Gauthier suspended five games

by James Mirtle on Feb 2, 2009 4:47 PM CST Comment 11 comments

Los Angeles Kings defenseman Denis Gauthier has been suspended for five games, without pay, as a result of a blow to the head delivered during NHL Game #732, Jan. 31 against the Montreal Canadiens, the National Hockey League announced.

Under the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, and based on his average annual salary, Gauthier will forfeit $56,451.61.

>> team release

You can get a look at the hit here.

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It’s never enough for these kind of hits, even more so when the injured player is on your team…
But you’d have to think that, given Gauthier track record, he would’ve gotten more.

by Habs on Feb 2, 2009 4:49 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Outlook not so good.

by J. Michael Neal on Feb 2, 2009 4:56 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

More than I'd guessed...

…but only five? Really?

by Doogie2K on Feb 2, 2009 5:38 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

I was right

But I wish I wasn’t. Deserved more for his body of ‘work’.

Honk if you love Justice!
"I'm betting that I'm just abnormal enough to survive. "

by TheTick on Feb 2, 2009 7:31 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Considering he got none for the hit on Kaleta

this somehow makes sense despite not making any sense.

by twoeightnine on Feb 2, 2009 10:25 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

spin, spin, spin

by smyttysmullet on Feb 2, 2009 11:07 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

That hit is as dirty as it gets – even for the old NHL. 5 games is a slap on the wrist.

Don't be afraid to take a few steps back, but you better keep moving forward.

by wlittle on Feb 3, 2009 8:34 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

This is another epic failure of the league to seriously punish someone who blatantly went well beyond the rules. And its also a perfect example of why the league will never seriously be able to address fighting – if the league can’t punish players who break the rules, people will call for the players themselves to do it. I don;t have the links handy, but I think there were some stories in the canadian papers about the “failure” of the montreal players to “stand up” for Georges.

by poploser on Feb 3, 2009 8:56 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

There were, and to some extent they were right.
However, you have to remember that Gauthier got a game misconduct there, so that was an automatic 5 minutes PP for Montreal. Retaliating might have erased that powerplay, or at least shortened it… The Habs scored a goal 2 seconds into the PP.
I’m not saying they shouldn’t have fought back, morally. But game-wise, the best way to punish a team for this kind of goonery is to score on the ensuing PP.

by Habs on Feb 3, 2009 11:22 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Morally? If you are talking about beating people up, whether in response to a perceived injury or not, “morals” doesn’t advocate it. You can argue about whether the “code” requires it, or hockey culture requires it, or winning a game requires it, but “morals” will never require it.

and I am speaking as a Habs fan.

by Gerald on Feb 3, 2009 1:06 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

I meant was it morally ok that no one on the team stood up for Gorges and made Gauthier pay? Was that apparent apathy morally acceptable? I don’t know. But in the end, I’d rather they don’t retaliate and score on the PP.

by Habs on Feb 3, 2009 2:52 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs