The Puck Stops Here

When Chris Simon received a 30 game suspension for stomping of Jarkko Ruutu's ankle it appeared clear that the NHL considered intentionally stomping on another player a serious offence. Sure there were mitigating circumstances; in that Simon was a repeat offender, but it seemed obvious that any player caught stomping on another would have a lengthy suspension. Naturally, when Chris Pronger of the Anaheim Ducks stomped on the calf of Ryan Kesler of the Vancouver Canucks in a game Wednesday that Anaheim won 4-1, it should have been clear that Pronger would have a lengthy suspension. Pronger is a repeat offender who had not one but two suspensions within the past year. There may be differences in the stomp and it was not clear Pronger would get 30 games, but he would get a lengthy suspension.

It turns out this isn't true. There is a significant difference between Chris Simon and Chris Pronger. Simon is a role player who is nearing the end of his NHL career. Pronger is a former MVP, who is one of the NHL's better players. He is a star on the defending Stanley Cup champion Anaheim Ducks and could make a huge difference down the stretch and in the playoffs. Therefore, Pronger did not get suspended at all. Is that what passes for justice in the NHL?

As an aside, the Carolina paper the News & Observer published a study that players tend to receive longer suspensions when the player who is hurt is on a Canadian team, presumably due to the higher level of hockey news coverage in Canada. That clearly does not apply in this case. Kesler is on a Canadian team (Vancouver), but Pronger received no suspension. There are many biases in the uneven justice system in the NHL. The News & Observer may have uncovered one of them, but there is a much bigger bias on top of up. Star players get minimal (or no) suspensions when role players would get lengthier ones. It isn't good for business to star players missing any more games that necessary.

Here is the TSN story on the incident.

NOTE: It appears that after the second video of Pronger's stomp came out, which can be seen here (thanks to Mojo Tooth for the link) the NHL is looking at the case again (or bowing to the court of public opinion) and it looks as though Pronger will likely be suspended afterall. Ironically, this video, which probably led to Pronger's upcoming suspension, was provided as evidence of his innocence my Mojo Tooth in the comment section of this thread. Here is the TSN story on the state of affairs as of Friday night.

NOTE: The suspension was announced Saturday afternoon. Pronger is suspended for eight games. He can come back for the Anaheim Ducks final game of the season April 6th against the Phoenix Coyotes. I think this is a fair suspension, but shows that Chris Simon's suspension was unfairly long. Here is TSN's story on the revised ruling.