Weekes Head Posted June 2, 2004 Share Posted June 2, 2004 According to TSN.ca: Nieminen handed one-game suspension TSN.ca Staff 6/2/2004 Calgary Flames forward Ville Nieminen has been handed a one-game suspension for his hit on Tampa Bay Lightning forward Vincent Lecavalier in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup final. He will miss Thursday's pivotal game in Tampa Bay. ''Nieminen used his forearm to deliver a forceful hit from behind to the head of his opponent,'' said NHL's Vice President of Operations Colin Campbell. ''This hit was more severe than any of the other plays that were brought to our attention during the Final. This was a hit that clearly crossed the line and was directed at the head. Even if Lecavalier is able to play in Game 5, this type of hit must be subject to supplemental discipline.'' Niemenen faced a disciplinary hearing with Campbell on Tuesday, but no suspension was handed out at the time as the league was awaiting medical reports on Lecavalier. The Lightning did not issue a statement on Lecavalier's condition following Tuesday's practice. Nieminen hit Lecavalier from behind and drove Lecavalier's face into the glass with his left forearm. The Lightning star centre crumpled to the ice and stayed down for an extended period until Nieminen was ordered off by the referees. At that point Lecavalier got up and skated without help to the Lightning bench to have a cut on the back of his head repaired. He did not return to the ice for the rest of the game. Nieminen was assessed a boarding major and game misconduct on the play, which happened with 4:13 left in the third period. The Finnish forward has already been suspended once this postseason, earning a one game ban for running goaltender Curtis Joseph in Game 4 of Calgary's Western Conference semifinal series against Detroit. http://tsn.ca/nhl/news_story.asp?ID=86152&hubName=nhl I gotta say, as much as I want to root for Calgary, I'm starting to find it VERY difficult to cheer them on. I dunno... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ev0lemi Posted June 2, 2004 Share Posted June 2, 2004 Good. it was a dirty hit, i'm glad they're giving him the suspension. the flames are generally playing dirty this series, i was pulling for them against san jose b/c i thought they had more heart, but this series is getting ugly. they remind me of the flyers at their worst lately. -emily Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RowdyFan42 Posted June 2, 2004 Share Posted June 2, 2004 Colin Campbell says this: "This was a hit that clearly crossed the line and was directed at the head. Even if Lecavalier is able to play in Game 5, this type of hit must be subject to supplemental discipline.'' And immediately after that quote comes this: Niemenen faced a disciplinary hearing with Campbell on Tuesday, but no suspension was handed out at the time as the league was awaiting medical reports on Lecavalier. So what's the deal? Are you going to send a message that this type of sh!t won't be tolerated, or are you going to keep saying that the offender can get off easy if the victim isn't seriously injured? Make up your minds! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek21 Posted June 2, 2004 Share Posted June 2, 2004 Good. The league got one right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jas0nMacIsaac Posted June 2, 2004 Share Posted June 2, 2004 I can live with 1 game although I still don't think it was all that bad. See if Calgary dresses Lydman as the 7th defnesmen for the PP and goes with 11 skaters or if Lowery comes back in Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FunkyBlueFish203 Posted June 2, 2004 Share Posted June 2, 2004 What a crock of baloney. Ville should get two games because Colin Campbell is justifying the suspension given the severity of the play. Ville should have had an automatic suspension coming to him per Section (E) of Rule #28, which states that if you accumulate 2 game misconduct penalties in the playoffs, which Ville has, you are automatically suspended for the following game. In simple terms, the first game is the automatic one he should have gotten for the game misconducts, the second game for the hit itself. Apparently, the league office has forgotten about one of its own rules. Unless someone dies on the ice, the league is not going to realize the severity of cheap hits and actions. The fact that people were wondering if there would be any suspension at all in this case is a perfect example of how meaningless the rules of this game have become. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimmy Leeds Posted June 2, 2004 Share Posted June 2, 2004 Shoot, Remember '94 and the Rag$ v. Devs? Nichols got one game for whacking his stick in one of the Rag$ faces when he was down on the ice.......then the next game Beukeboom got one game for driving Richer into the boards? Beuk's was a lame suspension I thought. Nieminen's was worse, but worthy of only one game as per the rules. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SueNJ97 Posted June 2, 2004 Share Posted June 2, 2004 What a crock of baloney. Ville should get two games because Colin Campbell is justifying the suspension given the severity of the play. Ville should have had an automatic suspension coming to him per Section (E) of Rule #28, which states that if you accumulate 2 game misconduct penalties in the playoffs, which Ville has, you are automatically suspended for the following game. In simple terms, the first game is the automatic one he should have gotten for the game misconducts, the second game for the hit itself. Apparently, the league office has forgotten about one of its own rules.Unless someone dies on the ice, the league is not going to realize the severity of cheap hits and actions. The fact that people were wondering if there would be any suspension at all in this case is a perfect example of how meaningless the rules of this game have become. This is ridiculous. But what do you expect from Campbell? He's never been consistent, or ever made SENSE with his suspension policy. You are correct, there should have been an automatic one-game for the 2 game-misconducts, before anything else was even considered. Can't anyone READ??? Or don't they CARE??? I guess I'm too hard on Colie, though. It's not like any other League VP in charge of discipline (doesn't he kind of remind you of the Vice-Principal of your High School?) was ever consistent either. But I thought they at least enforced the 2-misconducts, 1 game thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poohbear Posted June 2, 2004 Share Posted June 2, 2004 The Lightning star centre crumpled to the ice and stayed down for an extended period until Nieminen was ordered off by the referees. At that point Lecavalier got up and skated without help to the Lightning bench to have a cut on the back of his head repaired. Sounds like someone's upset by the suspension, hmmm? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
overtime98 Posted June 3, 2004 Share Posted June 3, 2004 Good move by the NHL and Cambell...The NHL needs to make calls like this to show that this sh!t will NOT be tolerated. It puts a black eye on the NHL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
insanity_gallops Posted June 3, 2004 Share Posted June 3, 2004 I'll say this for Nieminen... his presence is definitely felt on the ice. If only he didn't take such stupid penalties. Hmm. Funny -- he didn't take nearly as many penalties in his run with Colorado. Or he didn't get called for as much... he had only 20 PIM in 23 games, but I'm guessing he had a lot less ice time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sammyk Posted June 3, 2004 Share Posted June 3, 2004 Funny -- he didn't take nearly as many penalties in his run with Colorado. Or he didn't get called for as much... Everybody knows Avalanche players don't commit penalties. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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