Good morning, and happy Monday!
We’ll start with the good news: In case you missed it, the Jackets won last night. Here’s the recap from the Dispatch, and coverage from Fire That Cannon, Martini Hockey, Bluejackets.com, Puck Rakers, and Dark Blue Jacket.
The new Pat Burns Arena officially opened in Stanstead, Quebec.
Now some bad news: In case you somehow forgot, James Wisniewski is expected to be one of three hearings held today by NHL discipline czar Brendan Shanahan. Thanks to HFBoards, we finally have some video of the hit, though it’s not w hat you’d call amazing quality. Start at the 0:34 mark to see the hit by Cal Clutterbuck on Fedor Tyutin that triggered the incident, and the actual hit is at 0:45.
After viewing it several times, here’s my takeaways:
- Despite reports of Wisniewski “chasing” Clutterbuck, Clutterbuck was clearly skating over to Wisniewski and Tyutin as time expired.
- It’s very unclear from the video how Wisniewski hit Clutterbuck, but it is clear that Clutterbuck goes down very quickly when it happens. It almost looks more like Wisniewski brought his forearms up just before he expected Clutterbuck to run into him and clipped him in the head in the process, but I’m still not sure even after watching the same 10 seconds of video ~240 times.
- You can see around the ~:37 mark where Wiz appears to be challenging Clutterbuck to a fight. I almost wonder if he was anticipating Clutterbuck dropping his gloves?
- Even with a camera at ice level it’s a very confused situation.
Now, that said, Wisniewski is going to be considered a repeat offender because of his 2009 boarding suspension and his interpretive pantomime last year. The fact that he’s receiving a phone hearing means it is likely to be 5 regular season games or less. I wouldn’t be entirely shocked if he received 5 + the remaining three preseason tilts…but I could also see a situation where, due to the confusion around the play, he receives some leniency and sits out the preseason + 3 games. I’m very interested to see the video for this from the NHL – I’m really, really hoping they have a better quality feed from the in-arena cameras.
For more thoughts, check out DBJ, Martini, and Light The Lamp.
On a related note, Buffalo’s Brad Boyes was given a first timer suspension for the next two preseason games – check out the video + explanations here. Before people wonder why Boyes was given a ruling yesterday for a Saturday incident, remember that unlike the Minnesota game, the Buffalo / Toronto game was televised, so there was a lot more footage for the NHL to work from, the fact that Buffalo was turning around three games in three nights, and that they’re also leaving for Europe this week.
Aaron Portzline has reports from day 9 of camp, before last night’s game, including more discussion of the Wisniewski hit and coach Arneil’s reaction. The Dispatch is also reporting that Wisniewski will argue his case for a lighter suspension.
Stop me if you’ve heard this before: Jonathan Cheechoo is on waivers.
The guys at Copper & Blue asked who could be the worst team in the Western Conference – and the Jackets were mentioned a few times.
More good news for hockey: David Perron is officially returning to the St. Louis Blues.
Looks like Troy Brouwer will make his debut for the Capitals tonight. We’ll have a game preview with more details later today.
More bizarre news for hockey: Rick DiPietro claims to be healthier than he has been in years.
Finally, Icethetics has a load of jersey news, including the Leafs’ new third jersey.