Hypocrisy of NHL on Full Display with Latest Non-Suspension to Glencross

The NHL has to learn from its mistakes one of these days... at least you have to hope. But, until that day comes, we should enjoy the ride that is the Colin Campbell experience.

Calgary Flame Curtis Glencross got nailed with a fine on Friday, two days after he delivered a cross-check to the face of Vancouver Canuck Keith Ballard. In all honesty, it was pretty tame stuff, but when one looks back to how Glencross’s teammate Olli Jokinen got hit with a three-game ban for a similar infraction on Phoenix Coyote Wojtek Wolski, just a few short weeks ago, one wonders just what is going on in Campbell’s head.

With all the rumours and vicious innuendo being spouted online and in the mainstream media about him recently, one would think that Campbell would be extra vigilant in his decisions so as to escape any unwanted second-guessing. But it would seem that Campbell is not one to back down from his apparently God-given right to make weird-ass decisions. As such, it’s easy to imagine that he made this latest one out of sheer principle as if to say “no blogger, no scandal, no fake artist on earth can influence how I do my job”, which is actually kind of a noble thought... that is if his uninfluenced decisions weren’t so laughably nonsensical.

I’ve written before that the league’s decision to suspend Jokinen, who was a first-time offender, three games was somewhat of an odd choice, but I tried to rationalize it. But there’s little way to rationalize this latest incident... maybe because Jokinen was the third man in an altercation between Wolski and Niklas Hagman and Glencross was just exercising his right to smash in the face of a guy who was directly in his? That right there means a difference of three games? So, by that logic, if I got into a barfight and then did my opponent the decency of stabbing him in the front rather than from his side, I’d be able to buy my way out of trouble? Good to know... if only Campbell was my local police commissioner anyway.

What’s most puzzling is that Glencross is not a first-time offender. In fact, and this is where it gets good, he got suspended for a blind-side hit to the head of New York Ranger Chris Drury once upon a time. When was that time? Oh, in November of last year when he felt the overwhelming need to use his shoulder as a battering ram on an unsuspecting Drury’s head, an act that resulted in a three-game ban in its own right.

Think about that for a second... Glencross blind-sided Drury, with a shoulder to the head and got suspended, before the Marc Savard-Matt Cooke incident, before the rule came into effect, before Campbell told everyone how much he wanted to suspend Cooke, but couldn’t for lack of a rule in the rulebook. Huh???

Is it just me or is Campbell really not making life easy on himself? I don’t know if he’s just naturally confrontational and likes being the object of everyone’s attention, but this is getting ridiculous. Obviously, he didn’t mean for it to become public knowledge that he’s a potty mouth and takes an arguably unhealthy interest in plays involving his son, but, in this instance, he could have done the easy and the right thing and given Glencross three games, prevented himself any scrutiny, and put all this behind him. Instead Glencross gets nothing, people are forced into comparing Jokinen and Glencross’s suspension histories, and, bada-bing, bada-boom, yet another inconsistency in the way Campbell and the NHL do business is discovered.

I’m not going to get into the implications that the NHL really could have suspended Cooke if Campbell really wanted to and just didn’t because he has it out for Savard, not just because saying it in passing is just as good and takes up less space, but also because it’s been said to death before. There’s no point kicking a dead horse. Thankfully, Campbell is still very much kicking himself, meaning he, and the NHL in turn, will continue to be the gift that keeps on giving. Just in time for Christmas, no less.

The Reason Wolski Rarely Scores? He Rarely Shoots

This is only Phoenix Coyote Wojtek Wolski's fourth goal of the season, putting him on pace for a relatively modest 16. Going into last night's game against the Edmonton Oilers, he only had 34 shots on goal all season  (he had three last night). It begs the question: If he has such a killer shot, why isn't he using it more? Admittedly, the Coyotes were playing the defensively lax Oilers and the defensively lax Devan Dubnyk was in goal, but one still has to give props to Wolski for what amounts to a truly impressive skillset. Of course, he was benched for two games earlier this season for not showing enough effort during games, but it's clear that if this hockey thing doesn't work out he could probably still find work with the Oilers (because what they're doing right now isn't exactly playing hockey).

The Do’s and Doan’s of Building a Contender: Why the Phoenix Coyotes are Mired in a Slump

It used to be that Phoenix Coyotes captain Shane Doan was a fantasy hound. He struck the perfect balance between contributing the odd point and making the odd trip to the penalty box, with the odd alleged slur aimed at French Canadians added in for good measure. But no longer. Now the only slurs he’s uttering are solely in karma’s direction.

Doan recently found himself on the receiving end of an awkward collision with Dallas Star Nicklas Grossman, sustaining a lower-body injury last Friday with the hit. As a result, he’s been put on the shelf for what is being called an extended period of time. This after he nearly sidelined Anaheim Duck Dan Sexton with an illegal hit last month and broke Cam Fowler’s nose in the same game. 

Meanwhile, his Coyotes have lost more than their captain, going 4-5-4 in the team’s first 13 games this season. Last year after the same amount of games they were 9-4 en route to a franchise-record 107-point season. So, without further ado, a simple do’s and Doan’s list to be used as a reference guide for head coach Dave Tippett and general manager Don Maloney:

Do play your best players. I don’t think anyone knows exactly why Wojtek Wolski was a healthy scratch for two games, except for his obvious goal-scoring drought that has somehow made its way through the entire roster like a new strand of the Black Plague. I mean, Ed Jovanovski’s a good guy, but not who you want leading your team in scoring. Truth be told, Wolski does have six points in his last six games, with his two games out of the line-up coming smack-dab in the middle. So, the next best guess regarding his benching: Wolski spit in his coffee and instead of snickering behind Tippett’s back, he was all in-your-face about it. Smooth, Wojtek.

"Easy as spitting in your coach's coffee... I mean pie! Spitting in your coach's pie!"

Doan sign Eric Belanger and make him your number-one center. Too late, apparently. While Belanger is a healthy addition to any line-up, he should only be signed for depth purposes only. Belanger excels as a third-liner and can really only be expected to put up lower-tier top-six numbers, if that. The defensive aspect of his game is his strong suit and that should be embraced, not taken as a sign that he’s ready to step up and become a late-blooming French-Canadian Sidney Crosby.

Do examine your goaltending options. Ilya Bryzgalov has been decent in nets and cannot legitimately be considered a one-year wonder after his spectacular 2009-2010, but the team’s depth chart in goal is surprisingly thin. As it stands now, his being the best use of money by the name of Ilya in the NHL isn't exactly a ringing endorsement. With Vancouver Canuck Cory Schneider potentially available, maybe it’s time to think further down the line. Maybe it would be wise to consider actually challenging Bryzgalov to maintain his ever-softening grip on the number-one spot. Sure, Jason LaBarbera isn’t scaring anyone, but, put another way, neither is Al Montoya as your next viable option.

Doan trade for Marc Savard, no matter how in need your team is of a first-line center. Considering the logjam the Boston Bruins currently have at forward, it would be wise to wait until Savard actually gets healthy, at which point you should still be able to catch them desperate enough for cap relief to get him relatively cheaply. The rumours may not be true, but sometimes where there’s smoke there’s fire. And if the ones concerning Keith Yandle going back the other way are even remotely true, Maloney may end up being burned at the stake.

Do finally ease Kyle Turris into the line-up. Admittedly, Turris has been playing lately, but Tippett’s generosity has been inconsistent with his ice-time varying from a low of just over six minutes to a high of just under 18. I thought the Coyotes were trying to groom a first-liner, not an actual desert dog through behavioural conditioning. He’s been through enough already, missing out on being a Chicago Blackhawk being at the top of the list had Dale Tallon not guessed right with Patrick Kane three years ago.

"If this isn't a license to get crazy on the ice, I don't know what is."

Doan dole out illegal hits and then pretend you don’t know how you got suspended by the league. That has a nasty way of catching up to you and your teammates.

Obviously it’s still early in the season and a lot can change, but improvement can’t come soon enough. They take to the ice against the Detroit Red Wings, and, considering they were the team that eliminated Phoenix last post-season, it would make for a fitting time for the Coyotes to actually start living up to their potential. Maybe they did play over their heads last season, but, as Doan can attest to, hunting those of opponents is no way to get back on the winning track.