The New York Islanders and the Calgary Flames are staging another exhibition on Saturday night, this time in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Dion Phaneuf should show up.This recommendation is not a critique of Phaneuf's crushing mid-ice check in Thursday's game that sent Islanders rising star forward Kyle Okposo to the hospital with a concussion. We've all seen these incidents enough to know the arguments:
If you're for the Islanders, Phaneuf left his feet, nailed Okposo in the head with an elbow and shamefully used a practice game to make a personal statement that he's not getting softer. If you're for the Flames, Phaneuf never left his feet, obliterated Okposo with a clean shoulder hit and was simply "just playing his game." If you're NHL discipline czar Colin Campbell, you're preparing a ruling that will make everyone think, "Really?"
None of it matters. On Saturday night, Phaneuf should face the music.
Two seconds after Phaneuf knocked out Okposo, scrappy 5-10 Islanders farmhand Pascal Morency leaped over the bench (in a barely-legal line change) and went after the Calgary defenseman. Despite Phaneuf being 6-3, 215 pounds and capable of handling himself, two Flames and -- get this -- two NHL linesmen blocked Morency's path of payback. Later on, when Islanders power forward prospect Matt Martin challenged Phaneuf, 6-0 seventh defenseman Mark Giordano took the fight instead.
Phaneuf was repeatedly challenged -- this was a preseason game, so scoreboard be damned -- and the all-star defenseman elected not to engage. Surely, he could have held his own against the enforcer-less Islanders.
Maybe Phaneuf can live with that, but I think he made a mistake on Thursday night. He sent an opponent to the hospital with a violent, pre-meditated hit. The least he could have done was give the Islanders one man-vs-man opportunity to settle the score. Isn't that part of "The Code" hockey people have been preaching about for a century?
The story of his surprising refusal to answer the bell will extend into the weekend. The Flames play the Islanders in Saskatoon on Saturday. There's little chance Phaneuf was on coach Brent Sutter's original lineup card for the game. It's even more unlikely he's in the lineup now.
Phaneuf should show up. He should give the Islanders their shot. He doesn't even have to play a lot of minutes. He could ask to be in the starting lineup and the Islanders can assign any of the 50 players they have in camp to exact revenge. Since the Islanders are one of the few teams in the league without an established heavyweight anywhere in their system, Phaneuf should be able to sleep on Friday night.
If Phaneuf doesn't play, his teammates will be forced to stand up for him through 60 minutes of grueling hockey in Saskatoon while he's having dinner somewhere back in Calgary. This being the NHL, someone could get hurt.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
9-18-2009 @ 12:15PM
Swan said...
Spot on C.B. Too much to expect of someone of the relatively poor caliber of person like Phaneuf, but in general if you play this type of game part of it entails standing up to the retaliation. Players like Stevens, Hull Sr., etc. knew this well.
We are assuming more character than is reality, in the case of Sutter and Phaneuf however.
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9-18-2009 @ 12:15PM
Steven said...
How is the hit different than Doug Weight's hit against Brandon Sutter? Weight didn't fight after that hit, why should Phaneuf have to?
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9-18-2009 @ 12:22PM
JG said...
Actually, Doug Weight did fight after that hit. And afterwards, he said he fought because he understood why he had to.
9-18-2009 @ 12:31PM
islesfan1989 said...
Actually, Steven, Weight did fight later in the game. Unlike dion, Weight actually manned up and took on the consequences.
Amazing that Sutter raised such a stink over Weight's hit, which was just as borderline as this, yet has absolutely no problem when one of his own players does it.
Forget all this stuff about the "Code". The "Code" is long dead. The instigator rule made to reduce fighting has neutered the player's ability to police themselves. We know the refs never get it right. Now we have players like Phaneuf and Avery who can hit hard and late and then hide from the consequences.
Just a few years ago, they would have to answer for it. Now, they can just skate away and let someone else on the team take the punches.
And of course, they'll get a Power Play out of the deal too... ugh...
9-18-2009 @ 3:29PM
Ender said...
get your facts right before you make a comment.
9-18-2009 @ 12:20PM
Swan said...
Steven, Weight wasn't asked to engage after the hit. Phaneuf was challenged at least four times after the hit. By smaller AHL players, nonetheless! He not only did not want to drop the gloves, he had teammates (Giordano) fight in his place!!
No wonder the same skanks like Avery and Phaneuf. Same character, or lack thereof.
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9-18-2009 @ 12:24PM
derek said...
@Steven
Weight did fight. Look it up.
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9-18-2009 @ 12:39PM
dragondawg25 said...
Doug Weight laid a clean hit on a green rookie who make his own decision to extend for a puck that was out of his reach and put his head down. When challenge Weight stepped up and met the challenge.
Phaneuf LEFT HIS FEET to hit a player already off balance from being hit from behind and then spent the rest of the game running from every challenge presented to him.
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9-18-2009 @ 12:43PM
f9falcon said...
When Weight hit Sutter last year it was a regular season game and more importantly Sutter was alone and lunged for a puck putting himself in a very vulnerable position. Okposo had 2 guys on him already and Phaneuf was on the other side of the ice. Weight was at least making some attempt to go for the puck, Phaneuf didnt have to because he had two teammates already doing it. I find it ridiculous also that Sutter behind the bench couldn't at least be consistent with his evaluations of the two hits.
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9-18-2009 @ 12:50PM
snakeeye4z said...
Phaneuf already answered the bell. Morrency left the bench to fight him, got to him, and got thrown down for his efforts. Shame the Islanders attempt at exacting retribution was so feeble, but thems the breaks.
What is truly disappointing about posts like this is how they mirror that of Canuck fans in 2004. Guy throws big hit on player with his head down, guy answers the bell, other team seems to think they get to keep trying until they draw blood.
Grow up.
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9-18-2009 @ 2:02PM
matt kammerer said...
Sorry having a 2 second wrestling match with your visor on is not "answering the bell". Phaneuf is gutless. Remember all those guys Scott Stevens used to knock out on september 17th? Yeah, neither do I. Because the guy was a pro's pro not a coward like Phaneuf. What makes the hit dirty isn't the physical act of the hit. It's the context. Go for a big hit in a big game and miss and you might give up a huge goal or get benched. What does Dion Phaneuf have to lose on September 17th?... other than falling even farther down his peers' respect meter? Answer: nothing. He can run around all night, never be benched, never be demoted to the A. There's a reason the vast majority of physicality in pre-season comes from fringe guys trying to be noticed and not 8 million dollar all-stars.
9-18-2009 @ 1:02PM
Upstate Isles Fan said...
Yep...plenty of irony in the air:
"If a player got hit in the head, whether it was clean or dirty, you knew what was going to happen. It was going to be a long night for the guy who did the hitting. And the next time, it would be a long night."
--Brent Sutter
He seems to be far less concerned about these hits and the noble pursuit of retribution when the name on the back of the jersey isn't "Sutter," it seems.
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9-18-2009 @ 1:21PM
Troutsage said...
Are you kidding me?
The hit was clean. All replays show CONCLUSIVELY, that not only did he NOT leave his feet, the puck had barely just cleared- it was a completely legal hit.
Why should he have to answer for a clean hit? Moreover, why should he have to fight again, he already answer the clown that came off the bench.
Does he just have to keeping "answering" until the Isles think they have extracted whatever it is they want.
"The Code"? Really? You are relying on a long dead premise that guys must answer for dirty plays. The hit was not dirty.
Again, why would he fight again?
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9-18-2009 @ 1:49PM
Tony.Davenport said...
If you watch the clip, Okposo is already getting hit from behind by Flame trailing the play, so he was already in a compromised position. I'm not bashing the hit, but why'd he back off from everyone afterwards. Difference with the Weight hit, as I recall, was that he squared up immediately cuz he knew someone was coming after him. Gotta love Pascal Morency
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9-18-2009 @ 1:57PM
sebadoh101 said...
Let's dress Dion Phaneuf in a big yellow suit, since he's acting like Big Bird from Sesame Street. It was a DIRTY PLAY, he LEFT HIS FEET, and he doesn't have the juevos (Thanks Pedro Cerrano) to answer for his actions. Shame on the Flames for not forcing this chicken to take his medicine and allowing him to hide behind the rest of his teammates.
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9-18-2009 @ 2:00PM
william said...
Hey snakeeye4z i have to be 100% honest with you. All though Morrency was coming off the bench he was going for Phaneuf. I believe any team that gets an open ice hit like that should get the chance to go after the player that did it. Now im not going to say if it was clean or not cause i dont no i can only guess but it was close. I think some people go over board on hits that are clean with out question asking for someones head pretty much. But when a player Gets hit like that his players should come and stand up for him and yes Dion's players should stand hp for what ever comes his way but he should be the one taking it. Not 2 of his team mates. And this video will show he never got to Dion. Which means he will have a huge target on the next time they get together, and as long as a play is done that is no worse then this then i am all for it. Besides its what makes hockey great. The fact that u can go out there and fight someone cause you have a problem with him. I mean its not gonna be a Van 2004 thing, hits gonna be playing a hard game hitting anything that moves and a lot of fights. Thats why i am for it
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9-18-2009 @ 3:14PM
snakeeye4z said...
William - Morrency did get to Phaneuf, and got thrown down easily.
Look at that play from Giordano's POV. He sees someone come off the bench and make a beeline for his teammate, who has is back to the bench at that time. While Phaneuf did get turned around, and squared up to face Morrency in time, Gio came in with such a head of steam that he broke everything up temporarily. Morrency did get through, and got roughed up.
Like I said, they went at him, and it didn't turn out the way they wanted. All the comments from Gordon about Phaneuf not fighting their guys is nothing but sour grapes. Gordon should have worked to calm his charges down and get them refocused on the game. That hit, and the Islanders reaction cost them the win.
9-18-2009 @ 2:08PM
TheMetalChick said...
He did NOT leave his flippin feet to hit Kyle. I dont like the hit either but come on look at it fairly!!!! It was however completely unnecessary for an NHL star to try so hard to prove how flippin tough he is by hitting a kid who was already covered in a meaningless preseason game, but he didnt do something illegal. Suspension? Come on.
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9-18-2009 @ 2:24PM
Rion Zacher said...
A whole bunch of whining about a clean hit in an NHL game. OH NO! The Islander that (debatably) jumped the bench and would have likely pummeled Phaneuf from behind got to Phaneuf at the boards and got thrown down. Does Phaneuf have to line up at center ice and take on every single Islander in training camp one at a time to please you? Give your head a shake.
This is exactly what people are talking about when they say that a guy shouldn't have to fight after throwing a big clean hit. Text book case right here.
Besides, what does an all-star caliber, Norris nominated defenceman have to gain from fighting some AHL Islander scrub in the pre-season. There is no positive invloved for Phaneuf or the Flames.
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9-18-2009 @ 2:29PM
FrankieD said...
TheMetalChick look again, and this time put your glasses on. He definately left his feet. This was a preseason game against a team that will probably go nowhere. Let's see him do it against Pittsburgh or Toronto in a regular season game. He won't because they have enforcers who will drive him into the ice.
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