Duncan Keith vs Daniel Sedin: Suspensions Coming?
On Wednesday night, the game between the Blackhawks and Canucks saw emotions come to a boil after Duncan Keith made this high hit on Daniel Sedin:
Daniel did not return to the game after the hit. Keith received a two-minute minor penalty for elbowing on the play.
However, as TSN pointed out during their broadcast, Daniel was not without his share of filth in the game. Before Keith ended his night, he offered his shoulder/elbow to Keith’s head as well:
With news that Shane Doan received a three-game suspension for his elbow to the head of Dallas’ Jamie Benn, it’s easy to see a scenario where Keith could miss time or be fined. The key difference between Doan and Keith is that Doan was a repeat offender in the eyes of the league, and even Henrik Sedin admitted after the game that the play was out of character to the 2010 Norris Trophy winner.
The Canucks spent the rest of the night directly targeting Keith on the ice. In the middle of the second period, the typically-classy Canucks jumped Keith as a line. Keith and Alex Burrows were hit with 14 penalty minutes each for the mess. Henrik was clearly lost without his brother on the ice as well, taking two penalties within three minutes.
We’ll wait to hear from Mr. Shanahan on Thursday.
Keith will (and should) be suspended. I say 1-3 games, depending on if Daniel plays against Dallas tonight or not, because Keith has no history of supplemental discipline over 7 seasons.
I believe Keith should be suspended. It was a payback hit that was unnecessary. However, you have to think that if Keith gets something, so will Daniel. Or so we can hope…
Two things on this. First off the Canucks play this style (and the Hawks don’t)and they started it with the Daniel Sedin hit. Second I also think Sedin’s hit was worse because Keith was looking the other way and Sedin built up speed and lunged at his head. That being said Sedin was knocked out of the game and Keith wasn’t. Weighing all that I would suspend them both the same and that would be one game. So I think Sedin’s hit was worse and should be suspended more, but he was hurt on the Keith hit and Keith wasn’t hurt on the Sedin hit so that balances it out. I don’t like this idea of focusing on whether someone gets injured as part of the equation, but thats how the league does it. Also IF one of the Canuck goons had been involved instead of a goal scorer/skill player(i.e Sedin) then I wouldn’t suspend Keith at all in that scenario.
Also has anyone looked at the play where Kruger got hurt. Is it a head injury? I think we need him for the playoffs and he had a concussion earlier this year so I am concerned about that.
@Pete – I totally agree. It sends a message to the Canucks that we won’t put up with being bullied, which was a huge problem last year and in the playoffs. Unfortunately Keith’s hit was dirty and he could have sent that same message with a lot less effort.
After what Raffi Torres did to Seabrook last year, in the playoffs, I can see how Keith can be particularly sensitive to sticking up for himself and his teammates from dirty hits from the Canucks. Emotions can run high, especially when you know that the team you’re playing against has a history of dirty violence.
Again, did Keith go too far? Yes. Should he still have sent a message and hit Sedin in a cleaner fashion, but still taking a penalty? Yes.
Keith will be suspended I believe anywhere from 3-5 games. The length of the sentence will be higher if Daniel is expected to miss multiple ice time. One can see why Duncs blew up. He took a nasty head shot that looks like it was premeditated. The retaliation should have come in a better situation. Duncs just said “this guy is going down” and did what he felt he had to. It was a selfish play that I am sure is regretted. He will cost his team because of his lack of control. Vancouver has some blame in this ongoing drama between the two teams. They ran the torpedo squad at us last year game in and game out. What I find interesting is that the Nucks don’t seem to answer the bell very well, once someone starts to hit back. They are the champion face washers in the NHL and have always picked their spots about who to try and target. Biekscum is famous for this. Then there is the infamous Burrows hair pull ice slam on Keith from a few years back. He almost did it again last night! The list is long. Good on the Hawks staying on their game and getting the two points. The Canuckleheads remain the most hated team in the league because of games like last night.
Doan got 3 games the other day and had a prior to his record. Keith has a good record, so i would say give Duncan 2 games, Sedin 1, Burrows 1… Maybe a couple fines. More than that would be over kill. If we play them again in the playoff, put everyone on a short leash and let them know the refs won’t stand for any funny business.
Last year in the finals when Vancouver tried to play their “games” Boston retaliated by going right after the Sedin’s and Kesler. If Vancouver wants to play that style they have to expect to have their skill players in the cross hairs. Here Sedin himself started it against Keith. I have no sympathy for him at all regardless of the length he is out of the lineup. I think the league should suspend Keith and Sedin one game each. The only reason I think Keith will get a suspension is because Sedin is not a goon and Sedin was hurt. I don’t agree with that analysis, but its reality in the NHL.
First, as Adam Jahns said, it has to be proven that he intended retaliation. Second, Burrows and Keith received 14 minutes, not 16. they both got double minors and 10.
taken from another forum:
The logic that has every Hawks fan suggesting that Daniel’s hit was dirty, while the NHL has already released videos showing that hits like that aren’t dirty and are legal within the rules?
Daniel’s hit would have been dirty if his elbows were up… they were not.
Duncan Keith thought that Daniel’s hit was dirty and felt that he was right to seek retribution (a premeditated attack according to the NHL). Hawks fans thought that Daniel’s hit was dirty and somehow feel the need to justify Keith’s actions because of it – or at least “understand where he’s coming from”
Obviously Canucks fans don’t feel that it was a dirty hit at all by Daniel.
Both sides are biased. So who’s supposed to be the unbiased authority here, and what do they think about Daniel’s hit? Well that would be the NHL, and the NHL does not think that the hit was dirty, as clearly shown in their legal hits video.
But, let’s ignore all that. I guess there’s nothing wrong with a player looking for revenge on his own because they feel that a hit was dirty, even if the NHL doesn’t deem it to be?