a comeupance!)

P.S. Way to go on that goal Bickell the pickle!  Same for Duncan Keith, Ben Eager, and Kris Versteeg who all scored in the first period.

P.P.S.  Loving Dustin Byfuglien as a d-man.  I know he used to be a d-man and I’m wondering why anyone would ever have made him a forward.  Let’s keep this guy on D.  Seems that’s where he’s most at home.

When the Blackhawks traded James ‘Wiz’ Wisniewski last season, I was not shy about saying what a mistake that was.  How could the Blackhawks trade a valued and tough d-man like that?  Since then, the Hawks have been struggling with their ‘D’ no question about it.  But watching as Wiz and Brent Seabrook exchanged pleasantries before the first intermission in tonight’s Hawks/Ducks game and then watching Wisniewski gun for Brent Seabrook in the 2nd period, charging across the ice and purposely leaving his skates to take Seabs out by the head?!  Oh, them’s fightin’ words Wiz!  And are you kidding me with just that “charging” call?  What?  No automatic ejection?

At least Duncan Keith rushed in to box Wisniewski’s ears after that dirty hit.  Similarly, Nick Boynton more than proved his worth in having a go at Wisniewski in the last minute of the game.  If only Boynton had gotten some good shots under Wiz’s visor!

And seriously, if ever we Hawks fans had to prove that the ‘War Room’ in Toronto was out to get us, this game would live on in infamy as proof!  This isn’t like the Alexander Ovechkin hit on Brian Campbell.  When Ovi hit Soupy, I’m not so sure there was “intent” there like everybody keeps saying.  Did Ovi intend to hit Soupy that hard, or is Brian Campbell just that crunchy?  However, when you take a running skate from the blue line, like James Wisniewski did, and then shoulder and forearm a guy in the head while taking a running leap off your skates, I think you can safely be said to be gunning for someone!  Judging from Joel Quenneville’s reaction on the bench, I think he agreed.

And yes, while the NHL will certainly review this, will they rightfully punish James Wisniewski (meaning a big fine and multiple game suspensions), or simply take it out on the whole of the NHL by restricting players even more?  No NHL, for the nine millionth time, you don’t need to crack down on fighting or body checking.  You simply need to more harshly punish offenders.  That’s all!  And you can start by throwing the book at James Wisniewski because while Wiz played on, Brent Seabrook was out having a very unpleasant MRI. (And he will probably be out for several games hereafter with a nasty concussion.)

P.S.  Props go to Corey Crawford for maintaining poise during what was clearly a nerve-racking game!

Hey there, love following your stuff!

What are your thoughts on how the Hawks are gonna keep Hjalmarsson around after this year?  He is my fav player, just got his name/# on my jersey this fall.  I live in Rockford and got to watch him mature as an Icehog :)  But at the end of this year he is a restricted free agent I believe, and right now is only making $600,000/yr.  That ain’t gonna cut it for someone who Stan Bowman calls one of the top 4 defensemen in the league.  How we gonna keep him?  And where would you say he ranks in the opinion of the front office compared to the other restricted (or non) free agents on the team at the end of this season?  I would say he needs to be their #1 priority, ahead of Ladd, Eager, Fraser, Skille, Niemi, etc.

Cant wait to hear your thoughts! Thanks!

Thanks Cakes for the letter and for the kind words of praise.  I always appreciate hearing from passionate hockey fans.

Like you, Niklas Hjalmarsson is my favorite player, hands down.  Like me I bet you saw Hjalmarsson was going to be something special when we saw him in the playoffs last year. (In your case, you probably saw he was going to be something special in Rockford.) Not only should Hjalmarsson be the Hawks’ #1 priority but the defense in general needs to be their #1 priority.  I said this last season and was pleased when at the beginning of this season we saw a much improved ‘D’, so hopefully that means they’re working on it.  They just need to unload some underperformers and make some cap space.  Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, and Hjalmarsson have a lot of ice time because they’re having to make up for those who aren’t performing well like Cam Barker and Brent Sopel, and you just can’t do that forever.  Really, how many games in a row can you expect Duncan Keith to play over 28 minutes?  That’s nearly half the game!

And I’m certain that Hjalmarsson was paired with Brian Campbell because Campbell is that lousy and it takes the energy of a kid like Hjalmarsson to compensate for Campbell’s lousy performance. (You saw Campbell whiff on a near wide-open net in that Hawks/Ducks game last week, right?  And you’ve seen how often he turns the puck over, right?)  Hopefully the Hawks are not in denial of that and are scouting more Hjalmarsson-like d-men as we speak.  And for the love of God, why are the Hawks not considering unloading Brian Campbell?  If you’re looking to make room, that’s where you’d look!  Doesn’t that kind of deserve a resounding “duh” from Hawks fans?

To answer your question, I think the way the Hawks keep Hjalmarsson at the end of this year is to unload some excess baggage (sorry Soupy) and sign him to one of their decade-long contracts.  Hjalmarsson being so young and fielding other offers may or may not bite on that, but hey, in the NHL security is everything right?  So, to beat the cap hopefully that’s what they’ll try to do.  The Hawks can’t hype Hjalmarsson all season, calling him “The Hammer” and like you said, saying he’s one of the top four d-men, and then low-ball him.  The Hawks can also no longer ignore the problem with the defense if they want the cup.  So, yeah, they’re going to have to pony up and spend just as much energy, time, and money on their d-men as they have their forwards.

I love hearing from all of you, so please keep those cards and letters coming!

With Hossa, I’ve been reining in any excessive excitement I might let slip through my steely, hockey exterior. We’ve all been down this road before; we’ve bought into the hype and been disappointed.  Hossa did have some rust to work out of the pipes, but he did not disappoint.  Once Hossa oiled the hinges, he scored a short-handed goal on the penalty kill (as did Patrick Sharp within 28 seconds of each other) in the 2nd period.  Hossa would score again early on in the 3rd period and I was hoping for a hat trick, but alas it was not meant to be.  I am cautiously optimistic about Hossa, but continued performances like tonight’s will win over even this fiercest of skeptics.

While it’s usually good to have new blood, it’s still nice to see the old reliables, like Troy Brouwer who scored a goal during a penalty kill late in the 1st period, Dustin Byfuglien who scored midway through the 2nd (and who had a puck go up his shorts late in the 2nd period…tee hee), and Brent Seabrook who scored early in the 3rd.  Duncan Keith also had 3 assists.  And Niklas Hjalmarsson too is fast becoming old faithful.  He had a diving block in the first period (which is a really good way to break your neck if you slam into the boards head first), but that’s nothing as he seems to perpetually be putting himself in peril for this team.

There was a little bit of bumbling involving some bad passes, and at one point John Madden tripped over his own skates on a breakaway.  Madden would make up for it though, scoring a goal late in the 3rd.  The Hawks were also a little lazy on their back checking tonight, at first at least, but chalk that up to jet lag.  The important thing is that this team keeps improving.  So, what am I thankful for this season?  That the Blackhawks just keep getting better and better.  Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

It was also nice to finally see the refs, in last night’s game at least, differentiating between roughing and fighting instead of carte blanche just calling a 5-minute major penalty for “fighting” whether the gloves were thrown down or not.  I want to see more of that proper kind of officiating, you know, where it’s a 5-minute major penalty for a real throw down (i.e. actual fighting); the kind that potentially draws blood.  That’s what a 5-minute major fighting penalty should look like.

As for last night’s game, it wasn’t Jarome Iginla instigating for once.  Last night, it was Dion Phaneuf who kept picking fights, some he was called for and some he wasn’t.  Even Brent Seabrook got into a scrap last night as did the Hawks’ little coming-along enforcer, Colin Fraser.  Hey, why not?  The Hawks were up by several points, why not throw down the gloves a time or two, because the Flames kept trash-talkin’ and instigating.  Perhaps the Flames should have spent less time jawin’ and scrappin’ and more time on their defense.  And perhaps they should have pulled Miikka Kiprusoff earlier. (A .750 save percentage over 40 minutes of play? Ouch!)

While we’re talking goal tenders, Cristobal Huet had another stellar night with a .964 save average.  I really do hope I get to eat crow over Huet.  It would be nice if he became the consistent, reliable goal tender we’ve always been told he can be.

And the goals were spectacular last night with Troy Brouwer, Kris Versteeg, Dustin Byfuglien, Andrew Ladd, Patrick Kane, and Ben Eager all scoring.  Versteeg scored twice, and Ben Eager netted his first goal of the season.  It truly was a sight to behold.

It was good to see Bryan Bickell again last night, too.  He only had a little over 11 minutes on ice, so it will be interesting to see how he does with a little more ice time.

And once again, the contributions of Niklas Hjalmarsson cannot be ignored.  It was Hjalmy’s stone-cold hit on Rene Bourque that amped the Hawks’ offense, inspiring them to score 5 times in the 2nd period. The only one that could’ve deserved that bull-dozing hit more than Bourque was Jarome Iginla.  Still, watching Hjalmy take out Bourque was like watching a Great White Shark breach the water and connect with massive, brute force with its intended target.  That would explain Hjalmarsson’s toothy grin while watching the replay from the bench.  This kid only gets better.  And so do the Hawks.  For the first time this season I have hope.  Actual hope.

And, you don’t see this often, but Brent Sopel scored a goal late in the first period. Sopie’s screener, Bryan Bickell, would go on to screen the second goal as well which was scored by Patrick Kane, on another set-up by Jonathan Toews, in the 2nd period. (Hmm, Patrick Kane sure does score a lot when his contract is about to be renewed.)

Speaking of you don’t see that often, Sharks’ Manny Malhotra had a go at Brian Campbell of all people.  Someone shoulda told Malhotra that Soupy ain’t on the scrappin’ list.  Ben Eager is on the scrappin’ list however, and so when Eager and Doug Murray went at it shortly after the Malhotra/Campbell kerfuffle, gloves were actually dropped.  For some reason, Ben Eager got an additional 2-minute minor for unsportsmanlike conduct, but the reason why is anyone’s guess. (Looked like Eager may have taken a cheap shot at Sharks’ goal tender Evgeni Nabokov.)  All of that scufflin’ made for an exciting start to the 2nd period, though.

Also, I just can’t stop talking about Niklas Hjalmarsson.  His battles for the puck, particularly in the corner, are epic.  This kid is a legend in the making, no doubt, so it was great to see him finally get some recognition as the second star of tonight’s game.  Bang on Hammer.

Now, on to the Circus Trip.

P.S.  How great was it to see Bobby Hull and Chris Chelios on Jeremy Roenick Heritage Night?