Kaleta Suspended Five Games for Hit on Richards
The NHL has suspended Patrick Kaleta for five games, without pay, for boarding Brad Richards during the Rangers 3-2 shootout win last night.
Kaleta is considered a repeat offender under the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement. Based on his average annual salary, he will forfeit $76,219.25. The money goes to the Players' Emergency Assistance Fund.
Here's the video explanation...
...another swing and a miss for the NHL. You want to get these kind of hits out of the game? 20 game minimum. Players will think twice before making this kind of hit knowing there will be real repercussions.
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A 20 game minimum sounds brilliant to me. 5 is total BS as is the idea that the effect of the hit should matter. INTENT should be the only measure for assessing the severity of the punishment. And as we can see there are plenty of classless a--holes for whom malicious intent is obvious. Torts is right - total lack of respect. And kudos to him for not tolerating that kind of crap from his players.With so many problems facing the Game in a good year do we really need such incompetency INSIDE the league? Violence is a part of the game but the league needs to get real about this crap because careers and more importantly, lives, are at stake. Maybe His Royal Highness, Cindy Crosby will have to end up in a wheelchair before they do anything about the problem. But we all know that will never happen with the fleet of zebras constantly on watch.
This was a tough decision for them and I knew the league would be lenient. You simply can't count on the league to take care of your problems, you need a little "street justice"
% games is at least 5 more than a couple of other hits on Rangers have gotten from Shanny...
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1. Injury shouldn't be considered when issuing suspension.
2. That he did not push him hard HAS to be part of the assessment. There are degrees of negligence and this must be considered.
3. Repeat offender is obvious.Overall, the right call was made here. The guys is a garbage truck. That said, the incident was a perfect storm of loss of balance and a mild (yes, but negligent) push., resulting in a dangerous and thankfully not catastrophic consequence. Side note: NHL in a difficult position, as is NFL as how to handle the sport. One way that would reduce a GREAT deal of injuries would be to make the rink larger. They would lose revenue, but FAR less than they portend to lose by not doing it. Fools.
@jmacwilli I agree with this. Not the increased rink size, but everything else. How can people say that the force of the push shouldn't be considered? That is bias, its one of the THE PRIMARY things you have to look at when making the call. I would have loved more, but I can live with 5.
Frankly, with the leagues track record I was pleasantly surprised he received a suspension at all.
I thought Kaleta was Avery "Light", but Avery would never stoop as low as he did last night.
He deserves every game and more. I'm actually surprised Shanny gave him the max for a phone call. The next time Kaleta does it (and he will) the meeting will be in person.
If you're a third time offender you should be done for a year. Non negotiable. I'm not saying the hit itself warrants that punishment, but if you're stupid enough to get suspended three times for the same thing you clearly haven't learned your lesson and shouldn't be allowed to play.
He should get a billion based on his history - and one or two games is not fair. Dangerous play, that's the stuff that ends seasons, maybe even careers.
The only reason he even got 5 was because of his history. I thought one or two games was fair.
@TheNYRBlog Kaleta has no remorse & no sense that he even did anything wrong. This is his 3rd suspension & still gets only 5 gms. Sickening.
@Jen9400 I hear ya , but we won the game and richie is ok so I just let it go and get ready to beat the dirty bag flyers tomorrow.......
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If you look at it closely, you kind of have to admit that Shanahan is right about one thing - he doesn't push him that hard. It looks like the reason Richards lost his balance, in part, is because he is at the exact moment where he stretched out and sweeping the puck down the boards. That same hit, 9 times out of ten, would not have not resulted in the player falling head first into the boards. That being said, some of the physicality needs to be taken out of this game to make it safer for the players and the department of players safety, while an improvement, is failing in its efforts.
@rangersfan It doesnt matter how hard he pushed him. He pushed him in a vulnerable position and he went violently into the boards.
@nyrfan747 It was nasty, reckless thing to do, no doubt. Showed no concern for Richards' safety. But what about Zolneircyzk only getting 4 games. wtf is up with that?
@rangersfan I think Zolnierczyk deserved 4 games for that. He did a good job at coasting before he hit him but he absolutely LAUNCHED himself into the Ottawa player. Kaleta got himself 4 games for his previous suspension. I think he should have gotten 10 for this one. If Shanahan really wants to get these hits out of the game, then he should make an example out of someone and he had the perfect opportunity here. Kaleta watched Richards skate 10 feet with his back to him and saw numbers as he pushed him 4-6 feet from the boards. Yes Richards did return to the game, but I'd say that 9 times out of 10 a serious injury occurs from an impact into the boards like that so the potential danger in that hit is so high that he should have gotten 10.
in other news, Bob McKenzie reports that NYR signed 20 yo UFA Josh Nicholls to entry level contract. Has 41 goals in 65 games for Saskatoon in WHL this year.
5 games is fair.
By the way, did anyone notice the front ref didn't make the call. What was he looking at?
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This never would have happened if Sean Avery were on the roster.
There's your Sean Avery mention for the day.
As you all were...
@ShreddyMercury For all his drama he helped us (and amused us as well). Having an agitating type player is a real plus
@TheNYRBlog its going to take a KID on TV saying they can do it why can't we or somebody getting crippled onj tv
@TheNYRBlog shanahan continues to stick the finger at the NYR. Had a red wing or a penguin been the victim kaleta would be gone for 20
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I hate that they mention as a Key Fact, is that Richards returned to the game... What if he broke his neck? Would the suspension have been longer? The only thing bothers me more than that is when a player gets called for tripping, and the player he trips gets called for diving.. Awful!!!
@TheNYRBlog @jaygeemsg @7BOOMERESIASON @NYRblogneill why in the hell did we just get Roman Hamerlik?
@metalsportsfan @nyrblogneill he will miss sometime but since no reports if him going to the hospital I think he will be ok
@metalsportsfan dude just because someone gets hurt doesn’t mean they’re out for the year…
@TheNYRBlog @jaygeemsg @7boomeresiason @nyrblogneill is Staal out for the year or something? I mean we have other d men in Hartford
@TheNYRBlog @AGrossRecord @JimCerny @jaygeemsg do the Rangers still think highly of Kreider?
@TheNYRBlog Did you think that was a real possibility? I actually thought 5 was a lot for them.
