McGrattan hit on Alberts, Suspension Looming?

[Wilbur]

I've watched the hit like ten times now, and I really can't see anything that deserves more than 1-3 games at most. I wouldn't even really be upset if he didn't get anything. Sestito stood up for Alberts, which was nice, and then McGrattan got a game misconducted. The on-ice officials handled it well, so now I guess we will see.

Pretty much agree, except I'd be a little upset if McGratton received no suspension. This is one of the hits the NHL has been trying to eliminate. Taking into McGratton's lack of previous suspensions I think 2 games would be sufficient.

[Batmania]

Ah yes. The CBC: partners in crime with the league & the League Chairman...continuing to promote the fighters, the fighting & the violence in this sport...despite the optics & the science against it...that's been acknowledged by every other league in the world.

Your post & Cherry's long tenure as "Uber-Bruins-fan" on HNIC.... is proof that the NHL has a propaganda-machine... & that it serves the Chairman & his 0-6 team's purposes...& that it is working very well.

What?

[TimberWolf]

Before the ridiculous Edler suspension I would have said this was no more then a fine. (the 5 and game even enough) A bit unfortunate but without that kind of intent. But with the bar the NHL set when they suspended Edler, this should be 3 or more.

[thad]

He should get something but I could really care less if he does. Call me old school, but we handled it ourselves just fine. Our toughest guy made him answer for it and we won the game shutting them out.

[SID.IS.SID.ME.IS.ME]

That's nonsense. If you have a soft team then stuff happens. Look at Boston, they were soft and always looking to the league to protect them until the Marc safard concussions became too much. Then they built a tougher team who took care of themselves and won a cup.

If you want to go soft and roll semi skilled guys on your 4th line who you think can score 15 goals and a bunch of offense first dmen then you can expect to get physically run over. Everyone knows this including the refs and shanahan. If you think youre going to build a skill only team and that shanny and the refs are going to feel sorry for you and protect you when youre getting bullied, bodychecked, and intimidated then you're wrong, it's up to your team to protect yourself or fight through it.

I agree with the bolded criticism of the 2013-14 New Jersey Devils but I'm not sure what it has to do with this topic?

That was intended as sarcasm, at least initially. But the more I think about it, that bolded statement could only really make sense if it was actually describing another team (and not the Canucks).

The Canucks are not a "soft" team and their 4th line isn't built on "semi skilled" players who are tasked to score goals. And while the Canucks, like every good team in the league, have their fair share of offensively minded defensemen, their D corps isn't merely "a bunch of offense first dmen."

Even when Dalpe's playing down the middle, a 4th line flanked by Sestito (who IIRC now leads the NHL with 11 fights) and Weise is hardly "soft." And Andrew Alberts is far from an "offense first" defenseman, yet he's the guy who got "physically run over."

So clearly that bolded statement was referring to another team. Otherwise, it would just be "nonsense."

The Canucks are, as Torts likes to say, a "stiffer" team than they used to be. This seems obvious from just watching them play but the numbers are also pretty clear: 9th most major penalties in NHL, 6th most misconducts, 12th in PIM per game.

And, as shown last game, this is a team where players no longer hesitate to come to the defense of a teammate. It's become automatic now (as it should have always been).

As for the incident in question (and getting back to the thread topic):

While I don't think there was any intent to target the head (or to cause a serious injury), I do find the hit reckless and dangerous.

I believe the initial intent was to throw a hard, shoulder-to-shoulder hit that would get the fans and the team going and help to shift momentum. However, at the point of contact, Mcgratton didn't have the right angle to connect with a clear hard hit so, like many other NHL players, he threw out his arms to still make contact.

This is the behaviour that I believe needs to be targeted by the NHL and elilminated from the game.

If you're going to miss full contact, shoulder-to-shoulder, the default response shouldn't be to throw your hands, forearms, elbows, and/or stick toward the head of the player you're about to hit. In my mind, it's exactly the same kind of play--and just as dirty--as recklessly hanging out a leg and going knee-on-knee when the angle doesn't allow for body-to-body contact (and the targeted player would otherwise receive only partial/grazing contact or even possible skate by untouched).

Unfortunately, this kind of thing happens all the time and the behaviour has become endemic to this league.

Clean, hard, devastating body checks are the thing of beauty and should never be removed from the game. However, what Mcgratton did to Alberts needs to be eliminated from the game and only a strong response from the NHL (every time this happens--even when the offender is a Canuck) is the only way to change this kind of systemic behaviour.

[THERETOOL]

should be a suspension ...... the announcer should get one too ... hah ... I thought he was gonna say that alberts tried to hit Mcfattens elbow with his head ..

[winthecup]

Not an elbow but a high hit with his forearm....If Hansen was suspended a game for his high hit on Hossa, McGratton should be suspended as well.

[stawns]

that wasn't suspension worthy. The 5 and game was enough

[Burnsey]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MAwBrReB2U

I could see 1-3 games. He clearly raises his arms / elbows at the end and makes the hit way more dangerous than it should have been. I think it would've been shoulder to shoulder otherwise.

Yeah I agree. I see 2 games. If he kept the hit shoulder to shoulder like he was it would have been fine.

[Quoted]

that wasn't suspension worthy. The 5 and game was enough

Not based on suspensions this year. In the 1-3 range if precedence actually counts.

[Okanuck]

Canucks Nation, who were well represented at the game, booed McGrattan for the hit...& also booed him as he was being sent off...that's my take.

This is true, but the flames fans also booed when they announced McGrattons 5 min major and game misconduct. People in my area were calling it a clean hit and saying Alberts was faking it. Clowns.

[tas]

The flames announcers here are the worst ones in the league. I have had Centre Ice for a few years and watched probably every team and the Flames ones are just terrible. They literally have no idea what they are talking about. Its embarrassing.

there was a point last night where i was almost certain charlie simmer was having. a stroke.

[Captain Aerosex]

It should be. Pretty blatant headshot, reckless elbow. 3 games.

Stop putting 'none because X is a Canuck.' So stupid.

[-Vintage Canuck-]

1-3 games at the most.

[panelguy]

You won't find a word about the hit , suspension or anything on the NHL website.

[panelguy]

From the Flames web site

NO NEWS ON GRATS HEARING

No news could be good news for Brian McGrattan.

The 6-foot-4, 235-pound Calgary Flames forward hasn’t heard from the National Hockey League in regards to his hit on defenceman Andrew Alberts in the first period of Sunday’s 2-0 loss to the Vancouver Canucks.

He likely doesn’t expect to, either.

“I’ve seen the hit,” McGrattan said. “It’s a shoulder-to-shoulder hit. Unfortunately he went down but my elbow wasn’t up, shoulder wasn’t up, didn’t target the head. That’s my take on it.

“I’m not a dirty player. I’ve never laid a dirty hit in my career. I don’t target heads. I don’t take cheap shots. I have respect for other players.”

[riffraff]

That's nonsense. If you have a soft team then stuff happens. Look at Boston, they were soft and always looking to the league to protect them until the Marc safard concussions became too much. Then they built a tougher team who took care of themselves and won a cup.

If you want to go soft and roll semi skilled guys on your 4th line who you think can score 15 goals and a bunch of offense first dmen then you can expect to get physically run over. Everyone knows this including the refs and shanahan. If you think youre going to build a skill only team and that shanny and the refs are going to feel sorry for you and protect you when youre getting bullied, bodychecked, and intimidated then you're wrong, it's up to your team to protect yourself or fight through it.

that being said, how would you describe the flames team identity outside of BM?

skilled?

tough?

skilled and tough?

ongoing joke of a borderline NHL franchise?

[riffraff]

From the Flames web site

NO NEWS ON GRATS HEARING

No news could be good news for Brian McGrattan.

The 6-foot-4, 235-pound Calgary Flames forward hasn’t heard from the National Hockey League in regards to his hit on defenceman Andrew Alberts in the first period of Sunday’s 2-0 loss to the Vancouver Canucks.

He likely doesn’t expect to, either.

“I’ve seen the hit,” McGrattan said. “It’s a shoulder-to-shoulder hit. Unfortunately he went down but my elbow wasn’t up, shoulder wasn’t up, didn’t target the head. That’s my take on it.

“I’m not a dirty player. I’ve never laid a dirty hit in my career. I don’t target heads. I don’t take cheap shots. I have respect for other players.”

rrrrrrrright.

but imo 1 game would be fine as he sat out the whole game last night already.

[poetica]

We've seen Canucks be suspended for less. If Edler got suspended for Hertl knowingly running into him with his head down and not even being knocked off his feet, McGrattan should get a suspension for looking straight at Alberts, knowing where his head was when he went in for the hit, hitting up through the head and knocking Alberts unconscious. Sadly, as cynical as it is I seriously doubt it even gets looked at. But if the jerseys had been reversed it would be a different matter entirely. And therein lies the problem.

[canucksnihilist]

Seriously.... it depends on whom the perpetrator is, who the perpetrator knows, and if the player got hurt (cause we all know it is wrong to shoot a gun at a person, but it is only illegal if you actually hurt that person).

It has nothing to do with any sort of policy or guideline - cause there isn't one ... actually there "is" one, but it is just a guideline not a policy. And going off the guideline is perfectly ok.

Best example in a while: The fix was so obvious in 2011 it's just pathetic. Too many examples to even list

Punching the art ross trophy winner in the face right in front of the ref - over and over again with the "blind eye" being that the ref suddenly lost his vision - and when a slight push is done the other way that vision was restored they both go off. cause you can't put the Bruins at a disadvantage - maybe once the game is over and the other team doesn't have a chance anymore you can give the other team a bunch of penalties to even things up.

Henrik on a draw - puck touches his glove and he gets a penalty... must have been the only time that penalty was ever called in the history of playoff hockey. Probably the history of hockey actually. But you know, the rules are called a lot tighter in the SCF and everything gets called.

Constant slashing - Bieksa gets a 2 handed chop to the ankle. But that is ok - hehe - the boys are just playing it out. You don't call stuff like that in a SCF

Rome can hit a player that is a little late and gets the rest of the series... Lucic can run a goalie down (miller) and give him a concussion but gets away clean. Or they can break Raymond's back, I think the intention was to just give him a love tap. I think the explanation that time was that Lucic didn't "intend" to run him down (even though he got hurt), whereas with Rome intention wasn't considered at all. Total sham.

Letting the players play without penalties - oh and by the way that favours the team who had a terrible power play, the Bruins.

Last year's playoffs - huge penalty discrepancy against the Sharks.

Anyways... too many examples, if you need me to I can list a ton of them here. Or just watch that series again. Game 7 was fixed, and a few of the other ones - it is easy to tell which ones. Game 7 Boston / Tampa was fixed too, some really questionable calls there too.

It's one thing to miss a call, and that stuff happens and no one is upset about those incidents. But when it is so obvious and is happening constantly, it is obviously fixed.

win despite the league. that's the goal ladies and germs... don't really know if it is possible... on the bright side you should be able to make some money if you can figure out when the league wants a particular large market / USA team to win.

/end-rant