Pittsburgh Penguins co-owner and former Penguins great Mario Lemieux recently stated that the National Hockey League “failed” at cleaning up the mess that was last Friday’s Penguins-Islanders game on Long Island, a 9-3 Isles victory that featured 346 penalty minutes, including 15 five-minute fighting penalties, and 10 ejections. Quoth Super Mario, “The NHL had a chance to send a clear and strong message that those kinds of actions are unacceptable and embarrassing to the sport. It failed.”
Excuse me?
Full disclosure: As everyone who read this column last year is surely aware, I am an unabashed Penguins-hater, being a lifelong Washington Capitals fan. But the sheer arrogance and stupidity of Lemieux’s comments transcend the boundaries of fandom.
Mario, if you weren’t aware, there’s a fellow on your team by the name of Matt Cooke. I’m sure you’ve heard of him, considering you’ve been signing his paychecks for three seasons now. I’m sure you’ve also heard of a fellow by the name of Marc Savard, who plays for the Boston Bruins… and missed two months last spring after being hit in the head by none other than your boy Matt Cooke.
In fact, even Cooke’s teammates admitted that the hit was bush league (in lay terms, amateurish). “If a guy gets hurt like that with a shot to the head, there’s got to be something,” said Bill Guerin, who came to Pittsburgh along with Cooke prior to the 2008-09 season. Except there wasn’t something, as the NHL opted not to suspend Cooke for the hit. It’s funny how the NHL didn’t fail at sending a message in this instance, at least in the eyes of Lemieux.
“We, as a league, must do a better job of protecting the integrity of the game and the safety of our players,” said Lemieux. “We must make it clear that those kinds of actions will not be tolerated and will be met with meaningful disciplinary action.”
Take a look at some NHL penalty numbers entering Monday night’s games. It seems, Mario, that your Pittsburgh Penguins lead the League in major penalties this season, with 63. No other team has more than 56. I’m not exactly up on my old-time sayings, but I think there’s one about a pot, a kettle, and the color black…
You do have a point about the NHL needing to do a better job of protecting its players, Mario. Your captain, Sidney Crosby, has been out for a month because of a concussion, and there is still no timetable for his return. But let’s take a closer look at the discipline meted out by the NHL following the Penguins-Islanders fight fest.
Isles forward Matt Martin was suspended four games for punching the Pens’ Maxime Talbot, and left wing Trevor Gillies received a nine-game ban for elbowing Eric Tangradi. The Islanders organization was also hit with a $100,000 fine. Meanwhile, the discipline imposed on the Penguins consisted of a 10-game suspension to forward Eric Godard for leaving the bench to participate in a fight—a penalty mandated by the NHL rulebook.
Something seems a little unequal there. In fact, according to ESPN.com writer Scott Burnside, “the Islanders were saying Sunday that they were the ones getting done over by the league, and this was a conspiracy on the NHL’s part to protect the Penguins.” I’ll withhold comment on that last bit given my admitted alliances, but it’s an objective fact that the Islanders were hit much harder by the NHL’s disciplinarians than the Penguins were. And yet, Mario, here you are, whining about the lack of decisive action by the NHL. Are you familiar with the term “hypocrisy?”
The statement concluded: “If the events relating to Friday night reflect the state of the league, I need to rethink whether I want to be a part of it.”
Mario, you’ve done a lot for the NHL. You won two Stanley Cups in Pittsburgh, basically single-handedly saved the franchise from insolvency, and helped secure a new arena that guarantees the Penguins’ future in the Steel City.
But if these comments reflect your honest, unbiased opinion, I think it’s time for 29 other owners to rethink whether they want you to be a part of it, too.
Cohen is a member of the class of 2010.
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