[note: transactions updated 4:25pm PT at bottom of post]
For once, the NHL’s disciplinary committee hit fast and (I think) pretty hard:
Philadelphia forward Jesse Boulerice was suspended 25 games by the NHL on Friday for cross-checking Vancouver’s Ryan Kesler across the face, matching the largest suspension in league history.
For a comparison to other major suspensions, check here.
Personally, I have no problem with the length of this, but I fully expect there will be plenty of impassioned opinions—that it’s either: (a) not enough, or (b) too much.
Moving on, I was also interested in Alain Vigneault’s opinion that Ryan Shannon got a bit of a raw deal yesterday —and I tend to agree, though I’m well aware no one else does. :)
Anyway, it comes down to Shannon’s two-way contract, and with only being able to play two more games before he’d have to clear waivers, he was probably going to be sacrificed, minus-7 or not:
“To give you an honest answer (as to why he was sent down), he has two games left before he needs waivers, and it’s the beauty of the game sometimes,” Vigneault reportedly, sharply said. “It’s probably not fair either. I agree with that.”
My thanks to J.J. who also mentioned this on The Crazy Canucks roundtable last night, that the contract was likely a significant factor. (episode not yet online)
Regardless, its also fair to say that Shannon’s poor showing on Wednesday didn’t help his case.
And one more note…
Rick Rypien was recalled from Manitoba today.
Update 4:25pm PT:
Other transactions today. Worth noting that Coulombe played 7 games for the Canucks last season.
The Manitoba Moose, the AHL affiliate of the Vancouver Canucks, announced they have assigned defencemen Patrick Coulombe and Daniel Rahimi to the Victoria Salmon Kings of the ECHL.
The Moose also announced they have released forwards Scott May and Bracken Kearns from their professional tryout contracts.
*thanks to puckhound61 for giving me a heads up
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