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Should Malkin Be Suspended?


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In my world (the hockey world :D ) Malkin should be suspended because he broke the rules. He instigated a fight in the last 5 minutes of the game. It shouldn't/doesn't matter if he was "trying to send a message " or not, as he went after Zetterberg, (who was shadowing Crosby all night). Because he is Malkin, he won't be though as the league won't want to upset the Pitts fans or Lemieux.

Too bad the league bends the rules for the stars.

JM2C

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Actually, hasn't the league already admitted they made a mistake by not suspending both of them because their jerseys weren't tied down properly, or something? Whatever... I don't have a problem with what Malkin did (and I'm cheering for Detroit). Malkin was showing some energy, and Zetterberg tried to, too. Good series so far, and that kind of stuff is just going to add energy!

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In my world (the hockey world :D ) Malkin should be suspended because he broke the rules. He instigated a fight in the last 5 minutes of the game. It shouldn't/doesn't matter if he was "trying to send a message " or not, as he went after Zetterberg, (who was shadowing Crosby all night). Because he is Malkin, he won't be though as the league won't want to upset the Pitts fans or Lemieux.

Too bad the league bends the rules for the stars.

JM2C

Nah, we'll just watch Zetterberg flatten Malkin in the next game in return.

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Guest ForeverGuyLafleur

That rule was set there to avoid outbursts of violence at the end of a game, and Malkin really wanted to kill Zetterberg yesterday. If Malkin can't follow the rules, he should be suspended and the way he reacted should have meant out fo the balance of the series, period.

IMO, I hate the NHL for their double standards and this has to be changed.

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That rule was set there to avoid outbursts of violence at the end of a game, and Malkin really wanted to kill Zetterberg yesterday. If Malkin can't follow the rules, he should be suspended and the way he reacted should have meant out fo the balance of the series, period.

IMO, I hate the NHL for their double standards and this has to be changed.

agreed, if that had been a player like Aaron Downey getting into a fight in the final 5 minutes they would have booted him for the rest of the series.

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It seems that the rules book used in the playoffs in general but specially in this final is totally different than the one used in the season. Why suspend Malkin for a fight when Crosby is crosschecking to the head without even getting a minor ? ;)

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It's all about marketing the star players, and we can't have a star player out for a crucial game of the finals now can we? Buttman wouldn't show his face in Pitts for the next 5 years. I really had to laugh when they asked Bill Guerin if Malkin should be suspended. Of course he said no,,,,can you imagine if he had said yes? (stupid reporter) There is NO way in heck Crosby, Malkin, Fluery, Datsyuk, Zetterberg, or Osgood will EVER be suspended in the finals.

JM2C

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The rule sucks anyway. You should be able to defend yourself or your teammates. The rule was put in place to protect from goons, but it actually helps the goons as you can't go after them when they do something. Zetterberg was a real pest the first two games hooking, clutching, grabbing, and in general just getting in the way of Malkin and Crosby. I don't have a problem with Malkin's reaction to that type of stuff.

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Put it this way, if it was Sean Avery attacking Zetterberg like that he'd have been suspended in a heartbeat.

If it was Avery he should be suspended as his only purpose would be to get said star player off their game by harassing them. In this case said player is a star and plays the game clean. He was just fighting back against the harassment he was receiving from the Detroit players who were attempting to shut him down by harassing him as much as possible.

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This case is a tricky one.

On the one hand, what happened was not what the rule was put in place for and the rule does have an asterisk beside it.

I'm not sure this is a case of the player involved directly. The rule by its nature was prejudiced against goons because it was put in place to prevent a coach from sending out the goons to do damage at the end of a lost game. But in this situation it's obvious Malkin was just angry. The NHL has shown favouratism in the past, but I don't think that's necessarily the case here. Were it some fourth liner not known as a vicious player, it would have been the same result.

That said, it's pretty ridiculous that the NHL has an asterisk beside every rule. There are no standards and they can do what they want. Given that they do have the powers to change the suspension, they made the right call. But at a higher level, why even give Campbell this job? Why not just "fight at end of game, get suspended". Sure, there will be a few 'unfair' cases, but it's a rule that can be stuck to and then there won't always be the debate "should he have been suspended"?

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If it was Avery he should be suspended as his only purpose would be to get said star player off their game by harassing them. In this case said player is a star and plays the game clean. He was just fighting back against the harassment he was receiving from the Detroit players who were attempting to shut him down by harassing him as much as possible.

So we should have two rule books? One for star players and one for goons like Avery? Tough situation.

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Rules shmooles, no court in the world (except for Saudi Arabia) enforces laws to a T - there's room for logic and subjectivity. Clearly Malkin wasn't being a goon.

Just because someone is extremely talented doesn't mean they can't display goonish behavior. Attacking and trying to intimidate the other team's star player at the end of the game is behaving like a goon. He should have gotten a game.

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In my world (the hockey world :D ) Malkin should be suspended because he broke the rules. He instigated a fight in the last 5 minutes of the game. It shouldn't/doesn't matter if he was "trying to send a message " or not, as he went after Zetterberg, (who was shadowing Crosby all night). Because he is Malkin, he won't be though as the league won't want to upset the Pitts fans or Lemieux.

Too bad the league bends the rules for the stars.

JM2C

The rule is meant to prevent coaches from sending out their muscle at the end of a game for the sole purpose of sending a message as much as anything. I can fully understand why they didn't suspend Malkin.

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