Got a question on rule clarification, comments on rule enforcements or some memorable NHL stories? Kerry wants to answer your emails at cmonref@tsn. Ray Ban Wholesale China .ca. Kerry, As many have mentioned, Dan Carcillo can get three, 10 or 20 games for hitting linesman Scott Driscoll on Thursday night. Why such a range of suspendable games in the NHL rule book? Also, have you ever been hit by a player like Driscoll was last night? Or did someone come close? Jason,Markham, ON Jason: Its unacceptable and intolerable for a player, under any circumstance, to deliberately apply physical force in any manner against an official! Daniel Carcillo subjected himself to an automatic suspension under rule 40 when he crossed the line and clipped linesman Scott Driscoll with his elbow. Rule 40 is very specific and unique in that it provides authority for the referee (officials) to impose a player suspension; including a varied range of game numbers. The history of this rule is also unique and was implemented following a hard line taken by the NHLOA in 1982, when players that physically abused an official were given a mere slap on the wrist by the League. This is how it all transpired and as I documented in my book, The Final Call. In my second year in the league, there was more than a growing concern that player violence and disrespect against on-ice officials had escalated beyond anything that could be tolerated by the members of the NHLOA. Referee Andy Van Hellemond was the most high-profile target of player abuse, having been crosschecked in the back by Barclay Plager of the St. Louis Blues and then punched in the chest by Paul Holmgren of the Flyers. Van Hellemond, along with Dave Newell, president of the NHLOA, and legal counsel Jim Beatty, pulled NHL president John Ziegler away from the annual office Christmas party in Montreal on Dec. 23, 1981 in an attempt to convey how serious our concerns were. It was felt that if stronger suspensions were imposed, players would refrain from what had been taking place. The league seemed to prefer the status quo. Beatty then wrote a letter to the NHL, which he released to the media, advising that, because the officials feared that their safety was not being adequately provided for (as the league was obligated to do under the CBA) we would begin "working to rule." The letter clarified what that meant: if a fight broke out, the referee and two linesmen would retreat to the safety of the officials crease by the penalty box. When the combatants had finished fighting, they were to make their way to the penalty box and take their respective seats, at which time the referee would assess the appropriate penalties. This "work to rule" lasted one weekend only and quickly got the attention of the league. In my game in Winnipeg that weekend, Jets tough guy Bryan Maxwell fought an opponent behind the net under the big picture of the Queen. I blew my whistle and the linesmen and I went to the officials crease and waited. The punches eventually slow as the players looked for the officials to step in. When that didnt happen, they stopped fighting, picked up their gloves and sticks, and, obeying the commands of my waving arm, took their places in the penalty box for five minutes. By the time the weekend was over, the NHL agreed to act, and, to the satisfaction of the NHLOA, a "blue-ribbon committee" was created to discuss and implement changes. The panel consisted of general managers, coaches, referees, NHL executives and NHLPA Executive Director Alan Eagleson. The group was given the task of fashioning a rule change to take effect, subject to the board of governors approval, at the beginning of the 1982-83 season. Before the current season finished and the panel got to craft a new rule, Van Hellemond was punched again. This time, Terry OReilly hit him with a wicked right cross to the side of the head during a playoff game against the Quebec Nordiques on April 25 (OReilly was suspended for the first 10 games of the next season and fined $500). After its deliberations, the blue-ribbon committee put forward a tough policy known as Rule 67. This rule called for an automatic 20-game suspension for any player who, "deliberately strikes, or who deliberately applies physical force in any manner against an official." It also specified an automatic three-game suspension for any player who "physically demeans" an official or who "deliberately applies physical force" to an official while being restrained during a fight with an opposing player. In both of these cases, the penalty and automatic suspension were to be imposed by the referee immediately after the game, and the player had no right of appeal! Conventional wisdom at the time was that due to the severity of the consequences there would never be another case of physical abuse against an official. That was until the night before Halloween 1983 when Tom Lysiak was playing for Chicago against Harford and he was ejected from a faceoff by linesman Ron Foyt. After the puck was dropped Lysiak skated through the faceoff circle and deliberately tripped Foyt from behind. The referee in the game, Dave Newell, suspended Lysiak for 20 games. All hell broke loose. Lysiak went to court and got a temporary injunction. Ultimately, the suspension stuck. Unfortunately, Ron Foyt was terminated at the end of the following season, in what many of us considered a case of retribution over the Lysiak affair. The rule evolved into what we now know as rule 40 to differentiate between varying degrees of physical abuse applied toward an official (There was wide gap between 20 and three games). Following the Lysiak court injunction, an appeal process was also added to provide the player with his "day in court." In this case, if Daniel Carcillo is suspended under rule 40 by the officials working the game Thursday night in NY, the League will hold a conference call with the NHLPA to review the Referees application of this rule, and will refrain from issuing public comment affirming the Referees application of Rule 40 until that call is complete. The player (or the officials) may request the Commissioner to review, subject to the provisions of this rule, the penalty imposed by the Referees (Must be filed in writing within 72 hours following notification of the penalty). A hearing will be conducted by the Commissioner on an expedited basis before the second game missed by the player due to the automatic suspension. For Category lll offenses only, the Commissioner may conduct the hearing by telephone. For Category I and ll offenses, the hearing shall be conducted in person. After any review, the Commissioner shall issue an order that: (i) sustaining the minimum suspension, or (ii) increasing the number of games within the category, or (iii) changing to a lower category, or (iv) changing to a lower category and increasing the number of games within this category, or (v) in the case of a Category lll suspension only, reducing the number of games of the suspension. Note rule 40.6 provides that in the event that the player has committed more than one offense under this rule, in addition to the penalties already imposed under this offense, his case shall be referred to the Commissioner of the League for consideration of supplementary disciplinary action. This would be Daniel Carcillos second violation of physical abuse of an official and while that would not have been taken into account by the officials last night, Commissioner Gary Bettman should already have this case moved to his desk. This column is already very lengthy Jason, so I will save player attacks that I personally endured for another time! Cheap Real Ray Bans . Niese pitched seven steady innings on a rainy Tuesday night and Daniel Murphy had three hits to lead New York to a 6-1 victory over the Phillies. Ray Ban Sunglasses Sale .com) - Chris Kreider tallied a goal and an assist as the New York Rangers capped a successful California road trip with a 3-1 victory over the San Jose Sharks on Saturday. http://www.cheapraybanfromchina.com/ . The unrestricted free agent agreed to terms with the club on Thursday on a one-year, two-way deal worth $700,000.The Air Canada Centre has always been a house of horrors for the Ottawa Senators. Steve Thomas. Cory Cross. Gary Roberts. Joe Nieuwendyk. Every Sens fan can tell you with painful clarity how each of those players stung the Senators in the past. So as the Sens get set to face the Maple Leafs in a crucial game on Saturday night, I pondered a very legitimate question: Has Ottawa ever beaten Toronto in a regular season game that mattered at the Air Canada Centre? The only instance I could think of was at the tail end of the 2007-08 season, when the Senators crushed the Maple Leafs with a decisive 8-2 victory. With that win, Ottawa essentially clinched a playoff spot – although they were facing a Toronto team that had absolutely nothing to play for. The worst part is that win actually proved costly, as Leafs forward Mark Bell took out both Daniel Alfredsson and Mike Fisher in that game and neither was available for the playoffs. Even Ottawas lone meaningful regular season victory at the Air Canada Centre came with a massive asterisk. For the most part, Ottawa has enjoyed success at the ACC in the month of October. Their most memorable victories were probably the first ever shootout win in NHL history and Dany Heatleys four-goal performance in an 8-0 win. Both of those wins came just a few weeks apart in October of 2005. You could maybe toss Craig Andersons 47-save shutout performance in his Sens debut into the mix, but that victory came in February when the Senators had already given up on the 2010-11 season. In fact, that Anderson victory at the ACC was an aberration when you look at the Sens record against the Leafs towards the back half of the season. A monthly breakdown of the Sens all-time record against the Maple Leafs paints a pretty clear picture of a team that does well in the first half of the season, but fades down the stretch against their provincial rivals: October: 116-5-1 November: 10-5-1 December: 3-3-1 January: 5-5-2 February: 4-7-3 March: 7-6-3 April: 4-7-0 Of course these numbers only reflect regular season meetings, but if you were to add the playoff numbers to the mix it would only worsen the situation for the Senators. Cheap Ray Ban Sunglasses. In short, the Senators have won 16 times against the Leafs in the month of October in only 22 games. But that is more wins than they have against the Leafs in the final three months of the season combined – and that spans a total of 41 games. To add to the misery, the Senators record against the Leafs in February, March and April in the last five years is a woeful 2-10-0. Its not like Im dragging up ancient history and talking about the playoff series from 12 years ago. This is recent history that has not been kind to Ottawa. Ottawa has lost some memorable regular season games to the Leafs and it feels like all of them have been in the back half of the season. The infamous flu game where Owen Nolan scored the OT winner and said “Boo-hoo” about Ottawa players being sick. Or the 6-0 shellacking the Leafs laid on Ottawa in the regular season finale in 2003-04, which gave Toronto home ice advantage in their subsequent playoff series. And even Nazem Kadris hat trick last March in a 4-0 shutout win is probably near the top of the list. Torontos great regular season moments against Ottawa come in February, March and April, while the Senators big wins seem to occur in October. These are all ominous numbers and stats for the Senators, as they head into Saturday nights showdown against the Maple Leafs at the Air Canada Centre. The calendar has flipped to February and history is not on the Senators side. But if Ottawa wants to make the playoffs this season and head into the Olympic break with some momentum, its time they finally won a game at the Air Canada Centre that mattered for both teams. China NFL Jerseys Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys NFL Jerseys Cheap Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap Basketball Jerseys Online Stitched Hockey Jerseys Wholesale Baseball Jerseys Football Jerseys Outlet College Jerseys For Sale Cheap MLB Jerseys Wholesale Soccer Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys For Sale Wholesale NFL Jerseys ' ' '