Well, he has done it again in the QMJHL last night, and it is not pretty. I have to warn you before you click on that link - the victim is knocked unconscious, strikes his face on the ice and begins convulsing. So, if you don't want to see that, don't watch the video.
You know you've done something wrong when that gentleman Patrick Roy calls the police to complain about the hit. My two bits: that has to rank as one of the dirtiest deliberate headhunting hits I have ever seen. It is a textbook case of what the game of hockey needs to get rid of, and suspension for the rest of the season (thus ending Cormier's junior career) is the absolute minimum that the QMJHL should be looking at here. They are powerless to suspend him beyond this season since the AHL/NHL/whatever bush league this guy is in next year are unlikely to honor any CHL suspensions.
Strangely though, New Jersey Devils general manager Lou Lamoriello doesn't think a season-long suspension is required. Lou's bias may be showing here since Cormier is a Devils prospect but the fact that a prominent NHL G.M. doesn't think this incident is serious enough to warrant a 25-30 game suspension (or however many games Cormier's QMJHL team could be expected to play) in junior is just another example of all that is wrong with the NHL's attitude towards deliberate head shots.
9 comments:
Well said, couldn't agree with you more.
I,too,agree. The great sport of junior hockey can well do without Cormier and deliberate head shout like that!!!!!!!1
I shudder to think that anyone, hockey involved or not, can see this assault as anything less than a premeditated vicious attack on one human being by another. And I say that hoping that no thought is given to the fact it occurred in a hockey game. The game was merely a stage upon which Cormier performed the most disgusting, reprehensible, and criminal act I have ever seen. His total disregard for not only the rules of the game, but also for the more significant rules of society, left me in utter disbelief. I am a hockey Parent and it worries, and sickens me, to the core of my being. But worse yet, it terrifies me as a member of Society. In yet another example of how times have changed, one of our kids is nearly killed in front of our eyes, and there is actually debate about how to deal with it. My God, what has become of us?
This truly is a matter for the Police and the Crown.
The hit was the worst I've seen and a lot worse then that other hit that resulted in the player being banned for the rest of the season. The guy was no where near the puck. For the Devils GM to play down the incident shows how out to lunch he is, as is the rest of the NHL. Cormier should be suspended the rest of the season and I hope the police do investigate this and charge, hits like that to the head have no place in hockey. I hope the guy that got knocked out is going to be okay. He'll likely be out for a long long time.
I always think a player should be suspended for as long as the guys he nails is out if not more.
This is horrible and shocking. This hit displays a level of stupidity that is impossible to comprehend! Having this guy (and others like him) on the ice is far too great a risk to other players. I suspect he is unable to control his behavior and doesn’t even know what he’s done till after it’s over. This kid has proven he doesn’t deserve to skate on the same ice as our son’s and brothers. Anyplace else, when a danger is identified; an obligation exists to remove the danger for the safety of others. A suspension for the balance of the season isn’t good enough, someone needs to look inside this kids head before he can ever participate in team sports again. I think they will find big problems in there.
I am extremely interested to find out how many games he is suspended for. The standard has been set for marginal players (out for the season)...let's see if league officials have the fortitude to impose the same punishment on already drafted players. Let's see if there are indeed two sets of rules!
This has to be dealt with swiftly and severely, or are they going to sit on their hands until someone gets killed by a hit like this.
This is what happens when the CHL tries to make hockey "safer" by limiting fighting majors. They do serve a purpose in hockey. It's all knee-jerk reactions to people who criticize hockey without any knowledge of hockey or care for the sport. These dirty hits are the result of not letting players settle it on the ice. And they will continue as long as the CHL and NHL feel the need to change it's rules.
This hit has nothing to do with the CHL limiting fighting majors. Things like this have happened in leagues for years no matter what the rules were against fighting. The only way things like this are ever limited is to punish the player properly. If a guy thinks he could be suspended for 25 games instead of 5 don't you think he might think twice before doing things like this?
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