HockeyMario's message good for NHL, plus 30 thoughts

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New York Islanders' Michael Haley, left, and Pittsburgh Penguins' Craig Adams fight during the first period of Friday's game. In total, there were 346 penalty minutes, 10 ejections, 15 fighting majors and 20 misconducts handed out in the contest. (Mark Lennihan/Associated Press)

The morning after the Canadiens and Bruins brawled in Boston - complete with goalie fight - the Devils played in Toronto. The players' reaction at the two teams' morning skate? "We need more of that in our league," was a pretty common answer.

While I wouldn't go that far, I'll be the first to admit I watched every second of that brawl. It was entertaining and it was passionate. By hockey standards, it wasn't that bad, although Tom Pyatt may disagree. (More about that later.) But, by about 9 p.m. ET Friday night, we'd remembered why you can't allow players and teams to push that line. You can't trust them. Eventually they go too far.

Mario Lemieux might feel the NHL didn't go far enough (Matt Cooke later, too) but his statement is actually good for the league, because it underlines severe punishment is necessary, even if fans love the mayhem. In anticipation of Revenge Night in Nassau, the Islanders had their sixth-largest crowd of the season.

Two NHL coaches - one current, one former - said watching Penguins/Islanders was the first time in a long time they thought a game "looked scary" in terms of attempt to injure. Considering the incidents we've seen over the years, that's really something. Even Howie Rose, the Islanders play-by-play voice, said things went "even beyond what we thought it might've become."

In retrospect, we shouldn't have been surprised. Calling up noted minor-league hothead Micheal Haley, who fought three Flames after Dion Phaneuf hit Kyle Okposo in the 2009 pre-season, was somewhat of a clue. Several Maple Leafs said Trevor Gillies skated over the red line during the warmup of their game Tuesday to slash Phaneuf. They complained about it, but the camera that's supposed to watch this was pointed at Kevin Poulin, who suffered a season-ending injury at the same time.

Given license to avenge Rick DiPietro and Blake Comeau from the previous meeting between these two teams, New York lost all sense of self-control. That Gillies bit with Eric Tangradi was sickening, and the $100,000 fine probably had a lot to do with the door being left open so the massive Islander could taunt the fallen Penguin. Undoubtedly, Lemieux is angry that Matt Martin only got four games for his sucker job on Max Talbot, while Haley got nothing at all. I'm sure Lemieux is also wondering how, after fighting Talbot, Haley was allowed to skate down the ice to get at Brent Johnson. (I really don't like admitting this, but seeing how that game was going, if I was Dan Bylsma, I'd have told Eric Godard to get out there. If I was Godard, I'd have gone without being asked. Yes, Johnson showed he's tough, but Haley's not in his pay grade.)

The only thing missing was the Screaming Buffalo, Clarence Swamptown, chasing Tyler Kennedy. The Islanders saying they were frustrated because the Penguins get preferential treatment is a total non-starter. There is not a team in the NHL - or its fans - who thinks they are treated fairly.

In Game 3 of their famous 1982 playoff series, the Oilers led Los Angeles 5-0 in in the second period. They were openly laughing at the Kings' anemic power play, just like the Penguins laughed at New York when Johnson decked DiPietro. How did LA respond? With six straight goals and "The Miracle on Manchester."

The sad things about Friday's lunacy? Haley's first NHL goal, which should be a momentous occasion, barely registered. Meanwhile, the Islanders were labelled an embarrassment on a night they won 9-3. That should have been the sweetest revenge of all.

30 THOUGHTS

1. Will Commissioner Gary Bettman fine Lemieux?

2. While Lemieux is absolutely right to be angry about the deliberate attempts to injure on Friday night, the Penguins - and their fans - cannot use the excuse that Matt Cooke's collisions come within the "context of the game." Number one, they wouldn't make that argument if Cooke wore another jersey. Number two, ask any other player if Cooke-created injuries are unavoidable or unintentional.

3. Underreported in light of the Andrew Ference/Daniel Paille controversy, Brooks Orpik to The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review on Cooke's four-game suspension: "I think it's fair. That's a dangerous hit." Good on you, Brooks.

4. Final note on Friday night: It's tough to take the league's outrage 100 per cent seriously when the NHL Network is announcing it will replay the fightfest Saturday afternoon. Do like that the league put Lemieux's statement on NHL.com.

5. After the 2009 season, the competition committee was asked to vote on banning MMA-style forearm punches. The impetus was this fight between Brad Staubitz and Jordin Tootoo. The idea didn't get enough support. Will the damage Gregory Campbell's elbow pad did to Pyatt force anyone to re-consider?

6. There will be a lot of Peter Forsberg jokes now that he's retiring, but I'm sympathetic. In a recent interview with Patrick Roy, he talked about how much a player misses competition once their careers end. "Thank God I have this [coaching the Quebec juniors] to replace that," he said. In Forsberg's case, it hurts even more when injury prevents you from going out the way you want.

7. Don't think, at the end of the day, Los Angeles was that close in the Mike Fisher sweepstakes. But Carolina sure was. It is believed the Hurricanes had the best offer for Fisher. The Senators did a solid, though, by sending their long-time centre where he wanted to go. Players will take notice of that.

8. Curious to see if the Senators will take on an NHL salary in any trade. It appears the preference is not to do it. Several teams are trying the same approach.

9. Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli told sports radio WEEI that he'd consider trading Toronto's pick if the right deal came along. If Chris Phillips waives his no-trade, no doubt Bryan Murray tries to use the added flexibility of the Nashville first-rounder to pry it from his former front-office partner. Don't think that's enough, but you can't shoot a guy for asking.

10. If Zach Bogosian was available? Now, we're talking. It's believed the Thrashers asked Boston about Mark Stuart (Craig Ramsay likes him), and the two GMs started spitballing. Here's the thing about Bogosian, though: Atlanta pledges not to make the same mistakes as 2007, when it mortgaged the future for Keith Tkachuk. Trading him, less than 200 games into his career, would violate that Prime Directive. He's going to figure it out and I'm not sure I would do it without getting an impact player and the pick.

11. By the way, Bogosian's brother, Aaron, is getting a look as an undrafted NCAA free agent out of St. Lawrence.

12. What happened yesterday in Buffalo is believed to be one indication of why Lindy Ruff has not signed a contract extension with the Sabres. He doesn't have a backup he trusts - hasn't had one in awhile - and, therefore won't rest Ryan Miller.

13. The Predators traded a first-round pick while Anaheim traded a prospect, Jake Gardiner, who was a first-rounder in 2008. What do those teams have in common? The Predators, who have never won a playoff series, and the Ducks, who have had attendance issues, want to show their fans some success. But, more importantly, these are deep organizations who do a great job of scouting, drafting and development. They can afford to take the chance.

14. In Gardiner's case, Bob Murray was a longtime NHL defenceman, while scouts Glen Cochrane (Mark Howe's old partner) and Jeff Crisp have a great reputation for selecting blueliners. That led me to wonder if Anaheim saw a flaw, but Murray simply decided to pay Toronto's price for taking Joffrey Lupul's contract. Another scout wondered if the Leafs made the deal with the idea of an eventual Gardiner/Keith Aulie's pairing.

15. Doesn't sound like the Kings will trade Brayden Schenn unless it's total panic. They really like him. Sounds like Edmonton asked about him when LA poked around on Ales Hemsky, and were rebuffed.

16. Not convinced Curtis Glencross is a five-star lock to leave Calgary. More and more players are considering "good fit" scenarios in a cap world. Calgary is certainly good for Glencross. If the Flames are willing to be creative, it increases their chances. So might retaining Brent Sutter, whom Glencross clearly likes.

17. Asked a player in a similar situation to Glencross if he wanted to sign with his current team. "No." Why not? "Because I'd rather test free agency than get a new deal and risk being traded anyway." Never really thought of that.

18. Lost in all of the Long Island weirdness is Michael Grabner, quietly having a terrific rookie season after driving two other organizations crazy. And I was impressed by Mikko Koskinen. Pressed into emergency duty against Toronto, he gave up goals in the first two NHL shots he faced, but rebounded with wins over Montreal and Pittsburgh. How you perform in unexpected situations says a lot about someone.

19. Big decisions coming for Steve Yzerman. He said he was going to build slowly. But, the Lightning are second in the East, with Pittsburgh in question because of Malkin/Crosby injuries. Will he go for it? Dwayne Roloson didn't cost much. 

20. Can't remember who pointed this out to me, but Yzerman used "Grind Line" philosophy in signing Nate Thompson to a  two-year deal worth $1.8 million. He saw how Draper/Maltby/McCarty made a big difference in Detroit and wants that in Tampa.

21. One Canadien said "you can't overreact to one game out of 82," when I asked about the Boston beating. He pointed out that if the win was supposed to be so big for the Bruins, why did they lose 6-1 to Detroit on Friday? His answer: "It's tough to keep that emotional high."

22. That said, Montreal's coaches did challenge their players to be better in a lot of ways Saturday against Toronto. There was team defence, play without the puck, forwards coming back to help out and, even though assistant Perry Pearn wouldn't go there, playing tougher.

23. Mathieu Darche got a call from his mother Friday morning, telling him there were reports he's gone for the year. Apparently, that's not true, but Canadiens players were warned against discussing injuries.

24. Maxim Lapierre for David Desharnais is a big upgrade for Montreal.

25. The Jack Adams Award is going to be a brutal vote. Boucher, Ramsay, Tortorella, Vigneault, Crawford, Trotz, Richards - and probably someone who makes a late run. How do you pick three, never mind one?

26. Curious how Calgary announced Alex Tanguay had a concussion and changed it to a neck injury. Crosby said he had a similar problem, not a concussion, after getting hit by David Steckel. Hopefully, Tanguay - and the Flames - will be careful.

27. As aggravated as Tomas Kaberle and the Maple Leafs are at one another, if the team offered him a decent contract, he'd probably take it. Don't think that will happen, though. As for where he'd go if asked, you'd have to think the club is operating off the list he submitted last summer. Think Eastern teams with a chance to win.

28. Wrote a couple of weeks ago about the Leafs asking Phaneuf to control his shot. When the coaching staff was in San Jose, it did the same thing with Christian Ehrhoff. Phaneuf should listen.

29. Bryan McCabe wants to stay in Florida. The Panthers desire to trade him. Teams want him. He's got a no-move. How's this one going to play out?

30. Look at some of the major news announced last week. Francois Beauchemin trade: Ducks Twitter feed. Mike Fisher trade: Predators Twitter feed. Evgeni Malkin injury: Penguins Twitter feed. Anton Volchenkov suspension: agent Jay Grossman's Twitter feed. Keith Ballard injury update: Mike Gillis Twittter feed. I'm not one of those who believes it's the Seventh Sign of the Apocalypse, but it's interesting to see where this is going.

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