Just fire this guy

Why beat around the bush?

It seems generally accepted that the NHL doesn't need players who do what Jesse Boulerice did to Ryan Kesler of the Canucks last night, and that Boulerice, a long-established thug, adds absolutely nothing of value to the NHL.

So why not just fire him?

You can give him 10 or 15 or 20 or 25 games if you want, but let's be clear about what we're dealing with here. Boulerice is the same character who, while playing junior, attacked Andrew Long of the Guelph Storm with his stick in April, 1998 in one of the most vicious, ugly stick incidents in hockey, ever. Long suffered serious facial and head injuries, and after being a fifth round draft NHL draft pick, never did get close to realizing his NHL dreams.

Long played in several different minor pro leagues, and we'll never know if Boulerice's stick attack changed Long's career forever. Boulerice, you may recall, was banned for the entire 1998-99 season. And apparently learned nothing. Zero.

There he was Wednesday night, after cross-checking an unsuspecting Kesler in the face for no apparent reason other than the fact Kesler dared to play hard against the Flyers, standing over his fallen victim, poised to drop his gloves if Kesler would only get up.

Yup, always the "policemen" committing the ugliest crimes.

No one, outside of Boulerice and his $475,000 a year paycheque and maybe the Philly Flyers, could care in the slightest if this goon ever skated another NHL game.

So fire him, already.

The NHL should just say, don't bother reporting to work again. Tell us where to send the severance cheques. Let him shop his skills in Europe or somewhere else.

But enough, already, of these no-talent goons in the best hockey league in the world. Next best idea? Suspend Philly coach John Stevens for the same amount of games as Boulerice for again - remember Steve Downie? - failing to control his players. When will coaches in the NHL ever be forced to accept some level of responsibility for the nasty crimes their players commit on the ice?

Comments

[IanDonnelly]

Well, for the first time in my life, I agree with you Mr. Cox.

I've written many a paragraph responding to your columns defending tough guys and fighting tooth and nail (although this has nothing to do with fighting). But, there's no defense for Jesse Boulerice on this one. The league may not have to fire him, he very well could've written his own pink slip with this one.

Two guys squaring off and one getting hurt is one thing, at least you knew the risk when you got into it; but there's no excuse and absolutley no need for Boulerices' actions.

30-40 games, and Philly should waive him. I doubt anybody would pick him up.

[A-Mar]

I concur... but of course, this opinion will come under serious fire from those who feel that Kesler 'had it coming' and that this would've been avoided were there no instigator rule. Clean hitting has a place in hockey... the occasional fight that contains actual emotion (Iginla and Lecavalier for example) has a place in hockey... cheap shots and attempting to injure other players doesn't have any place in the sport that I love, and Boulerice should be dealt with accordingly.

[Michael Nielsen]

"Let him shop his skills in Europe or somewhere else"? I agree that players like him should be taken out of the game. But what is with that remark? Out of the game - period! Deal with his kind where he comes from and do not export thugs.

[Mark Osborne]

Damien, Why not make the penalty for instigator fighting and Match penalties be such that if you are suspended for a game, or more, your team is not allowe to replace the roster spot. If someone gets a 5 game suspension, his team must play a man short on the roster. Someone who gets a significant suspension could cost his team a playoff spot because they run out of gas, especially late in the season. Combine this with an automatic suspension for fights after say, 2, plus an automatic 5 game minimum for a Match penalties, team/coaches/GMs can't afford these types of players.

[Dave Stacey]

I agree with you Damien 100%.

However, since the NHL doesn't have the balls to get rid of him, it must be at least a suspension of 20-30 games to be any kind of a deterent at all.

[Adam C]

I disagree with Ian: this is about fighting. Boulerice was about to drop his gloves when he realized that Kesler was hurt. I don't think he was trying to injure Kesler - much like McSorley on Brashear, he was trying to start a fight.

I don't mean this to defend Boulerice (or McSorley) but it is specifically why he was hired and what he is paid to do. He's a goon. And if he's "fired", the Flyers will just go out and hire another one.

The majority of these violent incidents requiring lengthy suspensions involve goons - far out of proportion to the number of goons in the league, much less their minuscule ice time.

Like A-Mar, I don't mind the occasional fight between actual players. But if we can't have fighting in hockey without having goons, then it seems clear to me that crosschecks to the face are a direct consequence of allowing fighting in hockey.

[LJones]

Actually, what seems to need saying is that he should have been banned from hockey after the incident in his junior career. Maybe if we were to get rid of the goons as they come up through the minor hockey and junior leagues, others (i.e. their imitators) would see that if they want to continue to play hockey, they will have to clean up their act, or risk forfeiting their entire hockey career.

[Steve Barnett]

There is really no differance between him and Downie...A couple of cementheads..Both with long minor league resumes for crap..
The NHLPA has got to step in and hold a conference call or something and police itself on this stuff..And do not think it is a coincidence that both these clowns are Flyers..They will have statues of both of them on top of the art gallery steps where Rocky once was.

[Don]

Damien:

Excellent piece. I agree with your suggestion. I also think it's time that the NHL realized that they are the only sports league anywhere which rewards a penalized team. You can't ice the puck when you are at full strength - so why if shorthanded? The answer is simple - it's a wink and a nudge to those who want to continue to commit fouls. "Don't worry guys - we'll make it so penalties don't really hurt."

[Jim Maron]

Damien, you are so completely wrong. What the NHL needs to do is go completely goon hockey. In fact, they need to fire anyone that can skate. Why pay 500K-x millions for a hockey player when you can sign up a bunch of Ultimate Fighters for about 50K a year. Imagine the entertainment value of watching 10 of those juiced up Neanderthals beating each other with sticks as they flopped all over the ice trying to put the puck in the net.

Better yet, you get rid of the puck all together and simply reward a team with a "goal" by knocking out the opposing goalie. You might want to tie the goalie to the net so that scoring is increased; you know how fans love a high scoring game.

[Rick Beaufort]

Typical COTU hypocrisy. You call for Boulerice to be banned and yet say nothing of Sundin's vicious attack on Komisarek last Saturday.
Stick attacks need to be stopped and since Boulerice deserves a suspension for his attack on Kesler then Sundin needs to be suspended for his assault on Komisarek.

[Adam Walberg]

I wouldn't lose any sleep over getting rid of a punk like Boulerice. It's hard to believe that these no-talent hacks earn such a hefty paycheque when they have so little contributing talent.

However, to play devil's advocate: What is your suggestion when the incident involves Todd Bertuzzi(Moore), Gary Suter (Kariya) or Dale Hunter (Turgeon) when the attacker is someone that offers a lot more to league than a simple goon like Boulerice? What if the attacker was Sidney Crosby?

[Marijan Kalman]

If this idoit, Boulerice, should be fired then Pronger should be hanged on the first tree in Anahaim for years of hitting people from behind with intent to kill them.

Lets see what is going to happen when Pronger does same thing????

[BeachGrove Paul]

Right on Damien!

Steve B is right to refer to these goofs as cementheads...just bounce them out of the league and end this nonsense.

Instead of Ryan Kessler being hit, what if it had been Sid the Kid, Joe Sakic or Mats Sundin?

Believe it or not, this type of incident will further diminish the NHL in the U.S., and with the reaction to Damien's column, it appears we in Canada are fed up with this crap as well.

Want to even the score, drop the gloves, fire off the helmets, and may the best man win!

[charade]

As long as there are spots on the rosters for players like Jesse Boulerice incidents like this will continue to happen. I mean, I can't even really get too worked-up over them any more.

If the NHL was really serious about preventing them(which we know they are not) they have to take stronger measures to punish the teams.

I'd like to see the amount of players a team can carry trimmed by two or three for a start making it harder for teams to find space for 'energy' players.

Maybe a system similar to soccer: a match penalty forces a team to play with four men plus goalie for the balance of the game. Sound crazy? Not really I think. Once you have rules like this in place you will find these incidents will suddenly tail off.

As we all know though there will be know changes until someone dies. If the horrible optics of the Bertuzzi incident did not make the league think about the bigger picture than there is no way the Simon/Downie/Boulerice ones will.

[IanDonnelly]

Mr. Stacey,

I think that Boulerice was loosening his gloves for the aftermath of the cross-check, but we'll never know.

There are lots of fighters, or "goons" as yourself and Mr. Cox call them; George Parros, Scott Parker, and Brian McGratton for example, that are generally well behaved outside of fighting majors and high PIM counts. I see no need to get rid of them. Go to hockeyfights.com and listen to the crowd when gloves hit the ice, you won't hear any boos and won't see too many in a seated position, it's entertaining. That's what hockey is supposed to be, entertainment. Two of the most anticipated games in the regular season last year were the BUFF/OTT rematch, and the NJ/TOR rematch. The entire ACC crowd chanting "Belak..Belak.." should give you an idea of how the fans view two guys squaring off.

It's the Chris Simon, Donald Brashear, Jessie Boulerice types that need to be dealt with severley. Their antics are not entertainment; thuggery and fighting are two very different things. To lump all fighters into the "goon" catergory, in this man's opinion, is unfair.

[Mike Linton]

I very much like the idea of not being able to replace a suspended player on the roster. That's the kind of hard line and easy to implement system the NHL can use without fear of contant second-guessing some of the more creative but ulitmately unimplementable solutions I've heard. I'm not sure it's enough of a deterrent, but it should be in place regardless.

[Neil]

Damien, The NHL needs to step up and set "real" standards, any player that swings his stick in a fashion such as Chris Simon, or even near that, or takes a head shot the way this Downie guy and Jesse Boulerice did and that many others have in the past, whether the struck player is injured or not, the league should place a immediate suspension of a certain number of games, I am talking a minimum 25 game suspension right off the top and based on the circumstances have a review and determine if more are warranted, based on the players actions in the past, if its a repeat offender, the extent of the injury to the hit player, and so on....have a no tolerance rule, 2nd suspension for a similar type of play, you are out for season, even implement the possibility of players being subjected to criminal charges.
My thought on something like this, is that the league would not do this, basically for the fact that what if someone like Sidney Crosby lost it one night and swung his stick and seriously injured an opposing player...it would be a similar incident such as one my all time favorite players high sticking and cutting one of my other all time favorites in a play off series in the 90's between the Leafs and LA Kings...where my one favorite cut my other favorite and nothing was done. . . .The league needs to wake up before a player is injured to the point that that cant live a normal life or worst, DEAD!!!

[Chris]

Have to agree with you, Damien. Boulerice should be banned for life. This one is almost too easy for Colin Campbell. I thought Downie should have been banned for good as well. He's a goon and he tries to hurt people. That's not going to change after a 20-game suspension. There's no reason to have either of these guys in the league.

Hockey players are generally stupid. They don't learn. We'll see more incidents like this before the season is out. Its time to start punishing the teams, coaches, and GMs as well when guys cross the line on the ice. Maybe then we will see some changes.

[Stephen]

Mark's idea that teams don't get to replace a the roster spot of a suspended player is a fabulous one. Best deterrent I can think of.

Kick Boulerice out for life? Sure, but Pronger better be leading the way.

[Bill]

I have the same thought as Mark.
If a team has a player suspended for whatever mayhem he has been involved in then the team should be required to dress one less player per game for the duration of the suspension.
Thus the Flyers would be short two players per game until these two psychos are reinstated.
This would send a message to the teams who decide to hire these types in the first place.
Is Philly trying to recreate the Broad Street Bullies?
If so the league better come down hard on them.

[Gary Kirby]

I agree 100% that he should banned for life from the NHL.Funny,two ugly incidents from two players on the same team?
Perhaps Downie should have been banned for the entire season, and was lucky with the 20 game suspension. This should not be based on how badly the other player is injured, but rather on the pre-meditated intent. There is no place for it in the NHL, which has just been given another black eye!

[Adam C]

Ian: Give it time. If they play long enough, they'll do this too. I used to think Tie Domi was a sensible goon, then along came Scott Neidermayer's head.

While this may be guilt by association, would anyone miss these guys? McGratton only plays 90 seconds a game. I've never heard of Parker and I didn't know Parros was still in the league. If all that these guys did was fight, that would be fine; but the majority of multiple game suspensions are given out to this tiny minority of players.

What I'm saying is that by letting these guys in the league, we're accepting that from time to time they're going to cause injuries to players with actual skill. If that's a price we're willing to pay for "entertainment", let's be honest about it.

[vhigge]

[Closed Captioning for the Hard of Hearing.]
__"Get OFF of Me!"
__"Will you stop touching me??"
__"If I have to stop this car, and turn around, and talk to you one more time..."

Paul Maurice.
You'll find his picture in the dictionary under the definition of "intensity"

We now return you to your regular Leaf programming.

[Clarke3]

The suspension was just announced. 25 games. Ridiculous. How about 200.

What about this... any suspended player must be on an NHL roster for his suspension to tick down. That'll get the fringe cement heads out of the game.

The league needs to penalize the coach or franchise for this BS too. Remove draft picks, or something.

Jeez.. it's 2007 now. Bettman... want to improve the game? Stop talking about it and IMPROVE IT! I'm sick of this crap.