A Good Play Gone Bad

Unless you want to change the rules, there's not much that could have been changed about the hit on Mike Van Ryn on Saturday night.

Van Ryn was doing his job, trying to make the toughest, most courageous play in the game, which is hustling back to get the puck in your own zone knowing you're going to get drilled into the end boards.

Don't tell me about the "tough guys" of the games, the guys who scrap. Tell me about the Van Ryns who make that play night after night. Those are the tough guys. Those are the players you need more of to make a tough hockey team.

So Van Ryn was making the right play. So too was Tom Kostopoulos, a 29-year-old winger from Mississauga who isn't in the league to be fancy and score but to skate hard, finish his check and be a grinding forward.

His job was to try to force Van Ryn to turn over the puck, and then create an offensive chance for his team by either motivating Van Ryn not to make the right play or by taking him heavily into the end boards. The one option he doesn't have if he wants to continue making $900,000 a season in the NHL as a semi-skilled laborer is to pull up and not hit Van Ryn.

So you had two veteran NHLers trying to do the right thing. At the last moment, Van Ryn spun back, again trying to make the right play by playing the puck but avoiding the hit. Kostopoulos continued with the hit, and the result was serious injury to the Leaf defenceman and a major and game misconduct for the Montreal forward.

No intent to injure. Just a good play gone bad.

So no, Kostopoulos doesn't deserve a suspension, although the nature of the hit mandated his expulsion from the match. He probably will get at least one game off, however, for making that play in a nationally televised Montreal-Toronto game with the entire hockey world watching. If it happens in Nashville in a game between the Predators and Blue Jackets, we probably never hear about it.

But he doesn't deserve a suspension.

Now if you want to change the rules, that's another thing. If you want to go to no-touch icing, or let the goalies play the puck anywhere they want again, or outlaw hitting within five feet of the end boards, then you might avoid that kind of play in the future.

Otherwise, it's going to happen in this sport of high-speed, violent collisions. But this wasn't dirty. This wasn't Cam Janssen hitting Tomas Kaberle five Mississippis after the puck was gone or repeat offender Ryan Hollweg hammering an opponent from behind for the zillionth time.

But others will differ, and some will suggest the play never would have happened if the Leafs had a goon in their lineup. Those people you'll never convince of anything, and the presence of Georges Laraque didn't stop the Leafs from steamrolling Carey Price on three separate occasions on Saturday night.

The unfortunate thing for Van Ryn is that after missing time last year with wrist problems, his game was coming to together nicely in Toronto, and then this happens. Game's just not fair sometimes.

Comments

[Peter]

Damien, how come it's not Kostopulos' fault to hit somebody from behind and slam him into the boards, but you ripped Hollweg for the same play? didn't he just do his job when he hit Pietrangelo? wasn't that the exact same play?(except he didn't cause any serious injuries...)

[Sandy T.]

"The unfortunate thing for Van Ryn is that after missing time last year with wrist problems, his game was coming to together nicely in Toronto, and then this happens."

Exactly the thought that struck me. I told a lot of disbelieving people earlier this year that if Mike Van Ryn had got past his injury problems he was going to be a lot more than just a throw-in the Leafs had to take if they wanted to dump Bryan McCabe's salary. He showed people around here a lot. The Leafs are going to miss him while he's gone. Let's hope he's not as severely concussed as Aaron Hill, and he's able to recover completely and quickly.

[LT73]

Great post Cox.

What happened on Sat night was complete BS. Why? Because it didn't need to happen:

- Automatic icing

- Automatic 3 game+ suspensions for hitting from behind against the boards

- Automatic 3 game+ suspensions for hitting to the head (think Chris Pronger)

Enough is enough.

[J. Boyd]

Why this league refuses to install the no touch icing rule is a mystery. Two players screaming full speed towards what is essentially a brick wall just makes no sense and adds nothing to the game.

I don't know the exact % of times the forechecker actually beats the defenceman to the puck, but it would be very low. And if it is real close the ref gives the defenceman the benefit of the doubt anyways.

Tap a guy on the shin pad with your stick, it's 2 minutes for slashing, hooking,,,,allow someone to break their neck, no problem, part of the game. Gotta love the NHL.

[Paul G]

Damien, exactly the same hit as Hollweg. You're such a fraud and a joke. If this was another leaf who "isn't in the league to be fancy and score but to skate hard, finish his check and be a grinding forward", you would be all over it. I used to love reading your posts...becaus you were fair. Now, I reiterate, you're just a joke. Go off to your dream job at the Detroit Free Press and gush over your red wings.

[Bill Mogulsby]

Damien I agree with your assessment for once - it's the proximity of the boards issue. You can't prevent this sort of thing with better "hit-from-behind" enforcement because the Hab thought he was going to catch him laterally until Van Ryn turned. To prevent this, the one delivering the hit has to know that any hit - lateral, from behind, face-to-face, will be illegal if the receiver ends up colliding with the boards.

[Father Denis C. Gray]

I agree with Damien that the hit was neither dirty nor seemingly intended to injure Van Ryn.

If the outcome(cause and effect) is to be changed then I agree also that a rule change or more is a must.

No- touch- icing seems simplest of the options mentioned.
The game has become much faster and the players much bigger with equipment that is not only protective but potentially lethal as well.
Those two factors alone can make for serious injury when players collide.

In most in-play circumstances, it would seem unrealistic to expect players to "ease up" when they see the numbers on an opponent's sweater.

And it would seem just as unrealistic for players to avoid using diversion tactics in pursuit of the puck or gaining a positional edge.

[Roberto]

So if a repeat offender like Hollwegg does the same thing it's somehow dirtier than Kotsopolous doing it because he is just doing his job?
Each event needs to be looked at individually, not based on reputation of the player and history.
Hollwegg has had some dirty hits, like this one, and been suspended.
Kotsopolous deserves the same punishment, and if Kyle Wellwood did the same thing so should he.

[Adam P]

Peter, not the same thing.

Not sure if you have actually seen the replays or if you are perhaps just regurgitating what everyone else is saying.

Look at the replay, you will see Van Ryn going to get the puck with Kostopoulos coming right behind him. Van Ryn actually looks over his right shoulder to see where Kostopoulos is. He knew exactly where he was and turned into the boards. They were both committed at that time. It is unfortunate but was not dirty or intent to injure. Players must protect themselves and in this case Van Ryn chose poorly. He knew what was coming and did not protect himself.

[Stephen]

The way I saw it, Van Ryn's vulnerability was clear and Kostopoulos had time to make a decision. He chose to make the dangerous hit.

[Michael]

Damien, I'm not as harsh as a couple of other commenters here, but this hit was basically indistinguishable from Hollweg's, and Van Ryn can't take much comfort that Kostopoulos isn't a so-called "repeat offender." The hit is wrong whether the hitter has done it once or many times, and Kostopoulos deserves a suspension (as did Hollweg). I agree that Janssen's hit was dirtier, but your distaste for Hollweg shouldn't cloud your judgment.

[Nee Da Goon]

Had Wendel Clark, John Kordic or Tie Domi been on the ice at the time of that hit, Laraque or no Laraque, Kostopoulos would have been leaving the playing surface with "5 and a game" and some serious welts on his face.

[John Pelley]

You know what Cox, I've never liked your "let's stir the pot" attitude (Devil's Advocate - What a crock). To even intimate that Van Ryn had ANY responsibility in his resultant injury is heinous. I suggest that you watch the hit again a few times.
The lack of an enforcer in Toronto certainly influenced the amount of borderline to outright foul play by the Canadiens on Saturday night. Here are a few examples that I saw - The slash to Grabovski's wrist, the (uncalled) high stick/crosscheck to Grabovski's face, Price's slash on Grabovski's neck (uncalled), Kostitsyn's charge of Grabovski, Markov's hits from behind on Hagman and Moore, Komisarek's forearm shiver (to Stajan I think), the sneaky Kostitsyn trip of Schenn into the boards (very, very dangerous), the (uncalled) slew foot of Schenn by Tanguay that led to a goal, the crosscheck in the face of Antropov while he was down in the crease (uncalled), and numerous other high sticks and slashes. It was the dirtiest ,nastiest game I've seen in 25 years (Since the old NSHL). The Leafs lost one of their top 3 defencemen, and almost lost two. A bona fide enforcer on the bench certainly would have eliminated a lot of the extracurricular shenanigans that went on (If you don't believe that you never, ever played the game). You look at all the top teams in hockey right now, and they all have enforcers. All you refer to is the leafs running Price?? Are you kidding me, there were loose pucks in play!!??!! The "offending" Leafs were just fighting for a loose puck and contacted Price in the process. A good play gone bad (sic) so to speak... Maybe you should take your bleeding heart elsewhere and cover another sport... Tennis anyone??

[Conn Smythe]

'Unless you want to change the rules, there's not much that could have been changed about the hit on Mike Van Ryn on Saturday night.'

Are you kidding me? Seriously, is this post meant to be a joke?

You like to fancy yourself as some thought provoking hockey writer but you are anything but.

No one dislikes a good, clean check - but a hit from behind is anything but.

No intent to injure? What do you think's going to happen when you hit someone from behind a few feet from the boards?

So Holleweg's hit on Pietrangelo was also just 'part of the game'?

And if something like this happened in Nashville or Columbus we would have heard about it and be discussing it - or maybe you've never watched NHL highlights on TV?

[R Coutts]

Damien, I could agree with the jist of your article except for one very important fact. Kostopulos wasn't just finishing his check. The reason why he could not let up was that he had committed himself by leaving his feet a little to launch himslef at Van Ryn while his back was completely turned. That is completely unacceptable given the situation and Ryan's vulnerability, and fully deserves a suspension of 3+ games.

I do wonder about your supposed objectivity regarding matters relating to the Leafs, given your usual firm stance on these types of hits. I suggest you re-watch the video and re-consider your opinion.

[eyebleaf]

Typical. When it happens to a Leaf, it's not worthy of a suspension. When a Leaf is the aggressor, it's definitely a suspension. Your mind works in mysterious ways, Mr. Cox.

[Alex]

Damien,

Personally I usually enjoy your columns and agree with you on most days. However, for you to say that this hit was a good play gone bad seriously undermines your hockey analysis and your vision.

Kostopoulus had ample opportunity to avoid hitting Van Ryan into the boards, at least 2-3 seconds. Furthermore, if he wanted to "finish his check" why did he raise his hands and cross check Van Ryan? He could have checked him with his shoulder and I'm sure Carbonneau did not think this was a good play as he never have done such a thing as a player!

This was a dirty hit nothing more nothing less, even Kostopolous knew it was wrong as soon as he turned around after the hit. For your sake Damian I hope you are just trying to stir up some controversy. Otherwise if this is truly what you believe, then you have lost one daily reader in me and the star has lost a daily subscription! Good job otherwise.

[Larry F]

You are an ass.

Instead of writing an article condemning the play, hoping to put pressure on the league to rid the game of it, you write an article making excuses for the player. And saying that somehow the Jansen hit on Kaberle was worse shows your complete lack of knowledge on everything dealing with the sport. How is a hit, late or not, that happens 10 feet from the boards worse than ramming a man's head face first into it from 1 foot away?

How ridiculous, callous and cowardly you are and all the players who have done it before and will do it in the future. If you had an ounce of credibility, you would retract this waste of ink.

[GI]

Damian, despite the fact I agree with your assessment of these hits from behind...I really despise this double standard the Toronto media continues to exhibit. If it's a Leaf that does the hitting, he deserves to be suspended and have to get these hits out of the game. If it's a Leaf being hit, it's part of the game. It still boggles my mind when people outside of the city say the Toronto media is biased towards the Leafs when it's actually the opposite.

[Tree]

I think some of you that are criticizing Cox drink the Don Cherry Kool-Aid a little too much. Cherry routinely blames people that get hit from behind for the hit if they turn their back and put themself in a position to get hit from behind - which is what happened with Van Ryn. Of course, Cherry changed course on Saturday b/c it was a Tranna player doing what he'd usually criticize. Their was no intent from Kostopolous - but, that being said, he did deserve the major and misconduct.

Re: comparisons to Hollweg, are you people serious?!? Hollweg's last hit from behind was similar, yes ... the difference? Well, it was a few shifts after returning from a suspension for hitting someone from behind for the THIRD time in 42 games! Hollweg's a chronic offender and didn't even finish 1 game before hitting someone else from behind. You don't give guys that that the benefit of the doubt. So, Hollweg defenders, please enlighten us as to the last time Kostopolous hit someone from behind and got a major before Saturday. Better yet, tell us the last 3 times he did it. I can name the last 4 times Hollweg did it.

[Ryan]

I missed the hit watching the game the other night so i reserved judgement. Eventually I saw a few replays and I think Kostopolous needs to be suspended. Not because it was a HNIC game watched by so many. Simply because it was a dirty hit. Now I am not saying he is a dirty player and he certainly doesn't have a Holweg rap sheet but it was clear to me that he could have laid off the hit that was inevitably going to be from behind. I know the game is played at high speed and it may be difficult to stop, but he didn't even try to let up and I don't think Van Ryn turned into the hit from behind as much as Damien and others seem to think. He deserves a game or two in my opinionbecause of the hit, not the situation.

[brett]

You're pandering to Canadiens' fans again, Damien. Tom Kostopoulos may not have intentionally clobbered Mike Van Ryn, but he did. No matter how you try to slant it the offense warrants suspension, even if the player in question was wearing your favourite hockey sweater.

[Marijan Kalman]

"No intent to injure. Just a good play gone bad"

These two sentences describe whole SICK hockey world.
EVERY HIT is made with intent to injur or kill.

Evey day I pray for someone to "to hit cleanly" Crosby and he dies.
Lets see what NHL and all of these radio hockey idiots comentators are going to say!!!!

Hit from behind and to head:
Coach 50 games- NO PAY
Player suspended -NO PAY- until injured players recover
Injured player recives all suspended players salary.
Refferies who dont call penalty EXPELED same night from the NHL.
Second time offenders out of hockey and NO RIGHTS for pension from union.
Lets see then how many hits you will have from behind.

Even hardcore,like Messier finnaly realized that face masks should be mandatory.

[nugentmania]

Typical dumb Leaf fans, using Hollweg as the comparable. You know, Hollweg....the serial hit-from-behind artist.

[neil no more last name]

BS Damien

Kostopolous doesn't deserve a suspension? Are you joking?
This blog is killing your credibility.

Any player - regardless of there designation and salary should pull up when they see a players back turned.

Kostopolous is no Hollweg, for sure, but it was definitely a dirty hit. And trying to make Van Ryn and Kostopolous Martyrs for your war against the NHL is....

Minimum 2 game suspension for all players - regardless of prior's - who receive game misconducts for hits from behind.

Try to think past your hate-on for MLSE...I know your tired of a Toronto Media that drools over the Leafs, I am too. But don't let your resentment swing so far to the opposite extreme that you can't be objective...

You've turned into a "reverse homer"