Both Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers and Tyler Myers of the Vancouver Canucks will face phone hearings for their respective crosschecking match penalties in Saturday night’s game, but former NHL players are coming to McDavid’s defence.
Said NHL Hall of Famer and ex-Oiler Chris Pronger, who used to be an official at NHL Player Safety: “Actually love it. Needs to do this more often, maybe not to the level of suspension like this, but it will give him some extra space. Teams key on taking time and space away from him and try to frustrate him. Taking it into your own hands is good … sometimes.”
Added former NHLer Jordan Schmaltz: “McJesus two chins in one week!! Bringing the criminal element!! 👏🏼👏🏼📞📞.”
And ex-NHL centre and Stanley Cup champ Mike Rupp, now a NHL Network analyst: “Does anyone else NOT have a problem w/what McDavid did here? Or even low key LOVED it? Just curious… Also, I love the compete… in the closing seconds of game 46 for EDM, 97 is life or death to tie that game up. Can’t teach that stuff, especially to super stars. You ‘got it’ or you don’t.”
And former Leaf Carlo Colaiacovo: “No problem at all. No one hurt or injured. More star players should stick up for themselves.”
Media analysts also weighed in, such as the Edmonton Journal’s Jim Matheson: “If the two refs ignoring clear holding penalty on Garland were Furman South and Mitch Dunning about 600 total games maybe you understand but McCauley and Lee have done about 3000 league games and 326 in playoffs. Inexcusable really
And ESPN analyst Rachel Doerrie: “McDavid deserves a suspension. The greater issue is officials don’t do their job and it’s resulted in superstars believing they need to take it into their own hands. That’s a football play by Garland. If McDavid isn’t getting mauled nightly, he doesn’t do this. If I’m him, that’s what I say in my hearing: ‘Suspend me. But tell your officials to call it when I get slew footed, boarded, etc. so I don’t feel the need to react this way.’”
And Toronto TV host Sid Seixeiro: “Connor McDavid’s the best player in the world. If the refs aren’t going to stop this from happening I’m fine with how 97 reacted. 100% fine with it.”
But Wyatt Arndt, the lead writer for Canuck’s Army, wasn’t pleased with McDavid. “Never forget that when things don’t go his way, McDavid turns into such a bitch.”
And Vancouver’s Daniel Wagner of the Pass It to Bulis blog said of McDavid’s crosscheck: “If that’s not a suspension for McDavid, we riot.”
Which says pretty much all you need to know about Vancouver and Canucks fans.
My take
1. The NHL is a complete joke for allowing the best player in the world to get mauled without repercussion. In this case, Garland had ahold of McDavid for twelve seconds before McDavid retaliated. The referees were letting it go, “letting the players decide,” as it’s called it bizarro NHL speak.
The NHL is soft on crime. It doesn’t properly penalize the lesser players who illegally thwart the best players in the league. Little wonder players like McDavid and Auston Matthews now and then fight fire with fire.
At the Cult
McCURDY: Player grades vs Vancouver
STAPLES: “Horrible officiating”: How the McDavid crosscheck went down