Boston Bruins forward Marty McSorley has been hit with what could turn out to be the longest ban in National Hockey League history for on-ice violence. McSorley attacked Vancouver Canucks star Donald Brashear from behind in his side's 5-2 defeat on Monday, striking him across the right temple with a two-handed swinging slash with his stick. Brashear fell backwards, his head hitting the ice and with blood pouring from his nose before being stretchered off and diagnosed with concussion, which could leave him sidelined for up to three weeks. The NHL reacted swiftly and have banned McSorley for the remainder of the season - at least 23 matches if Boston reach the play-offs. However at this stage that appears unlikely.
The suspension surpasses the 21 games handed out to Washington's Dale Hunter in 1993 for a blindside check on New York Islanders' Pierre Turgeon, although worse for McSorley is that a police investigation is currently ongoing into the incident.
NHL vice-president and director of hockey operations Colin Campbell said, "This incident is not indicative of how ice hockey is played or how it should be played. I have been involved in a lot of hockey games myself in 30 years and I have never seen a player strike another player like that from behind. McSorley's act is entirely unacceptable. It would be grossly unfair to suggest that his conduct is at all representative of the game, of the other 700 players who play in the NHL or of the countless others who play hockey at all levels. We regret that this act occurred and that is has brought this kind of attention to our game." "But it sends a message that you can't strike another player with your stick, particularly to the head. And when you do, the repercussions will be severe," he added.
McSorley, who now forfeits 72,000 US dollars (£45,000) in salary, could face an even longer ban as the NHL reserve the right to lengthen the suspension. Brashear, meanwhile, said he could not remember the incident but that it looked worse on television than it actually was, adding, "It looked like I was dying. I wasn't dying, but it's a concussion."
In other news, the International Ice Hockey Federation have taken the drastic step of suspending the 2000/01 European Ice Hockey League due to its lack of television coverage. Russian side Metallurg Magnitogorsk beat the Czech Republic's Sparta Prague to lift the EHL title on February 6, but despite rising league attendances, the league will definitely not take place next season.
