Here we go again: Milan Lucic is on the NHL's suspension blotter yet again, and once again he shows how clueless and classless he is by taking no responsibility for his actions and acting like he is himself the victim.
In his latest incident, the short-fused forward took exception to being slashed on the hand by Arizona defenseman Kevin Connauton (who was rightfully penalized on the play) in a multi-player scrum around the net. That's understandable.
What is indefensible is how Lucic handled it. With Connauton tied up with LA forward Tyler Toffoli behind the net and play already having been blown dead by referee Brad Meier -- who, you will note, got to the net for the better look at the play and very clearly saw what unfolded next -- Lucic gave Connauton a retaliatory slash across the leg.
OK, not a very bright thing to do with his team down by a goal in the third period, but if it stopped there no one would be talking about it now. It would just be a hot-tempered player taking a selfish retaliatory penalty. Those things can happen, though, in the emotion and friction of the game.
Getting slashed on the hand hurts like hell. It could trigger an angry response from any player. A smarter player than Lucic would sees who did it, and files the name and number away in his memory bank for future response. But plenty of players might react emotionally and go lay a two-hander on the guy who just got him.
As he has done on multiple occasions in his career, Lucic took things too far when he lost his cool. The slash on Connauton was seemingly a diversionary tactic to leave the already unsuspecting and vulnerable player defenseless for the gutless ensuing sucker punch delivered with the gloves on.
Now, was this the worst or heaviest sucker punch I've ever seen? Far from it. For instance, it won't make anyone forget the Tie Domi vs. Ulf Samuelsson incident of the mid-1990s.
Even so, Lucic deserved to be tossed out of the game by Meier, who acted quickly. The whole sequence happened in plain sight. Of course, as he's prone to doing, Lucic then turned around and publicly blamed the whole thing on Meier having some imaginary vendetta against him. Lucic said it's the fourth game misconduct Meier has given him.
Yeah, how dare Meier toss such a fine, trustworthy player as Lucic?! Since the NHL does not allow officials to speak for themselves, I will defend Brad Meier here.
Now, I don't know if the claimed number is true nor do I recall any of the particulars of the plays in question. However, I'd be willing to venture a guess however that Lucic has deserved most (if not all) of his early showers.
I am not a fan or believer in "reputation penalties." However, this was not a reputation ruling -- it was 100 percent justified. Furthermore, there are some players around the game whom officials simply cannot trust and have to watch closely. Lucic most certainly fits it that category. He gives no respect -- not to opponents or officials -- and he's earned none in return. He deserves no benefits of the doubt (and, again, there is no doubt in this case) and his chronic buck-passing and whining about being the real victim are almost laughable.
In part because NHL officials are forbidden by the league from speaking to the media, players and coaches are also forbidden from making comments about officials, especially ones impugning their impartiality. They're subject to fines for saying things along the lines of what Lucic said after the game. Not that fines are a deterrent. I did not hear anything today about a fine for Lucic, but he got a one-game suspension for the sucker-punch on Connauton.
Fine and dandy, I guess.
In a past blog, I caught some heat for calling Lucic "a fraudulent tough guy." I stand by it. He proven it multiple times over in his career. Lucic has never learned that there's a lot more to genuine toughness in this game than dropping the gloves sometimes, pumping some iron and talking a lot of trash. And that, as Forrest Gump would say, is all I have to say about that.
************************************************************************ Paul Stewart holds the distinction of being the first U.S.-born citizen to make it to the NHL as both a player and referee. On March 15, 2003, he became the first American-born referee to officiate in 1,000 NHL games.
Today, Stewart serves as director of hockey officiating for the ECAC at both the Division 1 and Division 3 levels.
The longtime referee heads Officiating by Stewart, a consulting, training and evaluation service for officials. Stewart also maintains a busy schedule as a public speaker, fund raiser and master-of-ceremonies for a host of private, corporate and public events. As a non-hockey venture, he is the owner of Lest We Forget.
Blogger •Former NHL Referee • 
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