I spoke with Flyers' GM Paul Holmgren tonight.
He's OK with the suspension. The real question is whether Steve Downie is going to "get it" long-term.
I have my doubts. Always have with this kid.
The Flyers need to implement the same disciplinary measures with Downie they tried with Jesse Boulerice.
They need to get serious.
They need someone to work with Downie, one-on-one, about his on-ice attitude. About his inability to control his inner rage.
They need to reinforce what it means about being a professional athlete and not a thug from West Philadelphia.
They need to teach this kid responsibility and accountability to the game and your fellow man.
The latter is seriously lacking in Downie.
This is an EMBARRASSMENT to Comcast czar Peter Luukko. This isn't the 1970s.
Everything Holmgren has tried to do in changing the Flyers image is in question and the season hasn't even begun.
Downie has two paths to skate - either move to the center and harness his anger management or move to the left and forever be dogged by ghosts of his past.
Downie needs to be enrolled in a program of intense counseling. Just like Bob Clarke did with Boulerice. Even Clarke, one of the old school 'do whatever it takes' GMs understood the necessity of controlled rage in today's game.
Downie's suspension was warranted.
Colin Campbell, the league's Lord of Discipline, was deluged with calls from hockey people, urging him to use this kid as the poster child of the "new" enforcement policy on head shots.
Don't kid yourself because you sit in Section 101, sipping on Sonoma Valley chardonnay between periods.
A fair number of people in the game wanted this kid banned from the NHL.
Banned? He hasn't even worn an NHL sweater in a league game!
You don't think the Flyers' image of past weighed into this argument?
The Flyers need to act in a responsible manner and get Downie some professional help.
He is a marked kid at 20-years-old. His career hasn't even begun.
If the Flyers don't think that is a problem, then I'm ready to join my Canadian drinking buddies in conceding this franchise will never adjust to the changes swirling about them.
I don't think that is the case.
I genuinely believe Luukko and Holmgren want to alter the image of the franchise. They want to embrace the new game without bowing to the past, and make the Flyers representative of a new age, unencumbered by its past.
This is where the franchise needs to act NOW and make this kid a priority, just like upgrading the defense and goal tending.
That's Luukko's challenge.
This is your team now, Peter. Your signature, your face on the Comcast corporate stamp.
What do YOU want it to resemble?
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Had another chat with Colin Campbell on Steve Downie's 20-game suspension ...
He told me, “This boy left his feet, targeted the head and stalked the player. [McAmmond] had no expectation of this hit and [Downie] drilled him. We felt we saw retribution in the cards once [Downie] was hit himself.
“We’re not saying shoulder hits to the head are illegal. Only if all the other criteria come into play. We don’t want to take shoulder hits to the head out of the game.”
I argued a point with Colin. As long as shots to the head are not outlawed, there is always going to be a "gray" area in hockey as to what is a legal hit and illegal hit. And there is going to be concussions.
"Tim, if we take out hits to the head, do we ban fighting then?” Campbell asked me. "I don’t want to eliminate hitting from hockey. Shoulder hits to the head are still a legal body check. What we don’t want to do is having players skating around with their heads down and looking for the league or referees to protect them.”
Before Campbell made his ruling, he canvassed opinion from the NHL's competition committee. He said the consensus from the committee was that the Downie hit represented the "exact" hit the NHL wants to eliminate from the game.
Flyers took the high road here. Here's general manager Paul Holmgren's reaction:
"My reaction is that it seems like a lot of games, but Colin Campbell is in a very difficult position and we respect his position and his judgment in this case. We will live with it. I was with Steve during the hearing and was with him after the verdict. He is very upset and understandably so. He understands the ramifications and he is prepared to live with this decision.”
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NHL Lord of Discipline, Colin Campbell has suspended Flyers' forward Steve Downie for 20 games for head hunting on Ottawa's Dean McAmmond during Tuesday's 4-2 loss in Ottawa.
"This issue was our angst over the summer," Campbell told the Philadelphia Inquirer. "People don't think we have been tough enough on head shots. We worked all summer with players and coaches and [general] managers. We showed them a video of 52 hits on what we're talking about. We showed the video again to every player in training camp.
"If you leave your feet, if you target an opponent's head, if you hit an unsuspecting, or target a player ... There is no doubt there was also intent here, as well. This hit contained all five criteria."
Link to the Inquirer:
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/breaking/news_breaking/20070928_NHL_suspends_Flyers_Downie_20_games.html
Tags: downie
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