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NHL Under Fire For Mistreatment Of Canadian NHL Team
There's quite a buzz and social media uproar over Bobby McMann's ejection from the Toronto Maple Leafs game against the Anaheim Ducks last night. McMann was tossed after a hit on Pavel Mintyukov near the boards. What's stirring the controversy is that a hit by Nick Cousins of the Florida Panthers the night before seemed more severe and went unpunished.
McMann's hit, labeled as boarding, resulted in a five-minute major and a game misconduct. Meanwhile, Cousins hit on Juuso Valimaki of the Arizona Coyotes the previous night appeared much worse, yet not only did he avoid penalties, but Jason Zucker of the Coyotes got a three-game suspension for retaliating.
The reaction to McMann's ejection has been largely negative.
"NHL hiring IIHF refs? That's a clean hit. Shoulder to a guy that sees the hit coming & tries to brace it by turning to finish shooting the puck. So McMann gets 5 min for being the stronger guy in the collision? C'mon. Hockey is still a physical game whether people like it or not."
"Guy goes into the boards like a child. Face first for some reason.
There is nothing about what McMann did that was unclean. 5 and a game?
When will the refs wake up?"
There is nothing about what McMann did that was unclean. 5 and a game?
When will the refs wake up?"
"The wild thing about the McMann hit is I don't think I've seen anyone argue it should have been more than 2 mins and probably not even that; including fans of other teams. Do you know how bad a call has to be against the Leafs for rival fans to go 'I don't know about that one...'"
As of now, it's uncertain if McMann might face additional discipline for the hit. The major penalty ensures a review by the NHL's Department of Player Safety.
| POLL | ||
JANVIER 4 | 333 ANSWERS NHL Under Fire For Mistreatment Of Canadian NHL Team Do you believe Bobby McMann's should have gotten a major and a game misconduct? | ||
| Yes | 146 | 43.8 % |
| No | 187 | 56.2 % |
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