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Good morning, folks.
Well, that ended quickly. The game last night — and, of course, the series.
Jason Bell has this report on the Winnipeg Jets losing in OT to the Montreal Canadiens on Monday night and Mike McIntyre has a column on the sweep.
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I’m not sure even Mark Scheifele could have made a difference versus the Habs, but, of course, we will never know.
Montreal Canadiens’ Tyler Toffoli celebrates with teammates after scoring the winning goal following overtime NHL Stanley Cup playoff hockey action against the Winnipeg Jets, in Montreal, Monday, June 7, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson
In my last mailing I admitted to the mental gymnastics I had going on in my melon over “The Hit.” You know the one I mean. Eventually, I came to the conclusion that Scheifele deserved to be suspended, but I felt two games would have sufficed for a first-time offender.
A lot of you sent me notes on Saturday and Sunday on the subject. I always appreciate hearing from you, so thanks for taking the time to forward your perspectives.
Reading your thoughts, and comments on various social media platforms, there still seems to be three distinct camps: those who feel Scheifele got exactly what he deserved; those, like me, who thought he should get suspended but for only one or two games; and those who think the hit was OK based on what they’ve seen watching the league for many years.
Exactly. That’s what I thought, too. But the reality is, what Wendell Clark and Scott Stevens did many times is no longer acceptable in the league — and the current players, more than anyone else, know this. Hence my conclusion — Scheifele, of all people, should have known better. And by the way, he had plenty of time to think about it as he was bearing down on Jake Evans. Just saying.
But enough from me.
I’m sure you will have lots to say on the Jets being swept aside by the Habs — I’m looking forward to hearing your thoughts on the team and its season — but in the meantime, here’s a random sampling of what you had to say about Scheifele and the hit that will go down in Jets lore:
• Steve, good column on the hit and the wrongness, today, of that type of action. I grew up in a prior era when big hits were viewed very positively, but have, slowly, changed my mind over the years. Scheifele should have known better;
• I just wanted to say that people need to let up on Scheifele. Hockey is a fast sport and split decisions are made quickly. When a decision is made while very frustrated, the wrong decision can often be made. Will Scheifele learn from this? Of course. Does he feel bad? Definitely. He has expressed that… Looking at Scheifele’s history as a player, he does not go on the ice to intentionally hurt other players. However, the way people are responding, they are reacting as if he is a dirty player. People need to stop berating Scheifele and his family. The guy made a mistake. He has expressed his concern for the other player. He has accepted his suspension and will probably never do it again. But we live in a world today where everyone jumps aboard the the critics on social media. You cannot go on social media or even the radio without someone giving their two cents about it! People, quite frankly, who have never played this level of hockey. It’s ridiculous and obsessive. The SN commentators have to be careful about their comments as well. Their comments can fuel these kinds of responses. People need to move on… People need to instead focus on how the other player is doing, focus on how the NHL is making the rules better so players don’t get hurt. In our behaviourist-driven society the common practice is to shove people’s mistakes into their faces instead of helping them to heal and become a better person. How can people move on when their mistakes are repetitively shoved in front of them. Let Scheifele focus on what happened without being berated. That will produce more change in a person than them hardening up emotionally because the constant berating is too much to bare;
• While Mark Scheifele’s hit might have been a bit hard, I did hear him commenting after the game was over about the “14 previous non-acted-on events” in the game. So maybe if the officials were properly conducting the game these types of events would be even less?
Of the games I have watched in the past, I have always wondered whether the officials weren’t being a little more hard on the Jets and letting other teams get away with things they can’t. Just wondering?
• Hi Steve.
Will keep it short but not necessarily sweet.
Hit clearly a charge. Suspension, who knows what is right?
Mark clearly loses his mind out there sometimes. Has happened before. Penalty he took with seven minutes to go a clear example of that plus the charge. We did not need him in the box while trying to close the gap.
He’s “passionate,” but so what? Needs to keep his brain engaged at all times. Don’t do something unnecessary that will disadvantage your team.
• Hi Steve. Always enjoy your take on the sports worlds, and agree with the four-game suspension. By the way, Mike McIntyre is a very good sports journalist — his column on the suspension is illustrative of his professionalism. Unfortunately, as correct as the Scheifele suspension might be, the NHL still has a problem with what Ken Dryden calls the “Code” — the unwritten rules of the game that permeate all aspects of the sport — players, refereeing, ownership, the fans and even the media.
After the Scheifele hit on Evans, I googled some the antics going on in the other playoff series particularly those of Tom Wilson and Ryan Reaves. I’m sure you have seen them — pure roller derby stuff, but so typical. Too much of the media goes along for the ride. SN’s Kevin Bieksa background prop includes a pair of boxing gloves which are so appropriate for an ex-player and now commentator and an ardent advocate of the Code.
I could go on. The Scheifele suspension was correct, but I have doubts the NHL would have handed out the same suspension had a similar charging penalty been committed by Sidney Crosby. I shouldn’t have these suspicions, but one has to be mindful of the Code that shapes so much of the game of hockey.
• Everyone after the fact and after watching many replays can figure and think they can come to a conclusion to how this hit transpired! But in the moment one has to remember the speed at the time, what was in the works/motion to happen, then trying to stop or avoid this collision was impossible considering the force of gravity, it happened!
He wasn’t planning to injure the guy just to avoid getting the goal! After all his games he is not an aggressive player! Sad they have to use him to set an example!
If Evans didn’t land on his head/neck and was able to skate off, none of this suspension would have happened!
A penalty / out for the last minute but no suspension!
Pretty stupid!
• My first thought was, wow, Schiefele can dish out a hit. Would like to see more of that going forward, appropriately of course! He has the size and strength to have that kind of impact.
Having said that, the punishments seem so random, and I think this is excessive! 2 games would have been more reasonable. Preaching to the choir here, Mark knows and accepts that he over stepped.
• I always enjoy your Playbook, Steve.
I’ve been weighing in on Scheifele’s hit. My opinion is based on this observation:
When I was young and growing up in Dryden, Ont., and say, watching the Dryden Rockets play the Warroad Lakers in the mid-’60s, if you tried a wraparound with urgency into an open net you knew you were going to get your head taken off. It’s an instinct, part of your reptilian brain, that tells you that my wraparound might not make it in time but I’m going to try it and it’s worth the risk of getting flattened.
Evans knew all this, of course. He could have skated to the corner and looked for a trailer, etc. Hockey is a contact sport. The only way to prevent the vast majority of concussions is remove the contact. Shea Weber, Ben Chariot and company would have delivered the same hit in the same situation.
And I guess they would have received the same suspension. Apart from charging, Scheifele’s hit was perfectly legal.
• And my two faves, one from a Leafs fan in Ontario and one from a fellow cyclist:
I hope you have a nice long bike ride today and enjoyed the birthday pizza.
I read your article “Scheifele should have known better — and, me too.” It was written from the heart and caused you to reflect on your conflicted opinion about the hit. When I first saw the hit I also thought “good hit,” but upon reflection and review I realized that in today’s game it was not the best play by Mark.
My issue with the whole procedure in the aftermath of the hit is that everyone was giving an opinion as to how long a suspension Mark should receive. Due to the tremendous amount of sports and/or hockey experts giving their opinions they almost certainly condemned Mark to a suspension before any DPS process was even begun. I personally feel that Mark received four games due to DPS and their lack of effort concerning the Tom Wilson escapade against the NY Rangers. They blew it big time then and received a tremendous amount of flak for the $5000 fine. This was given to a repeat offender, it was a joke. What did the NHL and specifically DPS expect to happen in the next game?
I agree that Mark did deserve a suspension for the hit, he is not a repeat offender but four games. I think at most two games or even the Tom Wilson special, $5000 fine. This is a make up call to appease everyone because of Tom and their blowing it when they had a chance to send a clear message with a hefty suspension. Well, once again, DPS, you blew it, big time; at least you got Kadri more or less correct.
As I am a Leafs fan I do not care all that much whether the Jets or Habs win this series but I can say I will support which ever team survives the series and hope that they can bring the Stanley Cup back to Canada.
I will also say that I think The Winnipeg Jets have the best fans in the NHL. One day I hope to be able to see a game between the Jets and Leafs at MTS Centre. It would be an experience that could not be beat.
• Agree, ad nauseum the Scheifele controversy. Had four phone calls from friends immediately at conclusion of Wed. night’s game and “the hit heard round the league” was front and foremost.
However, just read Scheifele’s response in the paper and while it was an interview, I couldn’t believe this line: “At the end of the day… you want to be remembered for the impact you have on people.”
Ouch.
Double-water-bottle day on the Cannondale. Enjoy.
Saturday’s bike ride was 54 km — on a two-water-bottle day. And the pizza was from Santa Lucia, so you bet I enjoyed it.
As always, folks, you can reach me by replying to this mailing or by sending me an email here.
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