Torts to New York?
There's no official word yet from either the NHL or the Vancouver Canucks, but TSN's Darren Dreger is reporting that John Tortorella has an in-person hearing on Monday at the league offices to discuss his actions in the hallway of the Calgary dressing room during Saturday's game:
John Tortorella will have an in-person hearing tomorrow in New York. Substantial fine and suspension both possible. #TSN
— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) January 19, 2014He also says Billy Daly and Gary Bettman will be in attendance:
Gary Bettman and Bill Daly also attending this mornings discipline hearing for John Tortorella.
— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) January 20, 2014This story from the National Post covers Torts' disciplinary history with the NHL. He actually hasn't been suspended since 1995—don't players get their discipline wiped clean if they can go two years or so without re-offending?
Ben Kuzma is reporting that the hearing is complete. Now we just have to wait for the word.
Torts leaves his NYC hearing with Gillis. Now, we await coach's suspension fate. Do we get a video explanation from the commish? #canucks
— Ben Kuzma (@benkuzma) January 20, 2014Let's see what you think will come down today:
Torts' old nemesis Larry Brooks of the New York Post wasted no time in adding his two cents. He adds a bit more historical perspective, but I think the most interesting part of the article is actually the URL line: tortorella-was-right-to-fight-calgarys-coach. Click here to read the story.
Changing the Culture:
One of the most interesting pieces I read in all the fallout yesterday was this piece from CBC's Elliotte Friedman. He reaches logical conclusions regarding Saturday's incident, but frames it with the events of earlier in the week, including the rough-and-tumble outing in L.A. last Monday.
Here's what caught my eye:
There is no doubt Vancouver feels it gets officiated much more harshly since the Alex Burrows/Stephane Auger incident in 2010. I look at it another way: sometimes, I think teams get penalized when they play "differently" than expected.Basically, every team has its identity and some of them are edgy. Some aren't. The Canucks, right or wrongly, don't have an "edgy" reputation as a group. So, when things happen (like Sestito on Dustin Brown), it stands out. If Sestito played for Detroit, it would look weird, too.
Anyway, I'm betting your house that Tortorella HATES this... and is going to try and change it. The Canucks are in a kind of transition anyways, with some good young prospects ready to force their way into the lineup as soon as next season.
As new blood finds it way in, he wants a new attitude, a change in the way his team is perceived. Was charging into the Flames' hallway a message to his team as much as it was a message to Calgary?
I think this is a solid theory, especially the part about officials penalizing teams when they play "differently." I think it explains a lot about the inconsistencies we see all around the league on a daily basis.
Torts had 19:58 in the first period to cool down after the brawl. He had to know that nothing good could come from trying to charge the Flames' room. As a leader, was he trying to put the heat on himself to take it off a group that had a terrible week on the ice? And continue this culture change in the process?
Looking at Lainer:
Kellan Lain seems to have some impressive Instagram skills—and not to be too worried about his NHL career having gotten off to a rather unusual start.
Realized my life long dream last night of playing in the NHL. It was a short debut but wont ever… http://t.co/GCcCO09ltT
— Kellan Lain (@klain19) January 20, 2014Much was made of the fact that Lain's parents and brother flew out from Ontario to attend the big center's first-ever big-league game, but I bet they're OK with it. They were treated to a spectacle that they'll never forget.
I'm a little confused at how Lain ended up paired off with Kevin Westgarth after Kevin Bieksa stepped in to take the opening face-off. If his goal was to protect Lain, how come he ended up fighting Ladislav Smid?
Bieksa was the one player who looked truly unhinged out there during the incident—the officials had a hard time keeping his emotions in check. As Paul Stewart points out in his blog today, the rest of the brawl wasn't really that scary. Sestito and McGrattan stopped fighting on their own when there was no one available to break them up.
What About Henrik?
It's been nearly 10 years since Henrik Sedin missed an NHL game. Elliott Pap reports that his 679-game ironman streak is the sixth longest in NHL history, currently second to Jay Bouwmeester.
Pap says Henrik is playing with a splint on his left pinkie finger and once again, took no face-offs on Saturday night—a detail that escaped my notice on a jam-packed stats sheet. But it seems to be the rib issue following Martin Hanzal's cross-check in Phoenix that has put the streak in jeopardy.
The Canucks will practise at 11 a.m. Monday in Vancouver before flying to Edmonton for Tuesday's game.
I'll be updating my Twitter today as all the news comes down, so follow me there if you haven't already.