Florida Panthers
2-Game Suspension Won’t Teach Tkachuk a Darn Thing [Opinion]
Matthew Tkachuk was suspended two games for putting his stick in the face of goaltender Jonathan Quick. Will this matter?
Matthew Tkachuk’s two-game suspension for poking his stick through Jonathan Quick’s mask will cost him $102,702.70 in salary. That’s likely just a drop in the bucket for a player who recently signed an eight-year $9.5 million per season contract, so it’s unlikely he learns anything in terms of a valuable lesson when it comes to doing something so boneheaded and dangerous.
In the closing moments of the game between the Los Angeles Kings and Florida Panthers, well after the whistle blew to stop play in a 4-3 game where the Panthers were trying to get the equalizer, Tkachuk took the blade of his stick and purposefully stuck in between the holes in the mask of Jonathan Quick. There wasn’t enough force to cause serious injury — and for that reason, he wasn’t suspended longer — but it was an idiotic play that there’s no room for in the NHL. Yet, this is the kind of thing Tkahuck does all the time.
Tkachuk has been suspended three times and fined once over the length of his 443-game NHL career, often for decisions that most hockey players simply know not to make. As skilled as he is, his propensity to cross the line over the course of a game has gotten him in trouble with the league more often than most players. Tkachuk claims the play was unintentional, but that’s a flat-out lie. The video shows how he curves his stick to get as much of the blade inside the mask as possible. This was a clear intent to get at someone’s face, if not someone’s eye. It’s the kind of decision, that if things go right wrong can end someone’s career.
The video that came from the NHL DoPS said:
“It is important to note that this is not a reckless or careless use of the stick during a normal hockey play. Rather, this is a controlled and purposeful stick directed at the head of an opponent. While we have heard Tkachuk’s argument that he was not intentionally aiming for quick’s face in an attempt to injure him, he was intentionally using the blade of his stick to hit an opponent in the head, making contact with his face. And while this stick is delivered without substantial force, it is only because of the lack of force that this play is not met with more severe discipline.”
There’s no arguing that Quick sold the infraction. He flopped around in the hopes that the officials would notice and it worked. That doesn’t change the fact that the move was insanely dangerous, despite there being a mask on to limit any potential damage.
In the end, this won’t cost Tkachuk much and he’ll sit out a couple of games in the nice Florida weather ready to come back in this week and potentially do it again. The only hope here is that, like Brad Marchand seems to have done in Boston, Tkachuk grows out of whatever phase it is that he’s in where he thinks only about himself and not long enough to realize that his actions have consequences. Let’s just hope he doesn’t seriously hurt someone before that day comes.
Next: Jack Campbell Has Harsh Critique of His Own Play for Oilers
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