You could make a case that the season-long suspension of Michael Liambas was too harsh and thus, unfair.
After all, it is highly unlikely when the Erie Otters forward set his sights on Kitchener Rangers defenceman Ben Fanelli he intended to brutally injure the 16-year-old rookie playing in just his seventh game in the Ontario Hockey League. The hit left Fanelli with a fractured skull and orbital bone, and he remains in Hamilton General Hospital.
Liambas, an energy player with the Otters, was only doing what was expected of him - playing physically. A left winger who only has five goals in 174 career games, Liambas's 357 penalty minutes in those 174 games gives you an idea of his modus operandi.
And therein lays the problem: He was just doing his job.
What matters most, though, is not what Liambas meant to do. It's about a young boy in a hospital bed with his future in doubt as the result of what transpired in a hockey game. Get that? A game.
Have we reached a point in hockey where we have to change our expectations of players? Has the game become so wide open and fast that players are now in danger of being seriously injured every time they skate onto the ice? In reducing obstruction, have we put a target on the game's best players and declared open season on them?
For the most part, NHL players have no reason to think beyond delivering the big hit game in and game out. Already this season we have seen serious injuries to Jonathan Toews of the Chicago Blackhawks and David Booth of the Florida Panthers; both direct result of crushing body checks. The other night on just his third shift of the season, Toronto's Phil Kessel was belted with a devastating hit by Tampa bay defenceman Mattias Ohlund, but somehow managed to avoid serious injury. Last night Tampa Bay rookie Victor Hedman left with a suspected concussion after being blasted by Ottawa's Chris Neil.
Fans love big hits! I love big hits! It would be crazy to try to legislate them out of the game.
But times are changing. Those big, open ice hits that we all love are leaving players - star players - sidelined for long periods of time. We need to discuss if the cost of the big hit is too high? At some point the safety of the players has to be taken into consideration. It needs to be more of a priority. Because of changes made in the way the game is played, players are at a greater risk than ever of being injured.
By suspending Liambas for the rest of the season, including playoffs, commissioner David Branch has now given the players in his league a reason to think before they act. It used to be if you saw an opponent in a vulnerable position, you took advantage of the situation by belting him as hard as you could. Now, if a player in the OHL sees an opponent in a vulnerable position, he'll have to make a quick decision on how hard he delivers his hit. Does he want to separate the player from the puck or the player's head from his body?
Frankly I don't think there was much wrong with the Liambas hit on Fanelli. Borderline charge? Perhaps. Fringe boarding infraction? Maybe.
But when a player is left broken, battered and bleeding on the ice, all bets are off. Branch has to sell his league to future players and making sure there is a safe playing environment is his No. 1 priority.
"I would say without question the injury played a factor," Branch told sportsnet.ca. "Without question. The two driving points from our perspective is players must understand they will be held accountable for their actions. A lot of them play the game on the edge, as they say. As well, we all must work together to improve the level of respect that we have in our game."
By all accounts, Liambas is a fine young man. Sherry Bassin, who owns and manages the Otters, confirmed it; so that's good enough for me.
But is Liambas a scapegoat? Sadly, that may be the case. The way he delivered the hit on Fanelli was exactly how players have checked opponents for years. If Fanelli isn't seriously injured, Liambas goes merrily on his way in his effort to play professional hockey.
But that was not the result of this hit.
If Branch's harsh decision to suspend Liambas for the remainder of the season makes hockey players stop and think about the respect they show one another, then it is the right choice.
