There is an old saying that was once uttered by someone in Holy robes that if you "live by the sword" you too will surely succumb to a similar fate and "die by the sword."
This past week there were two incidents that surely cast a black eye on the game of NHL hockey and specifically to those two players that profess to be professional NHL players. Both of the incidents involve stick work with the "dying" part of the equation just around the corner.
We'll look at the first play now. In this hockey play, and that is being generous, Red Wing player Gustav Nyquist reacted to what may have been a minor for crosschecking to his upper back by deciding to extract his own measure of justice by deliberately sticking Minnesota Wild defenseman Jared Spurgeon in the face with a spearing motion with the tip of his stick. Fortunately and luckily for Spurgeon there were only a few stitches involved to his face.
There are some aspects that make this particular play difficult to fathom in that not one of the on ice officials saw this play and the stick work. This complicates the process of supplemental discipline. The lack of a call by the officials helps deflect responsibility from Nyquist to the official. This is a smokescreen and useless in this day of video and replays.
Let's get back to the Red Wing. The fact is that this guy saw exactly where he was jabbing his stick. Spurgeon got lucky but so did Nyquist.
Had the results of been along the lines of Ted Green and Wayne Maki, Eddie Schack and Larry Zeidel, or Marty McSorley and Donald Brashear we would certainly be trying to explain to those that don't appreciate hockey why this type of behavior is acceptable.
Personally, on March 21, 1980 in Denver when Quebec played the Rockies, Bobbie Schmautz tried to skewer my eye out which led to a stick fight at center ice. The picture is in Grape's book. Then after having been pitched from the game we had a subsequent stick war under the stands with a teeny weenie security guard standing between the two of us dueling banjos. I went after Schmautz because he tried to take my eye out on the ice.
I had read the Bible closely when I was a Holy studies student at Groton which was a church school where chapel was mandatory seven days a week. "Giveth and taketh" being well remembered... First hand I can say, there is no room for stick work especially now with so many cameras and so many eyes watching-- young eyes. This is not a good example of what hockey is supposed to be about. It's not good for youngsters to see this type of play.
Without The Players Union, personally I would sit this guy down for 10 games... and then some community service... maybe working with vets who are blinded in real war... reading to them a Bible chapter and verse that might say "do unto others as you would have them do unto you."