While most of the Maple Leafs enjoy the second day away from game action in Vancouver on Friday, Toronto forward Carter Ashton is having a phone hearing with NHL Department of Player Safety head Brendan Shanahan due to his hit on Calgary’s Derek Smith in the 4-2 victory over the Flames on Wednesday.
The 22-year-old Ashton beat out former Leaf Joe Colborne for a fourth line spot based mostly on his willingness to use his 6’3… 215 lb frame to play a physical brand of hockey and at a high energy level, but the hit on Smith was deemed dangerous based on it being directly on the numbers, which is the type of hit that Shanahan and the NHL are trying to eliminate.
A phone hearing is indicative of a possible suspension that would not exceed five games, but the phone hearing does not guarantee that the Leaf forward will miss games, it could lead to a monetary fine.
If Ashton is suspended, he would be the ninth player to be penalized in the NHL’s first month. The frequency of suspensions has increased substantially from previous seasons, while the number of fights has gone down significantly.
Former Leafs GM and current Calgary Flames President Brian Burke wrote in Friday’s USA Today that the decrease in fighting is making today’s game a more dangerous one.
“Reduced to its simplest truth, fighting is one of the mechanisms that regulates the level of violence in our game. Players who break the rules are held accountable by other players. The instigator rule has reduced accountability. Eliminating fighting would render it extinct.… Burke said
“It's hard to quantify where our game would be without fighting. It's easy to be repelled by a scary injury such as George Parros'. But I thought the hits on Danny Boyle and Niklas Kronwall were much more dangerous, as was the hit on Max Talbot (which I believe was legal). These are examples of times when fighting did not act as a deterrent. In fact, we can all recite a list of players who clearly operate outside of a system of honor. But today, these are the exceptions. Horrific injuries, stars being mugged, rats who run around hitting people from behind — these stand out to us because they don't happen with regularity. It's fighting that keeps these incidents to a minimum.…
INTERESTED IN TICKETS TO THE GAME???: Get Toronto Maple Leafs Tickets For Any Game At FanXchange.com.
The final game of their three game Western Canada road trip will be a homecoming for a couple Maple Leafs, as West Vancouver, BC native Morgan Rielly will play in Rogers Arena as an NHL player for the first time and former Canuck Mason Raymond will face the organization that decided not to re-sign the 28-year-old winger after playing 374 games with Vancouver over six NHL seasons.
Things may have been a bit different on Saturday night had the Leafs been able to complete the much rumored deal for Roberto Luongo. In a column by the Toronto Sun’s Mike Zeisberger , the current Canucks goalie and Olympic hopeful admitted that he was all but convinced that he was going to end up being a member of the Blue and White.
"I was pretty sure I was going to end up there," Luongo said. "I was pretty shocked and surprised when I didn't."
Serious interest from the Maple Leafs continued until the April 3rd trade deadline, as Leafs GM Dave Nonis and Vancouver GM Mike Gillis negotiated up to 3pm, but the deal never materialized due mostly to the Canucks high asking price. With Cory Schneider traded to New Jersey, Luongo has resumed his status as Vancouver’s primary starter, but expressed appreciation for the efforts of Nonis, who traded with the Florida Panthers in 2006 to bring him to British Columbia.
"It’s flattering that somebody holds you in that high regard," Luongo said. "It's appreciated, of course. I respect Dave a lot. It's nice sometimes to hear things like that from around the league about you, especially guys higher up top like general managers."
*******If you are interested in sponsorship or advertising your business in the Greater Toronto / Southern Ontario area on this column, please send a message for more information by clicking on the “Contact… button at the top of the page.*******
For Those on Twitter: Follow @mikeinbuffalo
KINDLE USERS: Please sign up for Maple Leafs Buzz, which includes a free-of-charge 14-day trial and is just 99 cents per month afterwards. For more information click here.