Where Is the Justice?

With Chris Pronger's 8-game suspension for stepping on the leg of Vancouver's Ryan Kesler this past Wednesday comes, hopefully, a flurry of furor and question over the time.

Why?

Well, first off, Islanders fans especially will want to know why on earth this guy didn't get 30 games like Chris Simon did, as it was essentially the same action (although perhaps decidedly more dangerous). Coach Ted Nolan ponders that, as told to Newsday's Greg Logan: "Yeah, a crime's a crime whether it's the first time or not. A crime's a crime."

That it is. And how convenient, that the punishment for this crime just happens to end in time for Pronger to come back for the postseason.

Conspiracy? Don't think so. Double-standard? Absolutely. Pronger has had eight suspensions in his 14-year career. By now I would say he is due for a lengthy time away from the ice- at the absolute least, 15 games. But of course, good old Colin Campbell fell very short of the standard he so pompously set in December when he suspended Simon for his incident with Jarkko Ruutu. He failed to make it a strike, as I had hoped for when Colton Orr had concussed Matt Cullen in late December as well. Instead, he'd dropped the ball completely.

With this, the NHL has shown its bias, in all its grotesque colors.

Greg Logan - http://weblogs.newsday.com/sports/hockey/islanders/blog/2008/03/nolan_same_crime_same_time.html

Sports Illustrated- http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/hockey/nhl/wires/03/15/2040.ap.hkn.ducks.pronger.suspended.1st.ld.writethru.0296/index.html