[bigboydan]

Ryan Kesler must be on crack! There is no way he deserves a 20 game suspension for that cross check. Now I know these types of things are frowned upon these days, but damn! I say no more that 3-5 games.

Heres the story and the video clip and you make the call on what type of suspension he should get, if one at all.

Kesler: Boulerice deserves 20-game suspension for crosscheck

VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- Canucks center Ryan Kesler called for Philadelphia Flyers enforcer Jesse Boulerice to receive a 20-game suspension for crosschecking him in the head.

Boulerice faces an automatic review by NHL disciplinarian Colin Campbell after he received a match penalty and game misconduct for the incident in the third period of Philadelphia's 8-2 victory in Vancouver on Wednesday night.

On Thursday, Kesler said the punishment should be on par with the 20-game suspension that Flyers rookie Steve Downie received for leaving his feet and delivering a shoulder to the head of Ottawa's Dean McAmmond in the preseason. Downie is now in the minors.

The hit, which left the Senators forward with a concussion, prompted the AHL to suspend Downie for the first month of the season.

Kesler said league officials need to do "something severe enough to scare guys from doing that."

The 23-year-old center practiced Thursday and expects to play Friday when the Canucks face the Oilers in Edmonton. The swelling in Kesler's right lip and jaw had subsided, but he still had some red marks on his face.

He did not receive an X-ray and had no plans to get one.

"I didn't see him coming and he just took my head off," said Kesler. "I think he has a reputation of doing that, so we'll see what happens."

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[xxx]

this isn't any kind of crosscheck, it's a crosscheck to the face. He might as well wack his head off. i say he gets 15 games.

[PuckOff]

20 - 25 games

[kanjinfo]

20 seems pretty light.. ive been hearing 25-30 games. in any case he will be made an example of. that sort of play wont be tolerated.

think about it, if kesler's jaw was broken, he'd be out for at least 4-6 wks.. on principle 20-25 games seems appropriate.

[cobra_king]

BBD,
I have to respectfully disagree with you on this issue. He should be given a lengthy suspension, (minimum 15 games). It was clearly premeditated, as evidenced by the fact he was going to drop his gloves if Kessler got up. And more specifically Kessler was nowhere near the puck so it can not be deemed a hockey play at all. He went after him with the intent to clock him and he did. I personally believe he should get Downie type numbers.

[Bluehorseshoe]

The most damning part of that whole thing was, he dropped his gloves the second after he did it. The intent of going for a cheap shot was obvious.

[bigboydan]

Originally Posted by cobra_king

BBD,
I have to respectfully disagree with you on this issue. He should be given a lengthy suspension, (minimum 15 games). It was clearly premeditated, as evidenced by the fact he was going to drop his gloves if Kessler got up. And more specifically Kessler was nowhere near the puck so it can not be deemed a hockey play at all. He went after him with the intent to clock him and he did. I personally believe he should get Downie type numbers.

cobra king, How many times did we see Tiger Williams, Bob Probert, Chris Nylon, and even Tony Twist do the exact same sorta thing over the years. Those guys made a living from doing that sorta thing, and never got nailed with a 25 game suspension at all.

[cobra_king]

Dan, for the most part those guys took on opponents head on and without their sticks. They'd drop their gloves and the best man won. You'd have never seen Tiger Williams ambush a guy like that with his stick. He'd have gone face to face with him and dropped his gloves. And as for the guys who did do that, whether it was 20 years ago or not, i believe that 20 games back then would also have been appropriate.

[Stumpage]

Originally Posted by bigboydan

cobra king, How many times did we see Tiger Williams, Bob Probert, Chris Nylon, and even Tony Twist do the exact same sorta thing over the years. Those guys made a living from doing that sorta thing, and never got nailed with a 25 game suspension at all.

I can understand this to some extent, but at some point what penalties were handed out in the past has to stop being used as the barometer for what should be the punishment presently (or in the future).

The message should be "Well, maybe in the past you could get away with it, but those days are over". Something along those lines. It just takes somebody with enough balls to end the status quo.

I have no problem at all with the penalty handed down in this case. I actually wish we'd see more heavy handed suspensions, if not to send a message, then at the very least to get the goon-squad off the ice.

[xxx]

i heard on the radio that kesler was bad mouthing the hole philly team during the warmups, so he was a marked man during the game.

[Doc JS]

Originally Posted by bigboydan

cobra king, How many times did we see Tiger Williams, Bob Probert, Chris Nylon, and even Tony Twist do the exact same sorta thing over the years. Those guys made a living from doing that sorta thing, and never got nailed with a 25 game suspension at all.

Different day and time, Dan.

Just like when you go back and watch some of the old NFL highlights, you see clothesline tackles, late hits, spearing, etc. and that shit almost never got called. You'd be thrown out of the game and hit with a multiple game suspension if you did that kind of stuff today. Same thing in the NHL.

[bigboydan]

Originally Posted by Doc JS

Different day and time, Dan.

Just like when you go back and watch some of the old NFL highlights, you see clothesline tackles, late hits, spearing, etc. and that shit almost never got called. You'd be thrown out of the game and hit with a multiple game suspension if you did that kind of stuff today. Same thing in the NHL.

Thats oh so true Doc.

Nowadays all these sports leagues have become "pussified".

[sharktank1]

He got off light!

[DoctorX79]

That was just a cheap shoot it was 7-2 philly.
Theres no way this checkin the face can be acceptable
25 games is way too soft.
Its pretty similar to what Simon did last season but i expected something like 40 games.
This is not the 1st time philly is involved in this kind of shit!
Can you tell me what Boulerice did on the ice at the end of the game when you lead 7-2....
Get this guy out of the game for a long time please!

[psycho44]

I didn't know we still had enforcers in the NHL.

The cross-check looks innocent if you compare it to Chris Simon's and Bertuzzi's stick swinging incident but that's irrelevant.

If there was clear indication to injure than the suspension is justified whether or not the player was injured or not is irrelevant.

I can see the point that it was premeditated and the game was already won by the score being 7-2 and that the league wants to clamp down on retaliation but I don't think Boulerice intended to injure Kesler. It looked to me like he wanted to instigate a fight and got too carried away. Why would you want to injure someone if you wanted to fight them?

[bigboydan]

Boy... Talk about have a bad week.

Not only did he get nailed with a bogus 25 game suspension, but he gets waived to boot.

Boulerice waived after receiving 25-game suspension

PHILADELPHIA -- Jesse Boulerice, who last week was given the longest single-season suspension in NHL history for hitting a player in the face with his stick, was placed on waivers by the Flyers on Monday.

The 29-year-old Boulerice was suspended 25 games by the league for cross-checking the Canucks' Ryan Kesler in the face on Wednesday. The penalty matched the ban given to New York Islanders forward Chris Simon in March for his two-handed stick attack of Ryan Hollweg of the New York Rangers.

Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren said the decision was based on the team's need for more roster space while dealing with injuries.

"It just gives us more freedom to do more things with our roster, that's all," Holmgren said. "Other than that, there's nothing behind it."

Jesse Boulerice

Boulerice

The Flyers signed Boulerice as a free agent in the offseason.

A 6-foot-2, 215-pound right wing, Boulerice has 319 penalty minutes in limited playing time during five NHL seasons. He has eight goals and two assists in 167 career games.

Boulerice was the second Flyers player to face a lengthy suspension this season.

Philadelphia (3-1) lost rookie Steve Downie for 20 games last month for leaving his feet to deliver a hit to the head of Ottawa's Dean McAmmond in a preseason game. He was assigned to the team's American Hockey League affiliate, the Philadelphia Phantoms, where he was given a matching suspension by the league.

In 1998, Boulerice was suspended for one year by the Ontario Hockey League for violent stick-swinging. He went to the AHL the following season and was ruled ineligible until mid-November.

[DoctorX79]

Good thing.. he cant play hockey anyways and he will never play in the NHL again

[bigboydan]

This isn't right at all. The AHL shouldn't have the right to honor that NHL suspension.

AHL bans suspended ex-Flyer Boulerice until Dec. 16

PHILADELPHIA -- Former Philadelphia Flyers forward Jesse Boulerice was ruled ineligible to play in the American Hockey League until Dec. 16 after the NHL suspended him 25 games earlier this month.

Boulerice was suspended 25 games by the NHL on Oct. 12 for striking Vancouver's Ryan Kesler across the face with his stick, the longest single-season ban in league history.

The Flyers then placed Boulerice on waivers on Oct. 15.

In 1998, Boulerice was suspended for one year by the Ontario Hockey League for violent stick-swinging. He went to the AHL the following season and was ruled ineligible until mid-November.

"In determining his eligibility date, it was taken into account that this is the second time in his career that Mr. Boulerice has been assigned to the AHL while under a lengthy suspension in another league," league president David Andrews said.

Boulerice's eligibility does not affect the terms of his NHL suspension.