Turco suspended 4 games for phantom slash
 

Just saw the Turco incident and did Smyth ever sell this one, I thought his face would be a bloody mess the way he went down and crawled around, then you see him oin the bench and nothing, no blood nothing. Turco gets 4 games for not even touching him, and what about Smyth hitting Turco in the mask with his stick. The divers of the NHL are now not only making the Refs look bad but they are also starting to make the NHL executives look bad, once again the NHL shits the bed, maybe they should stop trying to find ways to change the game and change ther people that run the game, Bettman's memo that coaches will now be held responsible if they didn't calm the players emotions is a crock, I wonder who he will pass the buck to next.

Haha i said that too when i saw it... but i mean his face IS cut... but he went down like he got shot in the head by a sniper up in the lights

ya I just saw it again and there was a little cut but 4 games. And what about the Shelley sucker punch on Henry, I kinda liked that maybe next time Henry should have his gloves off when he lips off to the wrong person. The NHL is all about inconsistent suspensions, they just can't get anything right, they'll screw up the game beyond repair sooner or later and I'll bet it's sooner.

Yeah, the Turco call was some bullshit. And I'm not just saying that cuz I'm a Stars fan. That was idiotic, one game, maybe, but def. not four.

You guys are kidding right?

Smyth was trying to deflect the shot and his stick hit Turco's mask, It was clearly an accident...In return Turco smacks him in the face with his stick. I also think that Smyth should have had control of his stick. I am not defending either of them.

There's NO respect in hockey anymore..I still love the game, But all this shit that's been going on for the past while now is making hockey look bad.

There's no excuse for all this shit that's going on. I hope Cambell keeps handing out suspensions. Ya i like the fighting..That's part of the game..The players have to regain the respect for eachother.

You guys seem so amazed at Turco getting 4 games..It wasn't an accident, Just another example of the lack of respect on the ice.

Whats with that dude attackin that other dude form behind (sorry it's 4:30 AM here... im tired and too lazy to look up names) and getting no suspension

just because he didnt get hurt there isnt a suspension....

where's all the 'Tuzzi naysayers who were crying "intent to injure" when he attacked Moore from behind??? Just because he didnt get hurt not only does nobody cry foul... but the fucktard doesnt even get a one game suspension

give me a break

I think that might have been the Shelley-Henry incident.

While I'll agree that there is no respect in hockey anymaore amongst the players, I would hardly call what Turco did a smack more like a tap, and what about the penalties for diving, I mean christ Smyth went down like Anna Nicole Smith, from that tap give me a break, the problem isn't that Campbell is handing out suspensions it's that he doesn't know the meaning of the word consistency, Smyth hitting Turco by mistake is no excuse because the players is supposed to have control of his stick at all times.

It doesn't matter if it was a smack or a tap that Turco gave Smyth..The point is, It was intentional. He knew what he was doing.

I agree that Smyth didn't have control of his stick either..But what Turco did was alittle more blatant.

the dive wasn't blatant enough, he didn't get shot, as long as these things are done by accident they are alright, but if it is on purpose it's bad? What Turco did was not worthy of 4 games, no way I just don't see it, respect or not, maybe Smyth should try and respect the other players more and be a man stop the diving.

Has anyone here taken a stick to the face ? ? ?
I've taken a few and have the scars to prove it. I can attest that even a shot that leaves a minor cut (smaller than Smyths) can hurt like a SOB.

Everyone who thinks Smyth was taking a dive - go on out and get your bud to "tap" you in the face with a goalie stick.

The answer your question is yes I have been hit with many a goalie stick, fist, puck, fans any other thing a hockey player could be hit with, (bet you were hoping no one was hit with a stick before) don't agree in the least that Smyth didn't take a dive, and even the smallest "tap" hurts like an SOB, not at all, at least not in my experience, things seem to be different in your experiences but what can you do. I don't even know how you can deny the fact that Smyth took a dive, the stick was so far from his face you could still see light.

yea, this shit fucked up my Fantasy team in the championship round; I had to go with Tugnutt to fill in the gap left by Turco. Fucking lame-ass exec's.

Definitely a dive by Smyth, but Turco should have been smarter. At this point in the season, in the post-Bertuzzi environment, his action was inexcusable.

well... at least the canucks benefitted... closin the gap hahaha

I hope the NHL soon drops it's purse and starts playing hockey again, because if not a lock-out could be the best thing for the game. I hope the Canucks win the cup and I love the Leafs, if not just to prove that they are still a quality team even without Bertuzzi. Poor Bertuzzi.

He received 4 games instead of 1 or 2 because Turco is a repeat offender after being suspended one game for a similar stick infraction against Colorado's Peter Forsberg in January 2003.

I don't think he took a dive, but I'm not into starting a pissing war about it, but just to be clear, I did not say a slight tap could hurt like a SOB, I said a shot that leaves a smaller mark than the one Smitty got can hurt.

I think Turc and all the players gotta screw their heads on a little tighter. Everyone says it's a lack of respect that's causing all the stick work and cheap shots etc.

I like to use the word honour. At one time winning a sporting event was'nt worth the effort if you did not win with honour. Now the code is win at all costs. Hence the lack of honour, lack of honesty, lack of respect for each other etc. Ever seen a player say something like "Actually Mr. referee I did kick it in...let's not count it and get on with the game." ?

Something like that happened in a top level curling game recently. Other team said to the effect of "That's cool we don't think that kick will affect the outcome, let's play on"

The code has always been win at all costs, nothing new there, honour has nothing to do with winning a sporting event, I have never heard a player say, "oh well, we may have lost but at least we played with honour", it just wouldn't happen, and why would a player tell a referee that he kicked the puck into the net? This makes no sense, the way refs call games 7\10 they don't know what to call anyway, so I'd take my chances that they would screw up the call. Slight tap or a shot that leaves a smaller mark than the one Smitty got can hurt, all the same, neither hurts, now when Roenick's face looked like hamburger earlier this year, now that would of stung.

I'm surprised that there's so much controversy over all of this. After the Bertuzzi incident, one has to expect that the NHL is going to be rather zealous in penalizing players for injuries, no matter how questionable or severe.

You can't go around suspending players for questionable things, then you have a bunch of hockey players skating around too scared too touch anyone.

BulletCatcher has it correct though...the length of suspension was due to him being a repeat offender (within 41 games of a previous match penalty) I'm not entirely sure this is the correct rule but it is close:


In regular League games, any player who incurs a total of two (2) game misconduct penalties for stick related infractions penalized under Rule 27(b) shall be suspended automatically for the next League game of his Team. For each subsequent game misconduct penalty, the automatic suspension shall be increased by one game.

In playoff games any player who incurs a total of two (2) game misconduct penalties for stick related infractions penalized under Rule 27(b) shall be suspended automatically for the next Playoff game of his Team. For each subsequent game misconduct penalty during the Playoffs the automatic suspension shall be increased by one game.

Prior to the commencement of each Stanley Cup Finals, a player will have his current stick-related, boarding and checking from behind game misconducts removed from his current playoff record. They will remain part of his historical record.

(NOTE 1) Any game misconduct penalty for which a player has been assessed an automatic suspension or supplementary discipline in the form of game suspension(s) by the Commissioner shall NOT be taken into account when calculating the total number of offenses under this subsection.

(NOTE 2) When a player has played in 41 consecutive regular League games without being assessed a stick-related major and a game misconduct according to Rule 27(b) - Major Penalties or Rule 28(f) - Misconduct Penalties, he will have the previous game misconduct penalties removed from his current record. They will remain part of his historical record.

(NOTE 3) When a player has played in 41 consecutive regular League games without being assessed a boarding and/or a checking from behind major and a game misconduct according to Rule 44 - Board Checking and Rule 48 - Checking from Behind, he will have the previous game misconduct penalties removed from his current record. They will remain part of his historical record.

(NOTE 4) A player's total games played will cover a two year time period from the date of the first game misconduct penalty for each category of foul.

(NOTE 5) The automatic suspensions incurred under this subsection in respect to League games shall have no effect with respect to violations during playoff games.