Stop sign

Darryl Boyce stood before the media Thursday with a battered and swollen nose that would give Tim Hunter's beak a run for his money. Despite the pain he must have been feeling, Boyce flat-out refused to point the finger at the player who very recklessly injured him not less than 15 hours earlier.

"The game is so fast and there are split-second decisions," Boyce said. "I'm sure he didn't mean it and it's just part of the game. It's tough to look at it on tape and to slow it down. It's definitely not that slow out there on the ice."

The he Boyce speaks about, of course, is Jody Shelley of the Philadelphia Flyers. A player with a limited skill level who makes his living as a much-traveled enforcer, Shelley hammered a vulnerable Boyce from behind face-first into the end boards at 12:34 of the second period.

For his efforts Shelley first had to fight Toronto's enforcer, Jay Rosehill, then he was ejected from the game for intent to injure. It was a despicable, reprehensible play -- the kind the NHL talks about trying to eliminate, or at the very least reduce. In fact, head shots and hits from behind were the focus of a DVD that was produced by the NHL and the NHL Players Association and distributed to all 30 teams.

Players don't seem to be getting the message, though.

"Every game it seems somebody does it," said Leafs hopeful Matt Frattin. "When you see numbers (on the back of an opponent's jersey) and you're taking a guy into the boards you should be lifting him up and guiding him into the boards instead of making contact and trying to push him through the boards. I guess that's just hockey ... the quick plays and the reaction time. People have different mindsets for that play."

Leafs coach Ron Wilson was asked about the hit, naturally, but refused to condemn Shelley.

"We have laws against speeding; we have drunk driving laws; you can be executed if you kill somebody and it doesn't stop any of those things from happening," Wilson said. "It's human nature. The game is very fast and if you just stop thinking for a split second, those kinds of things happen. (Shelley) caught him in a vulnerable position and he gave it a little extra oomph behind (the hit).

"If a player deliberately turns at the last second then it's not going to be a penalty. If a guy sees an opponent coming and at the last second he turns, then it's going to be the player that gets hit's fault. I know Jody and he feels remorse today. That's not the way he plays."

In fact, Shelley does have a history of hitting players from behind when they are vulnerable. He served a two-game suspension last season for nailing Boston defenceman Adam McQuaid from behind; a similar hit to the one he inflicted on Boyce Wednesday night.

With Shelley being a two-time loser, it made it easy for Brendan Shanahan, who takes over from Colin Campbell as the NHL's sheriff in charge of discipline, to hand out a stiff suspension. And he gave him a 10-game suspension, including the rest of the pre-season and five regular-season games.

Shanahan's real challenge will be when he has to deal with a skilled player who does the same thing.

Given the fact head shots and hits from behind have been such a hot-button topic the past few years, it was surprising to some that such a lethal -- illegal -- hit would be delivered in the pre-season. It wasn't a shock to all players, however, even if they agree it has to be eliminated from the game.

"I wouldn't say it was a complete shock," said Leafs defenceman Luke Schenn. "Anything can happen at any given moment. You don't always know what a guy is thinking out there, but I do know that we were shown a video from the league before the first exhibition game which showed us the fine line between a legal hit and an illegal hit as well as hits to the head so we should be aware of what is right and what is wrong. If a guy's numbers are facing you then you obviously want to let up a bit and guide him into the boards."

Schenn believes players have to take responsibility for their actions.

"Guys know the rules ... they have to stay within them and have respect for one another," Schenn said. "You are taught that from minor hockey when you have a stop sign on the back of your jersey. Obviously there will be times when a guy makes a quick turn on you and he is facing the boards and it's too late for you to let up, but when you see numbers right from the start you're not going to finish the check and put a guy in danger."

As for Boyce, he's in a dogfight to make the team so even though his nose was broken, there he was going all out in practice at MasterCard Centre Thursday morning. Boyce, you'll recall, suffered a very serious nose injury last year. He hit a hole in the glass where photographers shoot pictures through and very nearly tore his nose off.

"I'm just trying to get passages to breathe through in my nose right now," Boyce said. "It's a little clogged up with blood clotting, but as long as I am able to breathe I should be okay. I feel good. It was just a minor setback in the second period. I had to make sure my head was clear and get my nose bandaged up so I can get back out there for the third."

Veteran hockey columnist Mike Brophy will cover the Toronto Maple Leafs for sportsnet.ca for the 2011/12 season.