PHANEUF CLEARED, MORENCY SUSPENDED
KO resting; Frans (knee surgery) out 4-6 weeks
6:30 pm - Frans Nielsen to undergo arthroscopic surgery on right knee on Monday. Team says he’ll be out 4-6 weeks.
4:47 pm - Kyle Okposo is said to be resting at the team hotel in Saskatoon. He did not join the team at their training camp facility today.
3:43 pm - My friend Elliotte Friedman (follow on Twitter) of Hockey Night in Canada spoke with NHL officials and was kind enough to share his notes with Point Blank: “The league said they reviewed the hit by Phaneuf on Okposo extensively. They determined that it was not a late hit. They said the hit was not ‘unsuspecting.’ The league determined that Phaneuf did not target the head and that he did not leave his feet or launch himself.”
2:45 pm - The NHL will say they’re looking at the tape to determine if Morency got to Phaneuf via a legal line change. It was a legal change. But this way the league keeps Morency away from Saturday’s game, and Phaneuf will not be playing. In other news, Casey Cizikas returned to the OHL, the still-unsigned Travis Hamonic to the WHL.
125 Responses to “PHANEUF CLEARED, MORENCY SUSPENDED
KO resting; Frans (knee surgery) out 4-6 weeks”
Please Wait
Terrible
Why would they suspend him indefinitely? Why not just give him 5 games or whatever.
That figures as it is probably coming from Campbell. I can just picture him sitting in his office trying to explain the rationale behind the suspension…”hmmmm….errrrr….uhhhh….ahhhhh”
Gordo needs to put 2 words on the whiteboard for the pre-game…”GAME ON”. Boys, put ur gloves on, put ur helmets on and tighten the chin strap and go out and hit everything and anything in a red/white shirt. So while Dion is getting sloppy thirds in a hotel room somewhere, the Flames are getting pounded on every single play. I think the message will find its way back to him…
The point - is this - Phaneuf should not have had to drop the gloves because of a “clean hit” (I think it was both clean and unfortunate that Okposo was interfered with).
He should drop em the same way one of our guys would have been attacked if we took out their top goal scorer from last year….(Okposo is that guy for us)
Shades of James Patrick / Patrick LaFontaine………
there’s always the meeting in march
more campbell nonsense..
its a legal line change.. thrres nothing to see here campbell.. he didnt jump on the ice during a fight, this was before the fights started up.. you have no groudns to suspend him you one sided fool
why havent you been fired yet?
So Morency is the team’s enforcer? ; ) Will this give Snow a wake up call to acquire one?
Snow wake up sign an enforcer!!!!!!!
There you go! For those thinking that this matter is something the league should handle this is why you learn to handle your own business. Phaneuf isn’t getting suspended. Morency had a clean line change, it was legal. Like Botta said Campbell is trying to help the Flames by taking away one fighting asset from them. Much the same way that the two officials held Morency Phaneuf until Phaneuf had the upper hand with him.
If you think Brent Sutter is not going to load his roster with every tough guy he can find Saturday and continue to go after the Islanders your crazy!
Gordon and Snow better be smart and load their roster with every fighter. They shouldn’t have sent down Harmonic they should have dressed him.
If Dion Phaneuf is the kind of guy that wants to let his smaller teammates take his beatings for him then….that says a lot about Dion.
FYI if you watch the slow motion on when Martin tried to get Phaneuf to fight it is because Phaneuf tried to lay an elbow on Martin. Sarich laid an elbow to Martin’s head earlier in the game too without a call or the NHL suspending Sarich for a blow to the head.
I watched the youtube clip of that hit 1000 times. At the three second mark you can see where contact initiates and the follow through.
That was all elbow to the head. Whether or not it results in suspension may be debatable but it definitly should be reveiwed. Phaneuf had his elbow out before initiating that hit and for the follow through.
If that elbow doesn’t make contact he has a clean hit. Probably not one that results in an injury or even a highlight reel.
That’s my take on it. The elbow makes it a dirty hit.
where are all the fans that said we dont need an enforcer….yeah if colton orr or brasher was on the bench someone would be eating his own teeth right now..
One thing is clear to me, Maybe Avery was right about Phaneuf
I wonder what would have happened if Jackman hit Iginla in the same way.
What do you say 5 or 10 games?
that was not “clean” at all…it looks like he definitly left his feet if you pause it right before the hit…but its ok to take shots at islander players, if it were Crosby that got hit like that in a pre-season game pheaneuf would be banned from even mentioning the word “Hockey” for the rest of his life…
glad to see Casey and Travis returned to junior hockey where they can continue to develop.
good for Pascal sticking up for his teammate. it stinks that he was suspended but he made a name for himself. obviously the guy is not a scorer but he sure knows how to fight for his team.
I know it’s not available on TV but can Saturday’s game be seen on line?
All we can hope for now is a healthy KO for March 25th, some team bonding from the incident, and a chip on the players’ shoulders that will carry over to all of their games.
March 25th will be a special night. Let Dion have his glory now but March is a game that means something and the Isles now know what they are up against.
Story updated. Phaneuf cleared. NHL says he didn’t leave his feet or target head…CB
Campbell double standard at work here. It was a hit to the head, did anyone see that pic of Okposo’s face all cut up? Campbell is a joke. Last year Poke gets 5 games for his elbow but Mike Mottau 2?? Where’s the consistency? Year before that..Simon gets a 30 game suspension for his ’stomp’ and Pronger got 8 games just enough so he could play in the playoffs…He is a repeat offender why does he get off so easy???? Colin Campbell is a joke and a disgrace to hockey….ughh..the end.
I think we should go Rex Ryan on them, “If you take a swipe at one of ours we’re gonna take out two of yours”. It’s not even steven at this point. It’ll be never even. Time to take some high slappers, time to give some “flat tires” when the Flamers are skating towards the boards. The least Diane could have done was accept the challenge. If you want to play like cheap effers, then it should be “GAME ON”(Could not have said it better myself RH from NJ)
Slightly different take: I love how Coach Sutter says without any hesitation it was a clean hit, he never left his feet, etc. Yet when Doug Weight creamed his son with an equally-jarring hit, Weight is dirty, the play was dirty, Weight’s a headhunter, etc. Makes me laugh. Hope KO’s ok. Saturday night should be more interesting than it needs to be.
Well said #17, you can count me in. Now all we need are the Hansen brothers, or just ONE Garth. Let’s hope this is the wake up call to Isles brass, act NOW before it gets worse..
And let’s not forget who is running this grand league of ours, Gary Buttman and his right hand man CC, as I can still see him pacing the Rags bench as their HC, ahhhh, yes..
if i was not in work i would put my head through the monitor. WTF is going on here?? The NHL just crapped all over us…AGAIN….If it was Iginla laid out by WITT he would be suspended for 40 games…geezus crist!!! i am aggravated and it is only september
Pure and utter BS!!! THis is why the NHL is a joke.
@James #21: Agreed about Sutter, I wouldn’t be upset if he takes a puck to his hypocritical mouth on Saturday.
Notice how the statement from the NHL says “he did not target the head”. They did not say he didn’t hit him in his head, which is what he could/should be suspended for.
No instead ex-rags coach Colin Campbell (who is one of the dirtiest players and coaches in history….remember him sending Puriton out there to punch Jason Blake from behind?) Suspends Morency for what in the future will be determined as a line change.
I hate Sutter. He is pure scum. Not just for his hits on the Isles but how he screwed over NJ. Out of the three Sutter related hits there was only one clean one and that was the one Weight put on his son.
You wanna play this way Sutter? Wait until we see your freakin’ kid again in Carolina. When we play FL Campbell’s kid should be fed glass.
Chris, please answer this question. Isles management knows they have gotten the short end of the stick from the NHL justice czar since Campbell took the job. Has Wang ever gone to Bettman to try to get Campbell fired? It’s not just Isles he runs his personal grudges all over the NHL.
I bring you back to the Witt/Brashear incident, has Campbell ever called Witt back after making the big public statement how Witt has his number and should be a man and talk to him on the phone man-to-man? Then he never returned his call?
Saturday night’s alright for fighting!
He drove his shoulder through K.O.’s (maybe he needs a new nickname) chin. But he didn’t target his head. Ok Colin. The NHL is about as fair and balanced as Fox News.
Guys, It was a clean hit. That’s the bottom line. It’s a fierce game at times and KO paid the price for going over the middle. The crying game with Campbell has got to stop, it’s embarrassing
Everyone boo phenauf when flames play us in march
Garth, WAKE UP!!!!!! I can see these hits on our young kids all year. Garth, you will have the blood of your own players on your hands. Maybe Kate Murray can skate, she is giving Charles a beating. I am a season tix holder, and this is upsetting. WAKE UP GARTH.
There’s two separate issues of dirty at work here - illegal hits and cheap hits. I’m forced to agree with the NHL that it wasn’t illegal. Phaneuf did not leave his feet, and, like it or not, KO got the worst of it because he was in a vulnerable position.
What makes me mad is that Phaneuf went out of his way and left his position to deliberately target (and IMO blindside) KO. That to me makes it a cheap hit. And like it or not, I think the biggest reason we’re mad is partly because we’re on the receiving end and moreso because it’s Okposo (as opposed to say, Greg Moore). We’re also really sensitive because we don’t want any concussions to ruin the careers of our young players.
The other and more alarming issue is that people think that Phaneuf has no deterrent to give him the fear of Iginla facing retribution. Moreover, remember Campoli getting hit last year by, I think, Olesz? Or Chris Lee getting hit from behind? We’re all rightfully worried because with no deterrent, we already may lose KO for a part of the season and JT or Bailey could be next. Either way, the response tomorrow night should be interesting.
Hated the hit, was clearly dirty. That being said, am I the only one afraid of a Todd Bertuzzi-like vendetta? The NHL does not need more vigilante style retaliation. I can’t believe they haven’t just suspended him. The NFL would never put up with this.
Did you really think that Campbell would ever come down with a ruling that would favor the Islanders? Besides we might as well get used to these kinds of plays all season. We have no reliable enforcer anywhere in the organization (please don’t waste our time by talking about the “wrecker”) and opposing teams will use our young players as tacking dummies all season long until they are injured or just shut down. Can’t wait for JT to leave in a few seasons so he can go play for an organization who actually cares about his safety. Amazing how Snow got suspended once for punching someone while still wearing his blocker, but can’t sign someone to stick up for his players. Yeah, I bet Calgary is really worried about tomorrow or game in March…..spare me…..
I am sick of these “clean hits”. Legal or not, what if there was one hit like this every game? Five to six players a night going off on a stretcher…then who would we be watching play?
Flames fans are saying the kid should have had his head up and that we want to take the hitting out of hockey. Shut your mouths you couldn’t be more wrong. KO was pushed from behind and was left vulnerable for Phaneuf to pick off even though he was already covered by two other players.
And stop making excuses about him “not having to fight after a clean hit”. You can’t accept his hit without accepting that retribution will be coming his way because of it.
We need someone on this team to make dirtbags like Phaneuf afraid to pull a “clean hit” like we saw last night. Where is Cairns when you need him.
It was a hit to the head, did anyone see that pic of Okposo’s face? Poke got 5 games for his elbow but Mottau only got two. No consistency.. Year before Simon gets a 30 game suspension for his ’stomp’ and Pronger got 8 games just enough so he could play in the playoffs…He is a repeat offender why does he get off so easy???? Colin Campbell is a joke and a disgrace to hockey….ughh..the end.
You can’t make this stuff up, a**backwards ruling by the NHL. If it were Crosby with the concussion, the ruling would have been different. I guess some hockey players are more equal than other hockey players.
Let’s see Iginla get laid out at the Credit Union Center and see how the Sutter brothers like it. Now it’s time to get an enforcer and when the regular season rolls around, letr someone dirty up on Ms. Phaneuf.
Campbell should be fired for incompitence… he’s a complete idiot.
CB- I can see plainly using a digital video editor system on broadcast equipment (I’m sure the NHL has better equipment then I), and I can see Phaneuf CLEARLY take 5 (five) strides towards Okposo, he CLEARLY left the ice when you look at the video frame by frame. You can see that the one blade he had left on the ice during mid-stride on the 8th frame before impact leave the ice propelling him into Okposo. Shortly after impact the toe of his skate hits the ice again and his shoulder plants right into his head with his bicep riding over KO’s helmet, as he Dion spins off of the hip and onto the ice. I can see this reviewing 300 frams of video. It is plain to see. You don’t even have to strain. As far as his premeditation goes … Come On!! Dion was lining KO up. It wasn’t an inconsequential contact. He skates right into KO with his shoulder aimed at him and his whole arm followed through on the hit. Targeting his head? Of course he did.
CB- When a player hits another player in the face with a stick they are penalized citing they have to be responsible for their stick. I think it’s much easier to control where your shoulder goes … am I right? Sorry. I’m T’d off since looking at the broadcast quality version of the hit.
i would like to see botta or someone in the press make the obvious-but-needs-to-be-said point that sutter is the many behind the bench in both hits (kyle and frans) still protecting his pansy kid - did i miss that in black and white somewhere?
Also just in from NHL officials:
The Hindenberg was NOT on fire and did NOT burn. It just sustained some minor damage.
That’s it, sign an enforcer! Campbell is a joke, how can you say Phaneuf didn’t leave his feet or go for his head. Like other readers have said, if it were Crosby would the ruling be different?
The NHL is run by a BUNCH OF MORONS!
When you watch the hit, there were two things he did wrong. First, his arm and elbow came up into Okposo’s face. If the puck carrier is responsible for his head being up, then so too is the checker for keeping his arm and elbow down. Whenever I played, emphasis was to hit with your shoulder. Second, he left his feet. His initial action may have shown him not lifting his feet, but his follow through caused him to leave his feet and fall to the ice. If you need to check someone with that much force that you put yourself in the air and then on the ice, it should be illegal. Look at any Scott Stevens hit. He never, never left his feet, and always hit with his shoulder. The Phaneuf hit was ridiculous, and the NHL approving it shows how much of a joke they are.
Put on the foil on Saturday boys. Old time hockey!
suprise suprise the isles get the poop end of the stick from the league..Saturday should be fun
I wonder if Witt thought it was a clean hit. He was on the ice at the time and he did nothing. This team needs him for his toughness.
They absolutely need to send a message I don’t think they need to go after Iginla specifically but they have to be out there hitting anyone anytime there is an opportunity…and leave the rookies home for that game.
BOTTOM LINE: It’s over. Done. Having some cluster F of a brawl tomorrow night without even Dion playing accomplishes nothing. Yeah, if Calgary was a Division foe then perhaps we would be taliking about something different. But they’re not.
Don’t even get me started on that hypocrit Sutter or the arbritary past rulings of Cambell’s office.
WHAT DO I WANT TO SEE? On March 25th I want to see Okposo chase that scumbag down, drop his lid, drop his gloves and let the knuckles fly! Mano y Mano! He’s got no reason to be scared of that coward! Then the rest of the Isles can have there way with Phanuef for the rest of the game!
After watching that game last night I am just as proud as ever to be an Islander fan and I am sure the boys on the team feel the same!
GO ISLES!!!
The suspension is more Campbell BS!
Look at the facts:
1. Morency can’t be a third man in as there was no fight going on.
2. Morency didn’t leave the bench during a fight as there was none.
Worst he possibly did was commit a ‘too-many-men’ penalty.
Snow better be on the ball with this.
Phaneuf crushes KO with an open ice hit in preseason to show he’s not getting soft and then backs down both times he’s challenged. Nice. Sutter sucks. Phaneuf sucks and the ISles have no luck at all. Get better soon KO…we need ya.
If you watch the replay a few times and you know anything about the game you can see that Dion diddn’t leave his feet before impact. He only left his feet after and as a result of the impact. The blame here lies with Wang and Snow for not spending on an enforcer that opponents will fear. Not Campbell, not Sutter and not Dion. No team or player is afraid of the Isles or any one of their players. This type of thing will happen to all of the top young players on the Isles as they are all small and there is no enforcer to protect them.
do you think tavares is in the line up next game?
ABOPRTT!!!!!
Agree with Lance79 (28)- this was probably a legal hit, but certainly dirty. Why does the league make an exception for high sticking- whether intentional or not, a high stick near the head is an automatic penalty - and not make the same exception for hard/”legal” checks to the head? Especially open ice checks.
Since it seems like the league will almost always rule against us, we really need to take matters into our own hands.
(Sean Hill….need I say more. In the history of hockey only one player has ever failed a substance test. Ever. He happened to be an Islander 5 hours before a do or die playoff game…its amazing that not one other player in the NHL has ever failed this test..ever..confounds statistics). Time to trade for some goons.
First of all, I trust 19 Isles’ view of this since he has the professional equipment. Surely looked like Phaneuf was off his feet, and Okposo had already been pitched forward by the previous hit, so it’s not the same as Brandon Sutter absent-mindedly reaching for the puck as Weight was lining him up.
When will the NHL realize that Bertuzzi/Moore incidents happen precisely because of this uneven justice? Think about it…Phaneuf isn’t suspended and he was allowed to wuss out every time an Islander challenged him to answer for what he did. It’s pathetic.
By the way - Gordon has clearly learned from the Nielsen incident. Well-done calling a spade a spade, and on his teammates for standing up for him.
You know Calgary won’t have the guts to put Phaneuf in the lineup Saturday, but that could lead to someone else getting badly hurt. Funny how those who talk the most about The Code and The Game respect them the least.
why do all these people keep saying wait for sat. night, sat. night’s all right for fighting etc…??????
the isles have NO ONE that will do any of the things necessary to protect THEIR team!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! payback etc…….
it ain’t gonna happen!
did it happen any of the last 10 times this shiiite has happened the past few years????????
this is ridiculous, as a fan since the late 70’s every year gets more and more depressing!!!!!!!!!
and the season didn’t even start yet!!!!!!!!
Anyone that knows the game of hockey … I love that one… LOL! CB - Add that one to your list of .. This guy I know that knows the cousin of DP … etc.
**
I think anyone with two eyes and can look at the video frame by frame can see DF’s feet leave the ice a fraction of a second before impact (8 frames as I calculate). About 15 frames before impact his right skate left the ice (his furthest skate from Okposo) had left skate still on the ice (closest to Okposo), then in almost an offbalance leap towards the side, not forward you can see the left skate heel leave the ice and by the next frame you see air under the toe of the left skate which may have been an inch off the ice at 8 frames before impact. That shows how fast it happened b/c you can’t even see the gradual lift of the skate between the 9th and 8th frame. A few frames after impact DF is in the air and lands on his ass. That is what disguises the fact that DF left the ice. If you have a Tivo / DVR see if you can record a highlight from some sports news that might still be showing it. It might be slow enough to catch. It was sucker hit regardless of leaving the ice or not anyway. KO was shoved from behind and leaning over when DF still had time to let up. It can even be construed as intent to injure since he made primary contact with KO’s head and not his body.
We should probably stay away from Iginla, he’s a tough sob and one of the leagues better fighters believe it or not. Get ready for another great season.
I have a great idea, I know a fighter who would stand up to anyone and Snow would definitely go along BILLY SMITH!!! and besides he would use his stick like he always did.
Phaneuf should remember that there are always players that are tougher than him. One day he’ll mess with the wrong player and he’ll get everything he deserves.
Sloppy S******! lol
I give Garth a lot of credit to sticking with the rebuilding plan, but he’s a fool to think that we don’t need anyone to protect our young guys.
If this doesn’t make Garth wake up and realize that we need a legitimate heavyweight, then Rechlicz, Martin and Reich have to be in the lineup every game this season.
if you look at the video closely, you can see that Dion left the ground before the hit. dont say it was after the impact because i doubt a big guy like that would bounce off of KO. another thing, how is it not a head shot if KO is left with bruises and cuts on his face?
How can they say his feet didn’t leave the ice or that he didn’t launch himself?
With neilson and ko out that is two of the young core. What is it going to take garth. We need some protection. Don’t be a candyass pansy. Bring in a goon. Why the f did we let goddard go???
and another thing, how r u gonna tell me that his head was down? it was down cuz he got hit from behind too.
Chris, can you write a post on how the Islander fan base may be losing interest because of the poor play on the ice, disfunctional play in the front office and of course the uncertainty of the team remaining on Long Island? I mean I know the Islanders are rebuilding but what is the plan? three years?
That is total crap!! He did so leave his feet and anyone that thinks different is blind!! Also if they suspend Morency something is teribbly terribbly wrong with the world. I want the toughtest bottom 6 dressed by us in a while going tomorrow:
Wrecker-Haley-Martin
Reich-Thompson-Jackman
Show them whats up when you run Iginla or Jay-Bo. I don’t care as much about the result of tomorrows game as I do kicking the Flames a$$!!
Chris, I don’t get it. If Morency came on the Ice during a LEGAL LINE CHANGE, why is he suspended? What rule did he break?? Isn’t it Okposo who’s not going to be playing any time soon?? It’s not like Morency left the bench and clocked Phaneuf out with his stick. It was Instigation at worst?? How did this bastid Colin Campbell get elected to his possession? He clearly has it out for the Islanders with every one of his observations. I sure hope Okposo misses less games than Morency!!
I think Chris Simon needs to be resigned for the next time we play Calgary.
Post updated with Frans Nielsen news…CB
__ Sorry guys I said it before and ill say it again, i watched that hit 5-6X and i still think its a CLEAN HIT! hockeys a rough game people with big strong guys hitting/colliding! - KO came across with his head down and got nailed (Hard but cleanly!)
___ Ive been a NHL fan for over 20+ years and this dynamic duo of Bettman + Campbell could ruin a fantasy, they are so inept — the hypocracy and double standard with rules/suspensions is astounding re: Morency HOW DOES THE PLAYERS ASSOCIATION ALLOW THIS?? … They are inept and a joke, both of em!
___ I think since its a PRE-SEASON GAME, that it would be a GREAT TIME to “send the message” that this wont be tolerated. Im telling you guys, the rest of the NHL knows the Isles are a young team and a ’smallish’ team — they will test Tavares and other young guys from time to time — show the NHL (especially during a PRESEASON GAME!) that we wont be pushed around!
__ Doesnt have to be a brawlfest or benchclearing brawl, but the Isles should play a physical game, simple end of story..
Lets go Isles
Bring back Jethro……
1 game contract !!!!!
The news just keeps getting worse
@ mike (70) - What rule did he break
Well, arguably Rule 70.1 - and certainly Rule 70.2 - either way the league is totally justified in suspending him - arguing otherwise is pure homerism at its most embarrassing level.
70.1 Leaving the Bench - No player or goalkeeper may leave the players’ or penalty bench at any time during an altercation *OR* FOR THE PURPOSE OF STARTING AN ALTERCATION. Substitutions made prior to the altercation shall be permitted PROVIDED THE PLAYERS SO SUBSTITUTING (read: Morency) DO NOT ENTER THE ALTERCATION.
OK - so you want to argue that there was no altercation when he left the bench - fine. You want to ignore the “or for the purpose of starting an altercation” part of the rule, fine. There is still rule 70.2 which states:
70.2 Legal Line Change – A player who has entered the game on a legal line change or legally from the penalty bench (penalty time has expired) WHO STARTS AN ALTERCATION maybe subject to discipline in accordance with Rule 29 – Supplementary Discipline.
No matter what way you slice it, legal line change or otherwise, the league has plenty of rules to hit him over the head with.
Lets stop whining over a clean hard hit and the league enforcing its own rules and just hope the Isles break some faces on Saturday.
This should be a wakeup call - the Isles are in for a long season unless they figure out how to put enough bite on the ice to get the respect of their opponents.
Where is Snow and Gordon??? They should be outraged and commenting or talking about the hit and this BS suspension! We constantly get shafted by the league and our front office remains quiet. Somebody needs to lead this team and right now I don’t see leadership behind the bench or in the front office!!
#70# i’am 100 percent with you,very well said. to bad phaneuf will stay at home and not in the lineup tomorrow.
i mean section 320 rocks
With frans out any chance Dibo stays wit team to start season
I mean this with zero disrespect to fellow Isles fans. But, its getting absurd. Are Islander fans the Kings of whiners? The hit was hard, legal, and would be nice to see from our DMan. Conspiracy theories aside, the reality is we are a soft team. Why is it always a complaint? Take care of it on the ice.
#78, you judged us so now I’ll judge you. What got Morency in this position is that he did try to take care of it on the ice and Collie Campbell had a hissy fit and issue an indefinite suspension. Give it up jerko!
Collie campbell couldn’t beat us ON THE ICE so now he tries to get back at us OFF the ICE!
79, the NHL needs time to assess if he jumped in , not on a line change. So what? I doubt Coil gives a rats arse about the NYI’s: we are irrelevant until we prove otherwise. Do you not understand it was a GREAT HIT???
I’m with you DLR. It was clean and I’m tired of the crying about Campbell, it’s embarrassing…
Guys, Phaneuf, Iginla and J Bow won’t be anywhere near the ice in Saskatoon tomorrow. Sutter’s going to have to dress Prust and Nystrom to deal with Phaneuf’s BS. Hope they’re ready.
Season hasn’t even started yet, and already one bad thing is happening after the other.
What is it with this team? Why do they have the worst karma ever?!?
Ray, ready for who? The Wrecker? Im sure no one in that organization is scared. Was Witt on the ice? Why didnt he do anything. They skated around, hugging and grappling. Throw punches, or shut up and play the game
Dion didn’t propel himself? He fell flat on his rear after he hit Okposo. After finally looking at it, I don’t think it was a terribly dirty hit but if the league comes back and says he didn’t propel himself? Are they kidding?
I think it was a good hit. Its uncalled for in preseason but thats hockey. Sucks for us, but it is what it is. They should not put Okposo, Bailey, Tavares, Comeau, Bergenheim, Weight, Streit, Sutton, Witt, Martinek, Gervais, Park or any other player of relevance to our team in anymore preseason games. Let these rookies show their worth and keep our actual NHL team out of it. Look at whats happened to us already…its a farce
Bright spot is Moulson. Kings fans liked him and never thought he got a shot out there.
Looks guys … we don’t have to like it but Morency deserves a suspension. He left the bench to start an altercation … even if it was a line change … he gets nailed by the rule book.
**
KO didn’t cut across the neutral zone… he was going in a straight line and was shoved from behind and I’m convinced that DF left his skates to make sure he made contact with KO. The shove kinda slightly misaligned DF’s lined up hit and in order for DF to follow through on the hit he cheated a bit and his skates left the ice. Now to call this a blatant full thrust off his skates would be wrong … but he took 5 full strides and left the ice to make the contact.
I don’t know what we can expect from Campbell … so why torture our selves over it. I don’t think we should goon Ingilna … that makes us look worse. I say we go after DF, and if he doesn’t play then call him out in the post game presser.
I was just rewatching the hit on the Flames website as well as NHL.com & find it rather suspicious that they show every camera angle except the one that “clearly” shows the hit. It’s kind of insulting really. If it wasn’t a dirty hit why not show the angle that leaves that decision up for debate?
Hey Stevie L before you start calling your coach out why don’t you go read the Isles files and see what he had to say about the cheap shot. You don’t see leadership behind the bench because you obviously don’t want to see it. Gordon commented and basically called Phanouef a wuss for not fighting when the rest of the team was challenging him the rest of the game. Wya to stir up controversy over nothing. If you want to be mad at someone be mad at Snow for not signing an enforcer. On a side note, can’t wait to see what the league has in store for Tavares! Hey maybe someone will end his career before it gets started BECAUSE APPARANTLY GARTH SNOW IS TOO STUPID TO UNDERSTAND THAT OUR KIDS NEED PROTECTION!!! WAKE UP GARTH!!
Its a shame that this hit is all we are going to talk about. Poulin was outstanding in that game, he kicked ass in the 3rd and OT.
It is amazing how cambell still hasn’t gotten over getting sweept in the 82 cup finals.
Hey colin you SUCK.
Look, bottom line was it WAS A CHEAP HIT! Both lines were first lines not fighting for a roster spot. Okposo was hit from behind and lost the puck and was in a vulnerable position trying to retrieve it. AND, wussnouef was playing right defense and slid all the way over to the left side of the ice, cutting off the LEFT d-man who had position on Okposo, to make the hit. It wasn’t like Kyle was right in front of him and he reacted! He had to think about going out of position to make the hit which in turn makes it premeditated. AND IT’S PRESEASON! I have to agree with the poster who said if you don’t see that you probably never played hockey. IT WAS A CHEAP SHOT!
I say attach Iginla in the next game. Even with a bad illegal hit
Knock him out if you can. It is time to fight back!!!!
Biron is my new favorite Islander!
Keep him Garth-
Clearly a cheap shot by a known cheapshot artist.
This will be a defining moment for this young team. who will step up? Who wont? This hit very well could have brought this team together. Im very impressed by Matt Martin. Biron the same…
Jeremy Reich-I cant wait to see what he does to some Flamers Saturday night.
Garth and Wanger-you need to come forward and say something about this hit….it was a cheap shot!
I disagree with most…enforcer or not…Phaneuf plays that way.
Like I said a hundred times today-tell that cheap shot artist to take his visor off. Man up and fight your own fight.
KO get well!
Of course the guy from the flamers didn’t do anything wrong. It’s colin the colon he only give suspensions to islanders when there is an incident. I’m surprise he didn’t suspend KO for knocking the flame down. Colon is a joke he should good coach pee wee hockey maybe he could win a game. 3/25/10
Im at that game in March-right behind the Flamers bench.
Ill probably get tossed for running my mouth to Sutter and Phaneuf-but it will be worth it.
it wAS a dirty head hit because look at the photo of the cuts on kyles face
I just watched the hit over and over. To me it smells of a set play as appauling as it sounds. The guy skates up from behind and pushes Okposo off balance right into an awaiting Phaneuf. I’m sorry that was no accident.
And the Islander response outside of Morency was pitiful. Witt better settle the score tonight. He’s the only hope we’ve got.
nasty hit, shoulder/elbow to head. How is this guy not suspended?? anyone want to a reminder of what a good friend Colin Campbell has been to the Islanders, youtube the roberts hit on KJ in 2002 or the tucker hit on peca, if i remember correctly roberts wasnt suspended or if he was it was for only 1 game and kJ and peca were lost for the season.
The most maddening thing about the Kenny Jonsson hit was that Roberts wasn’t thrown out of the game. The rule says if a head injury occurs its a 5 minute major and game misconduct. Well the referee that night said he couldn’t tell if Jonsson had a head injury. That was classic. That was 10 times worse than the Peca hit.
It’s hard to tell if it’s a clean, questionable, or dirty hit by NHL standards because the NHL is inconsistent in handling these kinds of hits.
We can all think of hits very similar to this one that did receive disciplinary action.
The problem that I have with Phaneuf is that he is not a rookie and not looking to impress the coaches. He obviously knew okposo was in a vulnuerable position and laid out a huge hit. This was only a preseason game. I know people say you cannot play half way. From the footage he knew several seconds before that okposo was in a bad spot.
I hope we can move on and start talking about a more important issue, the zoning hearing. We need to show up in force again and show our support.
Well said Ann.
Also, if Phaneuf wants to make a tough hit, he should learn to face the music instead of running away.
Its peca all over again. That fruitcake Peca whined and whined. What happened when he faced Tucker? nada. NOTHING. Same thing here–you call for Jerome to be targeted…by WHO!?! He’d kick any islanders pansie arse. The GM and coach dress soft lienups..deal with it and stop crying.
Having a goon in the lineup would not have prevented this hit. Ask Peca and Jonsson. Cairns was in the lineup that night and extracted revenge with his fists after the fact, but was not a deterrent at all. The rest of the league knows they have a free pass against the Isles with the NHL front office and until that changes all the thugs in the world are not going to protect this team’s skill guys from getting run.
If we try to exact revenge tomorrow night, I fear the following two things will occur:
1) One or more players will get suspended by CC for “vigilate-ism” and inciting a brawl. Together with a massive team fine.
2) One or more players will be injured trying to exact revenge since we lack the toughness necessary to send the message we’d all like to see.
Calgary will absolutely have 3-4 guys in the lineup who can throw down if the Isles try to start something. We’re in a lose-lose situation at the moment.
#109, which is why Dion P. should have fought last night and this would have all been over.
Charging shall mean the actions of a player or goalkeeper who, as a result of distance traveled, shall violently check an opponent in any manner. A “charge” may be the result of a check into the boards, into the goal frame or in open ice.
Do I think the Isles need a legit heavyweight enforcer? Yes.
Do I think having an enforcer on your team will stop guys from making open ice hits? (this one was in my opinion a dirty one) I don’t think so.
Guys are going to hit - it’s part of the game. Morency tried to answer the bell, but sadly the guys who make these cheap shot when guys are defenseless aren’t the guys who follow the code of hockey and won’t drop the gloves anyways …hopefully KO will be ok, and learn to keep his head up because there are cheap shot artists out there
I don’t buy the whole b.s. about “not being able to switch off” and whatever. You have made it to the level of PROFESSIONAL and should be expected to act as such. Part of that is control and knowing the appropriate times to play that type of game and lay down massive hits like that. An exhibition game against a non-rival is no place for that. Terrible judgment call by Phaneuf.
They turn that switch off for the All-star game don’t they???
They still play hard… but they don’t lay players out when in a vulnerable position.
DOC
I hope that Phaneuf dresses against the Islanders this season to face the music. It won’t Morency fighting next time though, it will be someone like Matt martin or Joe Rechlicz. Somebody should whoop Dion’s ass for this actions.
Two words, GMG: Milan Lucic.
a dirty hit yes.
but, the preseason has been less than a week and we have had bergenheim,weight,neilsen, and okposo injured.
what is going on? no one else has lost half of their first 2 lines.
What a nonsense decision.
I dont know to me it looked like Phaneuf was ready to start throwing with our minor league middle but Morecny fell and Phaneuf fell on top. The fight was going to happen? I’m wondering why one of our other career minor leaguers in the lineup didn’t step up and just start throwing bombs wheter or not Phaneuf wanted to or not? We need MORE toughness on this team on a regular basis not on an if needed basis. I mean whats with asking this guy if he wants to go or not? Islanders when it comes to toughness are pathetic. Like Tom Bradey said talk is cheap. Comeau, this would have been a great time to finally step up to the plate and show you are a man!
Off topic - sorry - but just had to write this somewhere: exactly what we all feared would happen to Isles coverage has happened without PB. I haven’t seen a single interesting and insightful article in Newsday about the Isles since training camp started. No offense to Katie Strang, but her pieces all seem to be 2 paragraph blog entries with little content. Its been over a week already. How does Tavares really look? the drafted goalies? Are anyone of the young forwards standing out? I’m already starting to lose interest in the team because we can’t get any information. So disappointing.
StevieL on Sep 18th, 2009 19:08:34 said:
Where is Snow and Gordon??? They should be outraged and commenting or talking about the hit and this BS suspension!
nevermind commenting and talking, they should be doing what’s needed to toughen up the team.
Phaneuf Man Up??? No way. The guy is a pansy who takes Sean Avery’s sloppy seconds.
oh stop with the wussy talk already
take down the number and get even when the opportunity presents itself down the road
if Witt or Sutton laid out a good young player from another team you’d all be high fiving eachother .
Once again, we get the shaft in an NHL decision.
Soupy is a joke, just like Bettman.
When will the NHL remove a clearly biased “disciplinarian”? When will the Rags finally hire this idiot back, so the discipline can be administered by someone without a chip on his shoulder for being denied his stanley cup back in the 70s and 80s? He sucked as a player and he sucks as an admin.
Phaneuf’s hit was not exactly clean. KO needs to keep his head up, but Phaneuf doesn’t need to come from the penalty box side to land that hit after KO released the puck. Why does he need the back of his shoulder to land the hit? Good job to Morency, but if he gets more than 5, then Wang should demand an investigation launched into Colon’s “discipline”.