Perezhogin Suspended One Year

[CentreHice]

Mr. said:

Perezhogin is a world-class hockey player and will command relative top dollar in any professional league. $0.5M (for instance) in Yankee dollars to play at home, close to loved ones and friends, without worrying about being repeatedly attacked with no call being made. Why not opt for that? It seems to be a sane choice.

Excellent point. Look how the pale-in-comparison Ribeiro incident blurred the refs' vision in terms of deserved Habs' powerplays from that moment on.

[rhabdo]

CentreHice said:

Excellent point. Look how the pale-in-comparison Ribeiro incident blurred the refs' vision in terms of deserved Habs' powerplays from that moment on.

Please explain the connection between the Perezhogin and Ribeiro incidents. What's your point?

[M. Beaux-Eaux]

CentreHice said:

Excellent point. Look how the pale-in-comparison Ribeiro incident blurred the refs' vision in terms of deserved Habs' powerplays from that moment on.

In both cases it's a question of discipline being meted out on the basis of perception rather than that of reality.

[Skilly]

rhabdo said:

Please explain the connection between the Perezhogin and Ribeiro incidents. What's your point?

IMO, there is a linkage.

The referees will now thinkof Perezhogin as a loose cannon when he suits up in any North American league and he will be handed many retaliation penalties. (Or conversely if you like, some refs may actually punish the instigator for fear of Perezhogin snapping ... nah!)

And after Ribeiro's swan dive/pinched nerve incident (depending on perspective/bias/who you believe) the refs have know labelled him a diver and he couldn't draw a penalty in the playoffs after that. He was fair game, and his game suffered because of it.

[rhabdo]

Skilly said:

IMO, there is a linkage.

The referees will now thinkof Perezhogin as a loose cannon when he suits up in any North American league and he will be handed many retaliation penalties. (Or conversely if you like, some refs may actually punish the instigator for fear of Perezhogin snapping ... nah!)

And after Ribeiro's swan dive/pinched nerve incident (depending on perspective/bias/who you believe) the refs have know labelled him a diver and he couldn't draw a penalty in the playoffs after that. He was fair game, and his game suffered because of it.

If Ribbons hadn't added insult to injury with his jabbering false bravado after he rose to his feet it wouldn't have had such a lasting effect. That incident pissed the refs off but little more. Perezhogin's coup de baton shocked the officials, the players, the league, the public (including non-hockey-lovers who saw it on TV). The two incidents are not comparable and of course they are perceived differently. As for the Bobbi Clarke slash on Kharlamov, that was in a different era. It would have been treated differently today now that the Cold War is over. Kharlamov shouldn't be confused with Brezhnev. I don't take much stock in the bias theory presented on this thread. I believe (and hope) Bertuzzi will be severely punished despite his star status.

[M. Beaux-Eaux]

PTH said:

Absolutely. I have no problem seeing tough suspensions against our guys as long as they're applied to others, as well. I want consistency. If there is consistency, then we can be mad at the player, not the suspension. These days, it's usually pretty easy to justify any position (ie, need for lesser or harsher sentence) based on past calls (which have been wildly inconsistent)

Indeed. And how is the example of Perezhogin's suspension holding up? Read on...

From the Hamilton Bulldogs message board:

11/29/2004 21:52:43
Topic: AHL - prove Perezhogin wasn't a sacrifical lamb

mike034

Message:
First off let me make it clear, I haven't seen any video, I'm forming this opinion on several news reports I read. I reserve the right to change my mind when and if I see the incident.
From all reports a frustrated Utah Grizzily, Jeff Taffe, skated in behind the Houston Aeros goalie, Josh Harding, and elbowed him in the back of the head with only 4.3 seconds left in the game. Josh Harding went to the hospital and was diagnosed with a grade 3 concussion, the same diagnoses Garret Stafford received. The league suspended Alexander Perezhogin 80+ games for what they called a blatant attempt to injure, hit to the head. I understand this could be looked at a little different as Alex's was with a stick and Jeff's wasn't, but the fact remains it was an attempt to injure hit to the head that the league said they will not tolerate.

My point is that the scale that got Alex 80+ games should see Jeff Taffe getting in the neighbourhood of at least 30 games.

A long suspension would show the league is serious about protecting it's players. If a long suspension isn't handed out we will know Alex was a sacrificial lamb because of the Bertuzzi incident making a lot of headlines. A short suspension will prove this leagues discipline system is a total joke, wait I talking about the AHL here, OK, nevermind he'll probably get 2 games...

- www.hamiltonbulldogs.com/mb2/messages/bdogs/519.html

*

The American Hockey League is reviewing videotape of the clash after the Aeros requested supplemental discipline against Taffe for elbowing Harding in the head with five seconds remaining in Houston's 5-2 victory.

The goalie was playing the puck behind the net when Taffe, the Utah forechecker, charged in and sent him sprawling to the ice, according to observers and accounts of the game.

The blow knocked Harding unconscious. He was carried off the ice on a stretcher and taken by ambulance to Memorial Hermann Hospital. He was diagnosed with a Grade 3 concussion, the most severe, and kept overnight for observation...

...It was unclear when Harding, the Wild's second-round pick in 2002, would resume playing. Lynn said he suffered no neck damage but had no memory of the game or Taffe's hit.

"This is his first concussion, which is good. His spirits are good," Lynn said. "We'll wait to see how he feels in a couple of days."

- www.mercurynews.com/mld/merc...10298391.htm?1c

*

And the actual sentence handed down by the precedent setting AHL?

Taffe gets 4-game suspension from AHL

David Vest
The Arizona Republic
Dec. 1, 2004 12:00 AM

Jeff Taffe was suspended for four games by the American Hockey League on Tuesday as punishment for elbowing Houston Aeros goalie Josh Harding in the back of the head with five seconds left in a brawl-filled game Sunday.

Taffe played 59 games for the Coyotes last season and is spending the NHL lockout with the Utah Grizzlies, Phoenix's top minor league affiliate.

Utah General Manager Laurence Gilman said the team does not plan to appeal.

"I spoke with the American Hockey League extensively," Gilman said. "Although we felt there were some extenuating circumstances, they felt the infraction was deliberate with intent to injure and . . . they felt their ruling was justified."

Taffe could not be reached for comment Tuesday, but on Monday, he told The Republic that he would be surprised if the league suspended him.

Taffe checked Harding, the Minnesota Wild's top goalie prospect, behind the net as Harding played the puck. Harding fell to the ice and was eventually transported to a hospital in Houston, where he was diagnosed with a concussion and released Monday.

- www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/sports/articles/1201taffe1201.html

*

Same as it ever was.

[blaise]

From what I read here this incident reminds me much more of Bertuzzi than of Perezhogin. It was a cowardly, premeditated act against an unsuspecting and vulnerable victim. The punishment meted out by the AHL seems too lenient. It makes me wonder whether there is something after all to the insinuation that the farther away from Canada your birthplace, the lower your dignity and human worth. Note also that the offender received a lesser suspension than Stafford's, so the vengeful outcry raised after Perezhogin's offense has cooled down a few degrees since last season.

[Yossarian]

If I was as idealistic and energetic as I used to be, I'd probably invest some time by informing a few media outlets of this decision, and pointing out that really, sensationalism and negative league publicity has more influence on the length of suspensions, then more "abstract" things like level of premeditation or provocation, extent of injury and suffering by the victim of the act.

[M. Beaux-Eaux]

Uprovoked and premeditated elbow to the back of the head causing a grade 3 concussion = 4 games.

Provoked and reflexive stick to the head causing a grade 3 concussion = 100 games (the balance of the 2003-04 playoffs + entire 2004-05 regular season + 2004-05 playoffs).

*

Just in case anyone thinks that elbow pads are not potentially as deadly a weapon as a stick:

You might not agree with TV analyst Don Cherry on a lot of things, but he was dead-on where it involves equipment -- the pads, if not the helmets and face masks.

Particularly elbow pads. What was intended for protection has become an offensive weapon.

They are designed to give maximum protection by diffusing impact through all supporting tissue. Unfortunately, that's for the wearer, not the soft tissue of the opposing player.

Elbow pads worn in the NHL at the moment are the equivalent of a deadly weapon. The polyurethane cap over the elbow resembles nothing so much as a hollowed-out cannonball, with the same concussive effect.
Under the circumstances, a hockey helmet versus a modern elbow "pad" is about as protective as a knight's helmet against a cannonball.

- www.canoe.ca/Slam040330/col_kernaghan-sun.html

*

And justice for all.

[seventeen]

I continue to firmly believe Perezhogin was screwed. Nothing that's happened since has changed my mind. Fortunately, it's not turning out to harm his career as he's probably better off in Russia this year than in the AHL. That doesn't change the fact he was royally done in.

[M. Beaux-Eaux]

seventeen said:

I continue to firmly believe Perezhogin was screwed. Nothing that's happened since has changed my mind. Fortunately, it's not turning out to harm his career as he's probably better off in Russia this year than in the AHL. That doesn't change the fact he was royally done in.

Yeah, he's playing agiainst higher calibre NHLers in his home land than he would have done in the AHL.

[BadCompany]

Anybody have a video of the incident?

[M. Beaux-Eaux]

BadCompany said:

Anybody have a video of the incident?

[seventeen]

BadCompany said:

Anybody have a video of the incident?

Why can't you just be as gullible as the rest of us? Why do you want proof? A video. Harrumph. I think I'll go play with my Dubbya doll, and blow up a few countries.

[M. Beaux-Eaux]

seventeen said:

Why can't you just be as gullible as the rest of us? Why do you want proof? A video. Harrumph. I think I'll go play with my Dubbya doll, and blow up a few countries.

I expect that the official edited AHL version is the one being sought, since in the interest of fairness it was the equivalent foreshortened version of the Stafford incident which got our young Russian prospect chased from these shores.

It's bound to turn up sooner or later. Someone will have worked around the AHL's unofficial request to not have the complete raw footage of Taffe tenderizing the back of Harding's skull made publicly available.

Think I'll go play with my Oliver Stone screen-writing doll and make some dog food money.

*

From another board:

Chaos
Location: Arlington, TX

Originally Posted by DoobieDoobieDo
That's because I wasn't at the game and I was basing my previous argument on first hand knowledge. Now seeing the video and how sickening the play was, I believe, that should warrant a heftier suspension.

I believe some suspension should be given to the injury. I was amazed he didn't have a broken veterbra or neck...

Post it!!!!

---

DoobieDoobieDo

I can't, because I don't have a converter from VHS to my computer.

*

We have the technology. It will be posted.

Infinitely more satisfying than the AHL suspension handed down to Taffe is the fact that d-man Erik Reitz made Taffe look like hamburger seconds after the incident. You do what you gotta do, and to live outside the law you must be honest. Hi-yo, Silver!

[M. Beaux-Eaux]

Well, there I was, just surfing the 'net when I came across this little item:

Defenseman Greg Labenski was recalled today from Kalamazoo of the UHL. Labenski appeared in 8 games for the Barons this season before being reassigned. Labenski was recalled due to the suspension of defenseman Garrett Stafford, who will miss two games due to his incidental high-stick on the Mighty Ducks Chris Kunitz.

- www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/?id=3109396&l_id=&t_id=

How about that? This Stafford fella gets 6 games for a swing and a miss on Perezhogin, but only 2 games for smacking Kunitz in the eye (not mentioned in this Barons piece, but what actually happened). I guess the extra 4 games in the first instance was for provoking a more forceful response from Perezhogin than he received from Kunitz. Based on this logic, if the next retaliation to a Stafford highstick results in his decapitation, Stafford should be suspended for a least half a season.

Then again, it seems that as one repeats the offense the severity of the penalty decreases. That being the case, the next time Stafford clobbers someone with his stick the recipient should be suspended and Stafford be allowed to go free. But only if the recipient does not retaliate.

I'm sure the AHL will keep things sorted out in a just and fair manner.

[blaise]

Two things are plain: Stafford is a chronic offender and the AHL has not clamped down hard enough on someone with his history of psychopathic behavior. Too bad Perezhogin swung at him and connected so devastatingly. It may have influenced the league against punishing Stafford as severely he should have been.

[Habs_fan_in_LA]

M. said:

Well, there I was, just surfing the 'net when I came across this little item:

Defenseman Greg Labenski was recalled today from Kalamazoo of the UHL. Labenski appeared in 8 games for the Barons this season before being reassigned. Labenski was recalled due to the suspension of defenseman Garrett Stafford, who will miss two games due to his incidental high-stick on the Mighty Ducks Chris Kunitz.

- www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/?id=3109396&l_id=&t_id=

How about that? This Stafford fella gets 6 games for a swing and a miss on Perezhogin, but only 2 games for smacking Kunitz in the eye (not mentioned in this Barons piece, but what actually happened). I guess the extra 4 games in the first instance was for provoking a more forceful response from Perezhogin than he received from Kunitz. Based on this logic, if the next retaliation to a Stafford highstick results in his decapitation, Stafford should be suspended for a least half a season.

Then again, it seems that as one repeats the offense the severity of the penalty decreases. That being the case, the next time Stafford clobbers someone with his stick the recipient should be suspended and Stafford be allowed to go free. But only if the recipient does not retaliate.

I'm sure the AHL will keep things sorted out in a just and fair manner.

M. Beau-Eaux. You are absolutely 100% wrong about...............??
Oh, wait. This is sacrasm. Never mind.

Seriously, the effect has more impact on penalties than the intent. Right or wrong.
Morally wrong but pragmatically right. If you run a stopsign and don't hit anybody and there isn't a cop present, you get off scott free. If you are driving the speed limit and a kid runs out in front of your car and you swerve to avoid the collision and hit another car, you are at fault for the damages. Bad luck, yes. Fair, no.
A basketball player hits a fan. No penalty. A millionaire basketball hits a fan on camera at an NBA game? $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

[blaise]

In case you didn't notice, several Detroit fans were charged with misdemeanors and one with felony. They were also barred from Pistons games. And it will be hard for some of those fans to sue because they initiated contact. Finally, I don't believe any of the fans was injured.

[M. Beaux-Eaux]

Habs_fan_in_LA said:

Seriously, the effect has more impact on penalties than the intent. Right or wrong.

So it's a good thing for Stafford that he has lousy aim. If the trend toward reducing his sentence with each consequent offense continues he should be allowed to swing away with impunity after another incident or two. Heck, maybe he can even get Perezhogin suspended for another year by claiming that it's the Russian's fault that he (Stafford) can't keep his stick away from other players' heads.

[Bob]

It is interesting to keep an eye on Bertuzzi as we sit and wonder the fate of Alex Perezhogin.

The IIHF banned Bertuzzi from playing in Europe while Perezhogin is allowed to continue. I have no idea how that might be presented as evidence in court, but the IIHF certainly views Bertuzzi's infraction as more serious than Perezhogin's.

It also seems that Bertuzzi is negotiationg a plea bargain that might result in an 18 month condiditiona sentence with no jail time. If that is the case, Perezhogin might be ready to play in the NHL before the new CBA is signed.

[blaise]

Ironically, Bertuzzi is supported and applauded by Canucks fans because he's THEIR thug. According to my scale of morality he's much worse than Perezhogin. To think that that cowardly act was percolating in his dysfunctioning brain for a long time!

[Habs_fan_in_LA]

M. said:

So it's a good thing for Stafford that he has lousy aim. If the trend toward reducing his sentence with each consequent offense continues he should be allowed to swing away with impunity after another incident or two. Heck, maybe he can even get Perezhogin suspended for another year by claiming that it's the Russian's fault that he (Stafford) can't keep his stick away from other players' heads.

Attempted murder is a lesser violation than murder. We reward poor aim.
Should it be that way?

[M. Beaux-Eaux]

Habs_fan_in_LA said:

Attempted murder is a lesser violation than murder. We reward poor aim. Should it be that way?

Who died?

I don't think a man should be too harshly punished for dealing back in intended lesser measure the medicine that he was given by a coward who, unexpectedly and unbeknownst to the victim of the initial series of unprovoked assaults, happened to be on his knees, rather than on his feet like a man. Do you?

[seventeen]

Not so different. Stafford lost it with Perezhogin and Moore lost it with Naslund. Intent to injure on both parts. Perezhogin took exception at the time. Bertuzzi took his time after the NHL did nothing. Bertzuzzi was unlucky enough to have Moore hurt himself in the fall. Perezhogin's effort did not have the same results. I have no respect at all for either Stafford or Moore. Neither should be playing hockey. The other guys were either defending themselves or seeking retribution for previous actions.

[Bob]

seventeen said:

Not so different. Stafford lost it with Perezhogin and Moore lost it with Naslund. Intent to injure on both parts. Perezhogin took exception at the time. Bertuzzi took his time after the NHL did nothing. Bertzuzzi was unlucky enough to have Moore hurt himself in the fall. Perezhogin's effort did not have the same results. I have no respect at all for either Stafford or Moore. Neither should be playing hockey. The other guys were either defending themselves or seeking retribution for previous actions.

Moore isn't.

Does that mean you respect Bertuzzi?? His actions were premeditated and directly caused the end of a career.

Bertuzzi was unlucky that Moore was injured?? How about Moore? I suppose he was lucky.

[blaise]

seventeen said:

Not so different. Stafford lost it with Perezhogin and Moore lost it with Naslund. Intent to injure on both parts. Perezhogin took exception at the time. Bertuzzi took his time after the NHL did nothing. Bertzuzzi was unlucky enough to have Moore hurt himself in the fall. Perezhogin's effort did not have the same results. I have no respect at all for either Stafford or Moore. Neither should be playing hockey. The other guys were either defending themselves or seeking retribution for previous actions.

I hope you'll reconsider this unworthy post. In a civilized society with established laws, it's not permissible to enact your private version of justice. Suppose someone cold cocks your drinking buddy and sends him to the infirmary. Does your intended victim's previous offense entitle you to prowl the bars, seek him out, and hit him with a two-by-four? Of course not. You'd be arrested for assault, and you'd deserve it. In effect this is what Bertuzzi did. The fact that it was done on skates makes no difference. Anyone who thinks Bertuzzi was justified must have a subconscious Mafia mentality.

[seventeen]

Yes, I am all for anarchy. If the NHL had acted appropriately and suspended Moore for 10 games or so for deliberate attempt to injure on Nasulnd, the Bertuzzi 'incident' might only have been someone's drug induced hallucination. When it appears that justice is blind, then it has been known for people to take matters into their own hands. Didn't the USA start in that very same fashion? Not that that was necessarily a good thing either. The whole Bertuzzi thing was the culmination of years of stupidity and poor judgment on the part of NHL rulemakers. At the risk of echoing Don Cherry, the current rules encourage marginal players taking runs at stars. Gretzky rarely had anyone hit him hard because the spector of Dave Semenko practicing bare knuckles retribution was a sight no one wished on themselves. The stars were all relatively free from serious physical harm. Today there is nothing to prevent the marginal NHL'r from trying to make their mark by taking out a star. Moore very deliberately attempted that on Naslund and everyone seems to be forgetting it. I want to remind us of that point. Perezhogin did not wake up that morning and decide he didn't like Stafford's head. He was pushed into it. Bertuzzi exhibited very poor judgment in what he did. He obviously tried to get Moore to fight him face to face. When Moore didn't oblige, it would have been a better idea to try and humiliate him as a coward rather than hit him from behind. So to answer your question (after a BC like dissertation), I don't agree with Bertuzzi, but I can understand him.

[blaise]

Yeah, we see what good Bertuzzi did himself, Naslund, and the Canucks with his pent-up rage. He and his team were burnt by his warped judgment. Both will continue to suffer. And if Bertuzzi returns to the NHL he will be on a very short leash with the league.

[seventeen]

Yep, no winners in that whole exchange.