Paul Hunter
Sports Reporter
During the summer, the NHL met with players, coaches, managers and owners in an attempt to establish what constituted a suspendable hit to the head. The result was a list of four factors that might cause a head check to require supplemental discipline.
Steve Downie, the league has now ruled, hit for the cycle Tuesday when he leapt to drive his shoulder into the face of Dean McAmmond, rendering him unconscious.
For that ugly blow, one that NHL vice-president Colin Campbell called "deliberate and dangerous," the Philadelphia Flyers rookie was yesterday suspended for 20 games and, perhaps, a new standard was established for disciplining vicious head shots.
By way of comparison, a late, blindside hit by New Jersey's Cam Janssen to the head of the Leafs' Tomas Kaberle late last season drew only a three-game suspension. Janssen didn't leave his feet to deliver the cheap shot.
But Campbell said he wasn't delivering a message to players yesterday. That, he said, was clearly passed on already after the league's summer meetings. Each team received the list of what types of head hits would get a player suspended, an edict backed up by an instructional videotape.
"(When) we sent that tape out, that was the message. This isn't the message. That was the message. I didn't think it was going to happen this soon and I didn't think it would be this clear-cut," Campbell said.
"The players are fully aware of what's not acceptable now."
That four factors that could lead to additional discipline for a headshot are:
When a player targets an opponent's head.
When a player launches himself by leaving his feet to hit a player on or near the head.
When the hit to the head is delivered to an unsuspecting opponent.
The timing (lateness) of a hit.
Campbell, though, made it clear that just because a check is delivered to the head, it doesn't mean a suspension will be automatically forthcoming.
"Any of those criteria could get you suspended. At the same time, we wanted to keep hitting in the game," Campbell said. "And legal checks to the head would be allowed if they were delivered in a legal fashion."
Campbell said the Downie hit that left McAmmond unconscious "crossed the line and crossed the line in a whole-hearted way."
The Flyers grudgingly accepted Campbell's ruling.
"My reaction is that it seems like a lot of games, but Colin Campbell is in a very difficult position and we respect his position and his judgment in this case," said Philadelphia GM Paul Holmgren, who accompanied the 20-year-old Downie to Toronto for his hearing.
"We will live with it. I was with Steve during the hearing and was with him after the verdict. He is very upset and understandably so ..."
Downie was expected to start his season in the minors, but his games will only count against his suspension when he is on the Flyers' roster.
He will have to serve the suspension at the NHL level before he can play an NHL game.
The Senators, including McAmmond, who suffered the third concussion of his career, deemed the suspension appropriate.
"I feel the ruling is strong enough to prevent these things from happening in the future," McAmmond said. "At this point, the NHL needs to make a statement to try to protect players and I hope a suspension of his length will do that successfully."
