CBC-Sports

Laraque suspension just

November 24, 2009 11:32 AM | Posted by   Scott Morrison  

For his part Georges Laraque claimed it was an accident.

He insisted he was not intending to take out the knee of Detroit defenceman Niklas Kronwall on Saturday night.

Well, accident or intentional, the Canadiens winger hung his knee out, made knee-on-knee contact with Kronwall, which has left the Red Wing player on the shelf for at least four weeks and likely longer with a sprained MCL in his left knee.

Laraque, meantime, will sit out five games, the penalty inflicted by NHL disciplinarian Colin Campbell.

Careless hit

Five seems like a fair number, though many figured the hit was worth more, and we could have been comfortable with that.

Put simply, the Laraque hit was dangerous and reckless and caused a severe injury.

Accident, or not, it's clear from at least one television replay that Laraque has his leg out and kicks it a bit further at the last minute. Which leaves you to wonder, is he so bad that he can't move quick enough any more, or was it deliberate?

Some sarcastic Habs haters would suggest both.

Fact is, Laraque isn’t fast enough any more and the only way he could stop Kronwall was to react the way he did, which was still the wrong way.

In the end, a fourth liner who averages six or seven minutes a night took out a first-line player with a dangerous hit, causing significant injury.

Players must adjust how they hit

Now, while some may not see the trip being such a heinous act, keep in mind every untoward hit that draws a major injury has to be severely dealt with by the league. Here's why.

With so much attention - and rightly so - to hits to the head, especially the shoulders to the head, incidental or intentional, there will be players who will adjust how they hit. Some will do it now; some will eventually be forced to do it by rule changes.

The point is, on a play such as the one in which Laraque took out Kronwall, in some cases the attacking player might have thrown a shoulder or an elbow in a last-ditch attempt to try and keep Kronwall from getting around him. And that's where we have seen some of the major head blows come.

In this instance, neither happened, which is a good thing, but players still have to get the message that reacting with leg hits isn't a solution either. It's another bad play we don't need to see in the game.

Beyond that, history has proven that any untoward hit requires more than a slap on the wrist to deliver a message. This suspension wasn't overly severe, but it will draw attention and hopefully awareness.

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