by true Citizens of Hockeytown
Update (12:37 PM): Helene St. James has quotes from Kris Draper (who didn’t notice it) and Jordin Tootoo (who claims it was an accident) on the incident. - Mat
Intentional a la Simon? No. Still dangerous a la Pronger? Yes. Will anything come of it? We’ll see.
James Mirtle has some of the best commentary on the Tootoo-Robidas incident I’ve seen yet. Those looking to defend Tootoo for what he did would do well to check out what James has to say. Pay special attention to the quote he includes from Robidas in which the Stars defenseman describes his own intentions on the play. Even without having read the quote, that’s how I read the guy’s body language.
I have to say that, on second thought, five games seems a bit light.
Update (9:24 PM): I just noticed something and so did Gabriel, who pointed it out in the comments:
“If my math is correct, that means his fifth game missed will be against our Wings. That’s good for our team as the playoffs are right around the corner and we can’t afford to lose a defenseman like Schneider to some idiot in shoulder pads.”
Couldn’t agree more, Gabriel, though it’s too bad Bootland won’t get another shot at Tootoo, even if Darryl’s still on the roster by then. Oh well. There’s always next season. - Matt
Followup on yesterday’s Notes post: Jordin Tootoo was given a five-game suspension for this slug to the face of Stephane Robidas:
Five games seems about right, I suppose. I just hope it’ll be enough to get Jordin to tone his game down a bit and show a little more respect. There’s nothing wrong with being a hard hitting, energetic player, but Tootoo goes over the line. I hope for his opponents’ sake, but as well as his own, that he learns his lesson. If not, he’ll either seriously hurt someone someday, or be seriously hurt himself when he pisses off someone bigger and nastier than himself.
… The Wings blew their Division/Conference/League lead last night when they lost 4-1 to Vancouver while Nashville and Jordin Tootoo were beating up Dallas to win 3-2.
I missed the first period, which I see was penalty-ridden, but I got to see the second and third periods and it didn’t seem much better. I haven’t got much more to say, except that they need to stay out of the box better than that. When they’re getting bench minor penalties for having six players not just on the ice, but in the zone playing, something’s wrong. They were obviously not on top of the mental game.
Anyway, if you didn’t read the liveblog from last night, read it now.
… I had a reason to mention Tootoo above and the reason is this:
For that disgusting example of disrespect, Tootoo was given a roughing penalty while Robidas was called for charging. Did I mention that Robidas had to be carted off the ice on a stretcher? No? Oh. Well, he did. How, exactly, does that work?
Now, Barry Trotz obviously isn’t going to throw his own player under the bus, but his defense of Tootoo sickens me:
“Toots obviously hit their top player, and the current response in hockey is someone has got to get over there and defend your honor. Robidas was really charging at Toots, and he just reacted. I give him a lot of credit – he kept his gloves on.”
“The current response in hockey”? That’s how it’s always been, Trotz. Robidas was going in to defend Modano, which is exactly what he should have done.
I’m not convinced Robidas was technically charging, but all Tootoo had to do was sidestep it or absorb it (Robidas wasn’t going that fast). If he had a chance to swing, he had a chance to step aside instead. I don’t know what condition Robidas is in, but had Tootoo had a chance to drop his glove, Robidas might have been seriously injured. Oh, and Tootoo would probably have a broken hand, so I guess Trotz is right to give him credit for that.
Robidas obviously has a concussion, but it doesn’t seem like the League is looking at a suspension. If there isn’t some kind of disciplinary action, the League is going to look incredibly stupid. That kind of stuff has no place in the game, whether it’s Tootoo or anyone else doing it. The kid’s had a red-letter week, that’s for sure.
… Apparently, this is the week that Todd Bertuzzi will return to the ice. He’s had a number of pain-free practices and should be good to go Thursday or Saturday. I’m definitely looking forward to it. I want to see what he’ll do for us in the Winged Wheel.
Via the Free Press:
“He asked me to go, so I was ready to go,” Bootland said. “He was just trying to suck me in, and it worked out. Just happy they didn’t capitalize on the power play.” Bootland said Tootoo didn’t come near him the rest of the game. “It’s pretty frustrating,” Bootland said. “He comes in (Wednesday) and throws a sucker punch right off the hop — I thought it was. Usually, most guys have the respect that if you’re going to ask a guy to go, you’ll get ready and go.”
I know there are those people who would say Bootland is just whining, but he has a very good point. There’s such a thing as proper etiquette and Tootoo didn’t follow it. Now, Bootland probably should have known better, as one of Tootoo’s few redeeming qualities is his ability to goad players into taking penalties. Still, it’s not to Jordin’s credit that he proposed a fight and then backed down.
For an example of proper etiquette, see the video below:
That’s how fighting is different than leveling players as they touch up an icing.
As for the comment about Tootoo not coming near him for the rest of the game, I’m not surprised. Bootland only played one more shift after that so unless Tootoo buzzed the bench, he wasn’t going to be around. Had Darryl played more than a minute and a half, I’m sure the two would have found each other and maybe the results would have been different.
It’s doubtful that Bootland will get another chance at him until next season, since he should be back in Grand Rapids before the last game with the Preds, which will take place on March 29th in Nashville. Of course, he’ll have to make the Wings’ NHL roster if he wants another shot at Tootoo, as he is still only in the AHL, despite the fact that legions of fans around the League hold his brief stint with the Wings in ‘03-’04 against him like he’s an NHL regular. Why he’s such a special object of hate, I don’t know, since most fans who aren’t up to speed on the AHL have rarely seen him play (whereas Tootoo has been pissing people off for his play in both leagues for three seasons). I’d say he has a pretty good chance of making it, though.
Jordin Tootoo has always left a bad taste in my mouth, but previously, he was just an annoyance. However, after last night, I see him in a new light. It could be a little bias, as he tried to take out Mathieu Schneider twice. Why does any team feel they need a guy who can go out there and lay on nasty hits and pretty much just put the other team in danger? I’m all for hitting/checking and even fighting–but there’s a right way and a wrong way. Leaving your feet to try to lay a huge hit is not acceptable. I have no doubt that if Schneider had not jumped out of the way, he would have been injured. And when fighting, generally you want to square off first and then fight–which I’m sure is what Bootland would have expected.
The only thing Tootoo brings to his team is this type of rough play. He generally would be put in the same category as a Kirk Maltby or Sean Avery. However, those two players have other benefits. Avery has 32 points this season, including 12 goals. While Maltby has a mere 8 points this season, his defensive game has been valuable to the team for years. You’ll always see Maltby out on the PK. So what does Jordin Tootoo bring along with his antagonistic style? With 2 goals, 6 points, 98 PIM and a +/- of -12, not much. His +/- is the worst on the team by 6. Last night, he had two shots. Most of what he did on the ice was simply going from hit to hit. And his hits are not standard hockey hits–they are risky.
The way that Tootoo plays seems to be evidence of something very disturbing going on in the NHL today. There is a lack of respect among opposing players. There was the Bertuzzi attack on Moore, the McSorley incident, the McLaren hit on Zednik, the cheap shot Janssen laid on Kaberle, and most recently, the Simon incident. These are the most wide-known of the past few years. But there are also a lot of hits that go unpenalized and unpunished. Take, for instance, the Raffi Torres hit on Jason Williams earlier this season. It was obvious charging on a guy with his head down, but there was no call made and no action taken by the NHL. The League is more interested in making the game exciting than protecting its players. If these types of hits continue to go unpunished, they will not stop. Even when the NHL does hand out suspensions, they are almost laughable. A 20-game suspension for Bertuzzi when Moore will never play again? A 25 game suspension for Simon when, had his stick been 1 inch or so lower, he could’ve easily killed Ryan Hollweg? No penalty, fine or suspension for Torres, when Williams had to be taken off the ice on a stretcher? Here’s a reminder of what Bobby Orr said after the hit on Williams:
“I don’t want to see hitting taken out of the game, I love hitting in hockey, but if someone puts his shoulder into a player’s face, if he puts anything — an arm, an elbow, a glove — I think that player should get a penalty. Definitely, it should be a penalty. We are having players getting knocked unconscious before they even hit the ice and carried off on stretchers. How can that be legal? When did hitting someone in the head with your shoulder or any part of your body become part of the rules? Anything above the neck, it’s wrong.
“Hey, I got hit a lot when I played and I didn’t get hit in the head with checks. Players didn’t always hit like that. To me, that’s not part of bodychecking. I mean, don’t you have to be responsible for your actions? If you hit a guy in the face with your stick by accident, you’re going to get a penalty. Two minutes, four minutes, five minutes, something. If you go to bodycheck a guy and you hit him in the face or head, and injure him, that’s legal? That’s fair? That’s not a penalty? I’m sorry, I don’t think that is right. It should be a penalty.”
The high-stick penalty has forced players to always be aware of where their stick is and what it is hitting. Why do they not have to have the same responsibility for their shoulders? In the NFL, if you hit a player in the head, it’s a penalty. It doesn’t matter if it was on purpose or not, it’s a penalty.
The NHL needs to take a serious look at what’s going on in the League and do something about it. This means harsher punishments for these types of hits. With some of these hits, the officials did not see it. Perhaps they need to be able to go to a replay every time something like this happens, and if they see it there, to be able to asses a penalty. Maybe it would help to institute post-game handshakes after every game.
The general population already has the Slapshot view of hockey. Incidents like Bertuzzi-Moore and Simon-Hollweg just increase this perception, especially when the NHL doesn’t do much about it. We all know that is not the image the league wants. But as long as there are guys like Tootoo, whose sole purpose is to run around and hit as many people as hard as possible, that is the image the NHL will have.
