By Allan Muir

There’s nothing wrong with a player protecting himself. Brendan Shanahan pretty much called it an inalienable right in the video explaining defensive contact to the head that the league released just a couple of weeks back.

But, as with most things, there’s a right way to go about it and a wrong way. And dissuading an opponent by leading with your elbow, Gordie Howe-style? Yeah, that’s going to get you hauled in front of Sheriff Shanny, a man who is unlikely to accept a plea of “old-time hockey.”

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By Allan Muir

A five-game suspension for Ryan White? Now we’re starting to get somewhere.

Montreal’s blunt object was banished to the sidelines for all but the final game of the regular season by the NHL’s Department of Player Safety after a flat-out stupid hit on Philadelphia’s Kent Huskins on Monday night.

It probably didn’t take too many video reviews for Brendan Shanahan and crew to recognize that this was one of the easier calls they’ve faced this season. Huskins was skating the puck out from behind his own net and had just dished it off when White drew a bead on him, then slammed his shoulder directly into Huskins’ chin. The force of the blow left Huskins with a concussion.

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By Allan Muir

The way Brendan Shanahan saw it, Anton Volchenkov had a choice. With Brad Marchand squarely in his sights, he could have blasted the Boston winger with a legal check, or he could have done something stupid.

Volchenkov went with Plan B. And so the New Jersey defender will sit out four critical stretch games.

Shanahan’s video explanation captured what everyone who watched the play saw. This was a cheap shot that could, and should, have been avoided.

“Rather than make a full body check, Volchenkov extends his elbow, making significant contact to the side of Marchand’s head,” Shanahan said. “Although Marchand…is stopping and turning his head away from Volchenkov to avoid the full force of the impending check, that doesn’t contribute or explain the reckless elbow contact to the head on what could’ve been a legal collision. He sees Marchand clearly, and if anything, Marchand’s actions just prior to contact forced Volchenkov to extend his elbow even further.”

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By Allan Muir

If the NHL’s Department of Player Safety updates their instructional videos over the summer, Nate Thompson might want to request a copy for posterity. There’s a better than zero chance the Tampa Bay forward will have a starring role.

Thompson was dinged Saturday afternoon for two games after delivering a textbook head shot on New Jersey’s Matt D’Agostini on Friday night.

Hard to believe he was able to mount much of a defense. The case was a clear violation of Rule 48. As Sheriff Shanny noted, Thompson “recklessly target[ed] D’Agostini’s head by extending up and making it the principle point of contact.”

The evidence was pretty damning — I mean, Thompson was eyeing his target all the way and clearly had the chance to use the body instead of throwing a brutally obvious elbow — but D’Agostini wasn’t hurt on the play. And since that element clearly weighs heavily in all DPS deliberations, there wasn’t going to be a book thrown today.

Not sure a message has been sent here, but it was far from the dirtiest hit of the year. Since five of the previous 12 suspensions this season have gone for a pair of games, this call is probably just about right.

By Allan Muir

Joffrey Lupul has played brilliantly in his first two games back with the Maple Leafs since missing most of the season with a broken arm.

We’ll have to wait a while to see if that hot streak continues into game three.

Lupul was handed a two-game suspension today by the NHL’s Department of Player Safety for a wildly blatant head shot on Tampa Bay’s Victor Hedman in last night’s 4-2 Toronto win.

“As the video shows, after Hedman passes the puck, Lupul approaches from the side and recklessly targets Hedman’s head by elevating and making it the principal point of contact,” Rob Blake said in the DPS’ explanatory video.

By “elevating,” Blake means Lupul left the ice prior to making contact, which he pretty much had to do to avoid slamming into the 6-foot-6 Hedman’s elbow. But once a player “leaves his feet,” he’s asking for trouble from DPS.

Fortunately, Hedman wasn’t hurt on the play and that, combined with Lupul’s absence from the league’s Big Book O’ Mug Shots, added up to the two-gamer and the forfeiture of more than $45,000 in salary.

Was it a fair call? As the season goes on, it’s getting tougher and tougher to compare one suspension to another, but taken on it’s own merits, this one passes the smell test.

By Allan Muir

Sheriff Shanny laid down the law Friday afternoon, suspending Edmonton’s Taylor Hall two games for a kneeing incident in last night’s game against Minnesota.

Hall was assessed a major penalty and game misconduct for his late-third period hit on Cal Clutterbuck, but NHL discipline czar Brendan Shanahan determined that supplementary discipline was called for.

Shanahan made note that the play happened quickly but added that Hall was in control of himself and the hit, and that Clutterbuck did not act evasively in a way that contributed to the collision.

He also noted Clutterbuck was not in possession of the puck at any time during the sequence, so he had no reason to think that a hit was coming.

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By Allan Muir

I’ve heard it said that the best deal is the one from which neither side walks away completely happy. If that’s the case, then Brendan Shanahan probably came up with the perfect punishment for Jannik Hansen.

Sheriff Shanny handed the Vancouver forward a one-game suspension today for the elbow he threw to the back of Marian Hossa’s head on Tuesday night. He’ll miss Thursday’s meeting with the Stars in Dallas as a result.

It’s an interesting verdict. I was expecting something more severe, maybe in the range of three games. Intentional or not, it was undeniably a head shot delivered against a completely defenseless victim … pretty much the exact element the league says it’s trying to get out of the game.

But I talked to a few people around the league, and most thought there would be no suspension. Former referee Kerry Fraser does a nice job summing up that viewpoint over at TSN.

So this clearly isn’t as cut-and-dry as most situations the Department of Player Safety addresses. But after weighing the evidence, the DOPS ultimately decided Hansen was reckless and handed out the suspension, which means he also forfeits $7,297.30 in salary.

Here’s my problem: the suspension doesn’t seem to match the crime Shanny describes in the video:

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