Posted on 04/19/2012 3:25:52 PM PDT by RitchieAprile
Chicago Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville paid the price Thursday for criticizing officials after Game 3 of the Western Conference quarterfinals.
After the officials failed to call a penalty on the Coyotes' Raffi Torres following the winger's hit on the Hawks' Marian Hossa that sent Hossa to the hospital during the first period Tuesday night, Quenneville said: "I saw exactly what happened, it was right in front of me and all four (officials) missed it, The refereeing tonight was a disgrace."
The NHL lowered the boom on Quenneville, fining the coach $10,000 "for public comments critical of the officiating."
A day after the incident, Quenneville was asked during a news conference if he was worried he'd draw a fine for his comments and replied, "I don't think I said anything bad. I was just answering the question."
Torres has been suspended indefinitely pending a Friday hearing with NHL disciplinarian Brendan Shanahan for the hit.
(Excerpt) Read more at chicagotribune.com ...
Officials should be just as accountable for missed or bad calls. I hope he appeals the fine.
Are the refs being fined for the horrible lack of call? The hit was blatant and horrible, and the refs should be held responsible, too. And I’m an old-school hockey fan. I like the fights. But I don’t like dirty players and dirty hits, and that was a dirty, dirty hit.
It will be interesting to hear Grape’s perspective on this
on Saturday’s edition of HNIC.
Doesn’t the fact that Torres is suspended indefinitely—yet he did not receive a penalty—prove that Quenneville was right in his remarks?
The fine isn’t the league disagreeing with him, the fine is saying don’t air family business to the public. As far as I know all the leagues have issued fines to coaches for criticizing officiating in public, even when other league action shows they agree with what he said.
Then fine him $1. ;^)
Is it my imagination or has the violence/brawls/penalty minutes skyrocketed in the NHL playoffs this year?
Sheesh, gets fined for telling the truth. Looked like coach Q’s head was going to explode. Torres left his feet and his shoulder made contact with Hossa’s head, Hossa didn’t have the puck. The ref’s swallowed their whistles. I thought the league wanted to curtail this kind of play.
Obviously it was payback for Shaws brushing Yotes goalie Smith, who then went down like he was shot. He should have been given an embellishment penalty instead of Shaw getting a penalty and suspension. Makes me wonder if they want this type of game played for the playoffs, with all the crap allowed in the other series also.
It’s not a courtesy rule, it’s bad for the league to have coaches yapping about the refs in press conferences. Everybody knows the refs miss calls, everybody knows the refs missed that call (guy leaves on a stretcher, nobody goes in the box, yup that’s a missed call), there’s nothing to be gained complaining about it to the press. That’s why the league has a punishment policy that can fine and suspend players even if there wasn’t a penalty called on the ice, because everybody knows refs miss calls. And Q’s been around the league long enough he knows all that, he stuck his foot in it anyway, now he’s fined. Of course given coaching paychecks 10 G ain’t that much.
It seems like a conflict of interest since the league owns the Coyotes. It would behoove them to give Phoenix the edge with calls so they can advance in the playoffs, drum up interest in the franchise, and have someone take them off of their hands.
The NHL once publicly reprimanded a referee for blowing a call in the playoffs back in the 1990s, and may have even fined him a substantial amount of money. I think it was Andy van Hellemond, who later became the league’s director of officiating (ironically).
A five-minute major and a match penalty for intent to injure is about the most serious penalty a referee would assess in response to an offense on the ice.
You’re sooooooo correct. Can’t believe I said that.
That does put some perspective on why Raffi made the contact. The treatment of goaltenders had become somewhat more cavalier of late. It seems that goaltender interference isn’t called at all.
JQ has quite the temper and a way with eff bombs.
Proof that hockey is contrary to American values. Let’s organize a nationwide ban of the ‘sport’ and send it back to Canada, Russia, and other totalitarian states.
The contact Shaw made with Smith did not look serious, Shaw was skating behind net trying to get to the puck and his shoulder made contact with Smith, Shaw didn’t go out of his way to hit him. Smith threw his hands up and fell backwards, embellishment. Smith finished the game, no injuries. They didn’t let Smith practice after that, until the league announced Shaw would get 3 game suspension, then all of a sudden Smith is going to start (Tues. game). Then they have the nerve to call the Torres hit a “hockey play.” Sometimes I feel like these games are fixed with the calls/no calls.
Maybe if Q was the first coach the NHL had fined for that it would. But he’s not. I doubt he’s even the first this year. And the league did suspend the hitter.
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