By now, we’ve likely all heard about the suspension to Canadiens forward Tomas Plekanec for slewfooting Denis Grebeshkov on Wednesday night. As Jason Gregor reported yesterday, Grebeshkov is going to be out for a minimum of two weeks, and likely longer with a high ankle sprain. Plekanec will be ineligible to play for two games, in accordance with the Colin Campbell Wheel of Justice.
With both Grebeshkov and Visnovsky injured, the blueline corps has been transformed from a strength to a weakness; Jason Strudwick and the recently recalled Theo Peckham are simply not of the same calibre as those two players.
Things could be worse, though. Yesterday, the Minnesota Wild sent a new video of Sheldon Souray’s fight with Craig Weller to the NHL, based on a close-up angle from FSN’s coverage of the game. According to the Wild, it’s conclusive evidence:
The replay shows Souray throwing four “punches.” Each time, Souray, instead of leading with his fist, turned his left wrist and forearmed Weller in the face. Weller sustained a serious concussion and hasn’t played since.
Souray already met with Colin Campbell, who warned him that fighting while wearing the wrist guard is illegal. This video is hardly conclusive (Note: this isn’t the close-up the Wild sent in), but it certainly seems possible that Souray was hitting Weller with his wrist guard. The Michael Russo of the Star-Tribune, who reported this story, says it’s “hard to imagine” Souray being disciplined, given that the incident occurred a month ago. Souray
Maybe it’s just me, but if the video is conclusive in showing that Souray intentionally hit Weller with his wrist guard, I’d like to see a suspension. Russo’s likely right that the league will chose to do nothing, especially given their rather lax disciplinary policy (exceptions: if you insult your ex-girlfriend on TV) and the length of time that has passed. Even so, it’s impossible to justify Souray using his wrist guard as a weapon, and if that is what indeed took place here, he deserves punishment.
