The Fan In Van Podcast & Blog - Matt Lee

So the NHL came crashing down on Steve Downie this morning, giving the physical winger a 20-game suspension for his hit on Dean McAmmond in exhibition action. The suspension is the fifth-longest in NHL history.

Alright, so I’m going to make this perfectly clear: In no way do I condone what Steve Downie did. Simply put, there is no place in the great game of hockey for a hit like that. It was pretty evident that Downie left his feet and threw his whole body at McAmmond. McAmmond only saw Downie coming at him at the last second and had no chance of avoiding the hit and Downie pretty much blindsided the veteran winger.  For those of you who haven’t seen it yet, here’s a link:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HerZdQmigLs

But in all fairness to the junior prospect who represented Canada at the World Juniors only two years ago, it’s clear of a few things:

• The hit was not pre-meditated; in other words, Downie didn’t seek out McAmmond to injure him
• Downie was having a satisfactory camp with the Flyers and, like Nathan McIver on the Canucks, for example, wanted to make an impact (no pun intended). It just so happened that this hit got ugly and he took it out of hand.
• This hit was publicized all over Canada. It reminds me starkly of the Bertuzzi/Moore incident and all the attention it got nationwide. When the NHL sat back to evaluate the aftermath and the negative media criticism of the hit (they waited 8 days for a decision), it leads me to believe they were more pressured to really come down hard on Downie.
• Unfortunately for Downie, this hit came at a time where everyone is really trying to crack down on head shots and concussions. A sports doctor (forget where and who)  recently concluded that 50-60% of NHL players have concussion-like symptoms.
• The severity of the hit led to a huge brawl on the ice (Again, much like the Bertuzzi/Moore incident). Even guys like Chris Neil of the Senators gave a Brad May-like ‘bounty’ on Downie’s head for the next time the Sens play the Flyers. There’s a huge precedent here in the case of Downie.

In all honesty, do I believe Downie deserved the 20-game suspension? No. I mean, put Downie’s name up there with everyone else who’s in the ballpark of 20-game suspensions. Marty McSorely, Chris Simon, the aforementioned Bertuzzi … the first two were some pretty brutal stick work on their part, and Bertuzzi… well, you know. Downie’s hit was pretty ugly, but I really don’t think it deserved 20 games. 10-15 maybe, but because of the factors noted above, the NHL had to come down hard on the kid to set an example of the rest of the NHLers who may do this again another time.

It seemed pretty apparent to me that the NHL was victimized by all the sports media in Canada who called it one of the ugliest things they seen in hockey. A complete exaggeration of the event and the aftermath which followed (McAmmond Press Conference, Downie’s apology) played factors in the suspension length. Did Downie deserve the 20? Nope. But was Colin Campbell justified in giving him the 20? Oh hell yeah. These delicate situations are difficult to deal with from both sides of the spectrum, but before the rest of you jump on Downie and say that the suspension wasn’t nearly long enough, just remember that in the end, it ultimately was bad timing for Downie.