Don't worry about the messenger - 02-15-11

Mario Lemieux went off Sunday. He ripped the NHL for how it handled discipline from Friday's circus on Long Island.

What happened was very reminiscent of what happened March 8, 2004. That was the night Steve Moore's career came to an end:

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Going into that game, the Vancouver Canucks wanted revenge for a perceived wrong. Moore, then a solid third-line checker with the Avalanche, struck Canucks captain Markus Naslund in the head, Feb. 16, 2004. Leading up to the March 8 game, the Canucks spoke of getting revenge. Canucks forward Brad May openly placed a bounty on the head of Moore.

That game was a circus even before Todd Bertuzzi delivered his infamous blind-side punch which broke Moore's neck and ended his NHL career.

The NHL didn't mess around in terms of disciplining Bertuzzi. It suspended him for 20 games. The first 13 games of that suspension were at the end of the regular season. The last seven were in the playoffs. These weren't 20 games for a margainal team either. These were vital games for a team which at the time had playoff aspirations. And at that time, Bertuzzi was arguably the best power forward in the sport. Suspending him for this length was nothing insignificant.

The NHL also held the Canucks responsible by fining the franchise $250,000.

In subequent seasons, the NHL did mess around with regards to suspensions for violence. Late in 2006-07, Islanders forward Chris Simon was suspended 25 games for slashing Rangers forward Ryan Hollweg in the face:

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-Flyers forward Steve Downie was suspended 20 games for launching himself at the head of Ottawa forward Dean McAmmond during the 2007 preseason:

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-Flyers forward Jesse Boulerice was given 25 games for cross-checking in the face early in the 2007-08 season:

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-And midway through 2007-08, Simon was hit again. This time for 30 games after he stomped on the leg of Penguins forward Jarkko Ruutu with his skate:

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Flash forward to Feb. 2, 2011. The Penguins beat the Islanders, 3-0. Penguins forward Maxime Talbot injured Islanders forward Blake Comeau with a shoulder to shoulder check which left Comeau with a concussion. And of course, there was the now infamous fight between Penguins goaltender Brent Johnson and Rick DiPietro which left DiPietro with facial injuries:

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After the game, the Islanders hinted something could happen when the teams met later in the month, Feb. 11. And the Islanders didn't exactly hide their intentions prior to the rematch when they recalled Micheal Haley, someone with 144 penalty minutes this season... at the AHL level.

The writing was on the wall. This game was going to get ugly regardless of what happened on the scoreboard. The Islanders stormed the Penguins running out to a 6-0 lead. Then this happened:

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The NHL's response, at least in regards to individual discipline, was the equivalent of telling them, "Dude, not cool."

While fining the Islanders $100,000 is hardly insignificant, especially for a team with revenue issues, the suspensions to Islanders forward Matt Martin (four games) and Islanders forward Trevor Gillies (nine games) were woefully inadequate.

There was nothing to gain from a hockey perspective in how Martin and Gillies attacked Maxime Talbot or Eric Tangradi. Martin threw a punch at a player from a blind side, just like Bertuzzi. Had Talbot not seen the attack at the last second and protected himself, he could have been injured seriously.

Gillies skated from half way across the rink to elbow Eric Tangradi in he head. When Tangradi was visibly injured, Gillies failed to relent and continued to attack Tangradi. As it was, Tangradi suffered a head injury.

Given how the NHL levied heavy suspensions on the likes of Bertuzzi and Simon, how does the NHL not drop the hammer on Martin or Gillies?

Their intent was clear and in one instance, an injury was delivered.

And despite an emphasis on preventing head injuries by the NHL, Gillies received a lukewarm suspension in comparison to those of Simon or Bertuzzi.

Despite that, Lemieux's critics didn't focus on the message. They focused on the messenger. Specifically, they focused on one of the messenger's employees.

Matt Cooke.

The presence of Cooke, undoubtedly one of the most dangerous players in the NHL, on the Penguins' roster immediately shot a hole in the argument of Lemieux in their opinion. If Lemieux wanted to really clean up the game, why does he have someone like Cooke on the payroll?

Never mind that Cooke didn't play in Friday's debacle. And never mind that Penguins management has repeatedly discussed Cooke's dangerous play with him on an individual basis.

Look, no one in their right mind will dispute that Cooke is a dirty player. And the way he plays is dangerous. He may have ended the career of Bruins forward Marc Savard last season:

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As vile and dangerous as that hit was, it was a hockey play, albeit an illegal one. Cooke was trying to hit a player with the puck.

Earlier this month, Cooke hit Blue Jackets defensem Fedor Tyutin from behind while chasing for a puck:

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Once again, a bad hit. An illegal hit. But it was done within the context of playing the game. That doesn't excuse Cooke. His actions in this instance justly earned him a four-game suspension.

The same as Martin's mugging of Talbot.

The actions of Martin, Gillies and Haley offered no benefit to their team in terms of winning a hockey game. And placing the same amount of weight on their actions to even the worst moments of Cooke's career display is ignorant.

But Lemieux and the Penguins are the bad guys in the eyes in many critics for the simple presence of Cooke.

But again, no one never said Lemieux was wrong.

Instead of focusing on Lemieux or his team with self-important indiginity, pay attention to his message.

It's right. And no one (aside from Islanders thug Zenon "poster" Konopka) has said otherwise.