Cole Suspended 3 games for hit on Abdelkader
For the second time, a Blues player has been suspended by the NHL for a hit on a Detroit Red Wing player. During the first period of the December 31st game against the Red Wings, Blues defenseman Ian Cole leveled Justin Abdelkader with a shoulder check, just inside the Blues zone. Cole appeared to shoulder Abdelkader in the head as he was skating to catch a pass. A penalty was called on Cole for an illegal hit. Immediately after the hit, sportscasters and fans alike wondered aloud if there would be a suspension for Cole and if so, how long.
The next day, Brendan Shanahan, the NHL’s head disciplinarian issued his ruling and released a video explaining the incident. The video of the incident can be viewed on the NHL website. Shanahan ruled that the hit, although not intention, was illegal. Shanahan ruled that Cole is suspended for three games due to the illegal hit to the head. The three game suspension outraged many Blues fan and rightly so. There has been a frightening rise in the number of concussions and head injuries around the league this year. The league is trying to combat this by issuing suspensions and fines for illegal hits that put players at risk. The problem they are running into however is that there does not seem to be much consistency when it comes to what plays are looked at and what punishment is doled out.
Ian Cole is a rookie this year and this is his first offense as far as illegal hits go. When watching a review of the hit, it does not appear that Cole targeted the head, a thought he confirmed in interviews. He does a pretty good job keeping his arm alongside his body, not raising it to make the hit more effective. Shanahan agreed that the hit did not appear malicious and that Cole was a first time offender, but still issued the three game suspension. This seemed to just add fuel to the fire as far as complaints on suspensions go.
For evidence of this, just look back to the previous game between St. Louis and Detroit, which took place on December 27th. During that game, Pavel Datsyuk skated towards Barrett Jackman and elbowed him in the face. There was no penalty called and the hit was not reviewed by the league. During that hit, Datsyuk very obviously lifted his arm up and appeared to target Jackman’s head with his elbow. This led many to wonder if there is a possible double standard .
Another incident occurred on December 31st in a game between the Phoenix Coyotes and Minnesota Wild. Coyotes player Raffi Torres delivered a hit on Wild player Nate Prosser, in which contact was made with Prosser’s head. In making the hit, Torres left his feet and appeared to strike Prosser in the head. Torres has been deemed a repeat offender by the league as he had been suspended last season for an illegal hit and was fined prior to the game in question for an illegal hit against the Avalanche. When Shanahan came down with a decision for Torres, he suspended him for only two games. This makes no sense when compared to the Cole decision.
Torres is a repeat offender, who appeared to target the head. Cole is a rookie, who did not target the head and had no malicious action toward the head, Cole gets the larger suspension. Although I do not believe there is a conspiracy against the Blues or anything of the sort. Both Cole and Blues coach Ken Hitchcock have said they were a bit confused and disheartened by the length of the suspension. One can only hope that when he returns from the suspension, Cole doesn’t shy away from contact and become hesitant to hit someone for fear of another suspension. Cole recently re-joined the lineup following an injury to Kris Russell and was showing some improvement to his overall game. The Blues are already short on defense and called up Cade Fairchild from Peoria to help while Cole is gone. Cole will be eligible to return in the January 10th game against the Montreal Canadiens.