John Scott Suspension: 7 Games, Will Not Appeal

[SwampD]

I don't care how many games he gets, as long as that was his last one in a Sabres uniform. Regardless of the hit last night, I just don't understand the point of having a one dimensional player like that gets you. This team is clearly rebuilding and has decided on a youth movement. What is the point of having a fighter that no one will fight on the ice, especially with the instigator rule? I would rather see any number of never-will-be's on the fourth line to provide energy.

 

As for the hit, it was clearly dirty. The hit did not seem all that late, but was clearly predatory. I love hockey, but I hate this BS where some thug, takes out a top player. Watching the low-light of Scott grabbing Kessel last night further strengthened my position. This guy does not belong in the league.

Neither do Euros who admire their passes.

 

:devil:

[That Aud Smell]

I'm not man-crushing here.

 

The comparison to Kaleta is not an apt one. Kaleta has a set of skills (chief among them, speed and quicks) that qualify him for 4th line (possibly 3rd line) play in the league, and certainly second unit PK.

 

Play a physical, intimidating game, and continue to develop as a defensive forward, with possibilities of playing on the PK.

 

God, no. No.

[SwampD]

So, are we not allowed to complain about other things today.

[Ross Rhea]

It was a targeted shot to the head by a goon on a star player. There's nothing "good" about the hit. The hit is an embarrassment for this franchise.

 

No, the non response of the team when Lucic ran over Miller was an embarrassment for the franchise.

[lalalalalaFontaine]

FWI...Back in the day, Eriksson would have been criticized for not having his head up in the neutral zone. I loved Mike Peca and he made a career out of these type of borderline checks. It is (was) hockey. And did Chris Neil get a suspension for the shot on Drury a few year's back? Nope... That hit was soooo much worse than this. I just think it's hilarious listening to the pundits talk about how horrible it is to have John Scott in the league. When they all played the game, each team had about 3 or 4 John Scott's and the game was a lot cleaner because of it. Milbury is a tool. He was the epitome of a POS "hockey" player and can't complete a sentence without slobbering all over himself.

[IKnowPhysics]

No man crush here. I have a distinct level of respect for those that educate themselves (and complete their education), especially in technical fields, while performing as student athletes. I also have a distinct level of respect for those that engage in pugilistic competition as a profession, and are able to manage that aspect of themselves in order to lead generally good lives away from their profession. I mean, imagine getting paid to get pounded in the face, and then coming home to be a good husband and father. That kind of work/life balance is improbably difficult.

[Who Else?]

Neither do Euros who admire their passes.

 

:devil:

 

Neither do North Americans who cannot take or recieve a pass. Well that pretty much sums up the whole line up

[That Aud Smell]

No man crush here. I have a distinct level of respect for those that educate themselves (and complete their education), especially in technical fields, while performing as student athletes. I also have a distinct level of respect for those that engage in pugilistic competition as a profession, and are able to manage that aspect of themselves in order to lead generally good lives away from their profession. I mean, imagine getting paid to get pounded in the face, and then coming home to be a good husband and father. That kind of work/life balance is improbably difficult.

 

I hear you. I like the guy a lot as well.

 

But he's not an NHL hockey player.

 

To points that have been raised recently, a TSN writer tweeted about how the hit that Scott made is the same one that Scott Stevens made a career out of (and in so doing ended Lindros's career). Times have changed.

[Who Else?]

I hear you. I like the guy a lot as well.

 

But he's not an NHL hockey player.

 

To points that have been raised recently, a TSN writer tweeted about how the hit that Scott made is the same one that Scott Stevens made a career out of (and in so doing ended Lindros's career). Times have changed.

 

Scott Stevens did more than just dirty hits. he made a living by being a shut down defensemen. The dirty plat was just icing on the cake. John Scott makes his living by being big and not getting into fights.

[Kristian]

I hear you. I like the guy a lot as well.

 

But he's not an NHL hockey player.

 

To points that have been raised recently, a TSN writer tweeted about how the hit that Scott made is the same one that Scott Stevens made a career out of (and in so doing ended Lindros's career). Times have changed.

 

Yeah, headshots are out.

 

Driving players headfirst into the boards or stanchyons are in.

 

If your name is Chara or Mike Richards that is. NHL and their hypocrite crap as always.

 

Wanna suspend Scott? Fine. Then how come Chara got nothing when he tried turning Pacioretty into a vegetable 18 months ago?

 

This league is a joke, if ever there was one. Call the game even for everyone, or shut the ###### up, Shanny.

[LoveAndWarrener]

Yeah, headshots are out.

 

Driving players headfirst into the boards or stanchyons are in.

 

If your name is Chara or Mike Richards that is. NHL and their hypocrite crap as always.

 

Wanna suspend Scott? Fine. Then how come Chara got nothing when he tried turning Pacioretty into a vegetable 18 months ago?

 

This league is a joke, if ever there was one. Call the game even for everyone, or shut the ###### up, Shanny.

This.

[Ross Rhea]

John Scott is on this team because of what Milan Lucic did to Ryan Miller. Do people forget that?

[IKnowPhysics]

But he's not an NHL hockey player.

 

So let's assume that there's no place in the league for John Scott or Patrick Kaleta, and take those guys off the roster. Examine that Buffalo Sabres roster, sans Scott, Kaleta. Who holds the abilities of other punks accountable, like Thornton, Neil, Prust, and McLaren? Who answers the bell to quell their shenanigans? Do you trust or expect the league to officiate their sullen activities out of the game? Especially with Shanaban at the helm? I don't. No way. Just because the ###### that populate the fourth lines of the league learned how to skate, thereby replacing the heavyweight enforcers, doesn't mean it's improper to keep a heavyweight around.

 

Now let's assume that the league eliminates those types of 4th line shenanigans. Who answers the bell when an offensively productive player commits an offense. You KNOW the league won't legislate that out. Lucic? Chara? Nothing.

 

As long as fighting is a part of hockey, and it will be for a long, long time, John Scott has a commodity he can sell to an NHL team. Like Ray, Barnaby, McCormick, Peters, Kaleta, I'm glad he's on our side.

[Who Else?]

John Scott is on this team because of what Milan Lucic did to Ryan Miller. Do people forget that?

 

And what has John Scott done to Milan Lucic? Let him Pound Kaleta?

[lalalalalaFontaine]

Yeah, headshots are out.

 

Driving players headfirst into the boards or stanchyons are in.

 

If your name is Chara or Mike Richards that is. NHL and their hypocrite crap as always.

 

Wanna suspend Scott? Fine. Then how come Chara got nothing when he tried turning Pacioretty into a vegetable 18 months ago?

 

This league is a joke, if ever there was one. Call the game even for everyone, or shut the ###### up, Shanny.

 

Agreed... This league is turning into nothing more than a good ol' fashioned men's hockey league. The game of hockey is a violent game and always has been. It's why we all love it so much. There is such a fine line between a good hard hit and missing the target and catching someone in the chin. The inconsistency with suspensions and the whining pieces of sh$ts like Milbury are making this league a joke.

[26CornerBlitz]

The Sabres will effectively be down to 21 players on the roster with both Kaleta and Scott suspended. Makes a really bad roster situation even worse by limiting team flexibility.

[JJFIVEOH]

All this nonsense by the NHL is just another step towards ridding the sport of hitting and fighting. They don't want to come out and outlaw it, so let's just gradually penalize players for doing it. If I had to guess, the vast majority of these suspensions have had little to no malicious intent. These guys aren't going to go out and purposely try to injure somebody when they know they're not going to get away with it. If you were to take all the factors of a hit into consideration, the extremely limited amount of time to make the correct decision and the speed of the game, most of these hits are not intentional. At the moment Scott decided to hit Ericsson, Ericsson had possession of the puck. By the time he got rid of the puck, there were milliseconds to make the correct decision. In an extremely short amount of time, there were inches between making a clean hit to the chest and hitting him in the head. It's an unfortunate, untimely situation. But it's a situation that will happen in a contact sport with guys skating around at high speed in an enclosed area. The league has gotten the players to think 'I better not attempt to hit anybody because there is always a chance it might not end up the way it was intended.' Before you know it, there will be no more hitting and fighting and the NHL will go by the way of NASCAR. Dull, boring, lifeless events where the governing body has removed as many risk factors as possible and in turn removed all entertainment value.

[IKnowPhysics]

In fact, the writing's on the wall. The Sabres NEED grit and toughness on the 4th line.

 

They just waived a player (Porter's down) to make sure they have it while Scott and Kaleta are out (McCormick's up).

[thesportsbuff]

I say 5 games, only because we already know it will be an in-person hearing (meaning likely 5+) and Ryan Garbutt was recently handed a 5 game suspension for a somewhat similar hit. Anything more than 5 is ridiculous, as John Scott has no prior history. If not for the Garbutt suspension I would say 1 or 2 games. But I guess the bar has already been set for this season.

 

I was at the game and I thought it was a late hit live. Just my initial instinct, but if the NHL says otherwise, I won't argue it. He clearly made contact with Eriksson's head but as has been brought up, the size difference played a big role in that. Some people calling it an elbow though -- absolutely not. The elbow comes up on the follow through, as is often the case with hits like that. I don't believe the elbow made contact -- it was all shoulder.

 

I think the backlash today is ridiculous. Milbury really got people fired up. It was a dirty hit, he should be suspended, but people asking for 10 games? 15? Or, even if half-joking, saying they should "kick him out" out of the league. And the funniest part is he's on a line with Grigorenko, a young rookie we want to develop -- but apparently everyone thinks we aren't allowed to play the fourth line in the third period?

[lalalalalaFontaine]

All this nonsense by the NHL is just another step towards ridding the sport of hitting and fighting. They don't want to come out and outlaw it, so let's just gradually penalize players for doing it. If I had to guess, the vast majority of these suspensions have had little to no malicious intent. These guys aren't going to go out and purposely try to injure somebody when they know they're not going to get away with it. If you were to take all the factors of a hit into consideration, the extremely limited amount of time to make the correct decision and the speed of the game, most of these hits are not intentional. At the moment Scott decided to hit Ericsson, Ericsson had possession of the puck. By the time he got rid of the puck, there were milliseconds to make the correct decision. In an extremely short amount of time, there were inches between making a clean hit to the chest and hitting him in the head. It's an unfortunate, untimely situation. But it's a situation that will happen in a contact sport with guys skating around at high speed in an enclosed area. The league has gotten the players to think 'I better not attempt to hit anybody because there is always a chance it might not end up the way it was intended.' Before you know it, there will be no more hitting and fighting and the NHL will go by the way of NASCAR. Dull, boring, lifeless events where the governing body has removed as many risk factors as possible and in turn removed all entertainment value.

 

:thumbsup:

 

The league honestly believes that by removing enforcers and fighters from this game that there will be fewer of these incidents. It will be just the opposite.

[MDFan]

It clearly was his shoulder not his elbow. It did not look late to me either. The players stick was still in follow through from the pass. He was caught with his head down and any contact with the chin was unintentional. At least that is the way it looked to me. None of that matters because he will be screwed by Shanahan and vilified anyway. As for Milbury, he has always been a jerk. As for Julien, no one goons it up like the Bruins. The fact that they were not last night does not change the fact that more often than night, on any given night, a Bruin player or two or three will make a borderline hit, cheap shot, or outright intent to injure play.

[Hoss]

I'm baffled that there are people on here that are able to say, with a straight face, that he didn't hit him in the head and that it's a legal hit.

[qwksndmonster]

I really take issue with how much scorn Scott is getting for this hit. If Malkin made that hit on Gerbe he'd maybe get suspended 1 or 2 games, probably not. But because John Scott, a borderline 4th line nuclear deterrent, drove his shoulder into a shorter players head he's all of the sudden the worst guy ever. It was a predatory hit, for sure, but Scott wasn't targeting his head.

 

As for the argument of whether or not John Scott is an NHLer, I say that he is. Scott plays simple and uses his frame to win board battles, but he needs linemates who will grind it out with him and skate to loose pucks. Porter and Kaleta are ideal linemates for Scott. Speedy and gritty. Rolston is neutralizing Scott and Grigorenko's usefulness as hockey players by putting them on the same line.

[That Aud Smell]

As for the argument of whether or not John Scott is an NHLer, I say that he is. Scott plays simple and uses his frame to win board battles, but he needs linemates who will grind it out with him and skate to loose pucks. Porter and Kaleta are ideal linemates for Scott. Speedy and gritty. Rolston is neutralizing Scott and Grigorenko's usefulness as [a] hockey players by putting them on the same line.

 

[LaLaLaFontaine]

It was a devastating hit. If Scott would have been Chara and Erikson Vanek this forum would cry for blood.

 

The funny thing is that Chara would not get a suspension for this hit and NBC would cheer about the toughnes of Chara.

 

I liked hat hit for one reason: REVENGE!!!

 

It should have been Lucic but i can live with Erikson.

 

And yes it was a bad hit, which could have also be done by Kronwall. Suspension in games for this hit done by: Chara none, Kronwall none, Scott as non Buffalo player 5 games, Scott as Buffalo player 10 games +fine for Rolston.