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Tuesday, August 7
League far from soft on McSorley

By Al Morganti
Special to ESPN.com

If you were looking for a new "baseline" in terms of length of suspension when the NHL finally ruled Wednesday on the case of Boston Bruins defenseman Marty McSorley, you got a phantom number in terms of the 23 games remaining in the regular season -- plus the playoffs.

NHL vice president Colin Campbell would not specify what would have been done if the incident in which McSorley swung his stick and hit Donald Brashear had happened much earlier in the season. However, by adding the playoffs as an open-ended situation, it is clear that 23 games was not the maximum due McSorley.


	This incident not only will affect McSorley's chances, and desire, to play again but also will impact potential coaching opportunities.

At this point, the Boston Bruins are on the edge of even making the playoffs. However, they are a team which could make the postseason, and it's not unreasonable to add at least another eight to 10 games to that number.

In other words, when you take a closer look at the punishment, it looks like a clear message that if another NHL player decides to use his stick as a weapon in a similar fashion, he would be looking at about 40 games minimum, or half a season.

That is a very strong message. And although those who were calling for a "lifetime ban" will think the NHL was soft on McSorley, this is the league's boldest verdict in response to on-ice problems.

The suspension is also open-ended, in that McSorley was not at the hearing (on advice of legal counsel), and he wanted a 48-hour postponement to consider any legal proceedings being considered by the Vancouver Police Department. The NHL wants McSorley to meet with commissioner Gary Bettman before the suspension is finalized.

There is also the matter of the injury to Brashear. Although Campbell tried to sidestep the suggestion that there is a new standard when it comes to suspensions in which there is injury, it is very revealing that the suspension will not be finalized at least until the extent of Brashear's injury is clear.

"A concussion is a difficult (injury) to get a handle on and assess," said Campbell, who has had to deal with that injury all-too-often over the past two years. Although Brashear appears to be doing well, and could play within two weeks, Campbell warned that some players have setbacks, which is a reminder of what happened to stars such as Paul Kariya and Pat LaFontaine.

Campbell tried to make to make it clear that it was the act of McSorley hitting Brashear with his stick on the temple which makes this case different, but can there be any such differentiation the next time a player gets cheap-shotted into the boards with a cross-check and then suffers a concussion? . Despite Campbell's protests to the contrary, it would appear there is a new precedent being set for such injuries after illegal hits.

Will McSorley retire?
When McSorley did not attend the meeting, there was much speculation that he had decided to retire. After all, he is 36 and in the final year of his contract with the Bruins, and there had been whispers that some Bruins management people had suggested to McSorley that retirement might be an option.

However, McSorley's agent, Mike Barnett, made it clear to the NHL that his client did not intend to retire. The question now becomes, how easy it will be for him to find a job next season?

There should not be any problem in terms of the league leaving the suspension open-ended. NHL Chief Legal Officer Bill Daly made it very clear that McSorley could meet with Bettman as soon as he wanted, and then as quickly as Brashear's medical condition is stable, the decision could be "finalized."

However, any team which decides to sign McSorley will have to consider the risks of a player whose career is winding down, and the issue of McSorley's battered reputation. "Unfortunately," said Campbell, "probably his (McSorley's) legacy will be this incident."

Maybe so, but through the years, McSorley has made many friends in the NHL, not the least of whom is Wayne Gretzky. If you noticed, Gretzky was not among those talking about the "horror" of the incident. Not that he condoned it, and surely he was as horrified as anybody, but he was more likely quiet out of respect for a former teammate and friend.

With so many people as character references, McSorley is likely to find a job in a league which will expand to 30 teams next season. And, by the way, would it be a bad thing for an expansion team to have Marty McSorley?

It's not about fighting
If you had any doubts about the NHL's stance on fighting, all you had to do was listen to Campbell scoff at the suggestions that the McSorley incident had any relationship to fighting.

It seems very clear that the NHL does not want to deter fighting any more than it already does -- and there really aren't very many fights any longer, about one every two games, and they disappear in the playoffs.

However, for those who ever used the argument that hockey needs fighting or the players would revert to stick work, take a look at example A:

McSorley and Brashear had a heavyweight fight, and later in the game it escalated into a stick-swinging incident. There goes the fighting-stops-stickwork theory.

Pacific heights
Why are the Dallas Stars in such a state that they had a team meeting after Monday night's loss to Nashville? Maybe because the best race in the NHL isn't for first place overall, and it isn't for one of the final playoff spots in either conference. The best race is between the Stanley Cup champion Stars and the Phoenix Coyotes for first place in the Pacific Division.

The winner will likely get the second seed in the conference, and the loser is likely to get a fifth seed and a first round meeting with either Detroit or St. Louis.

The Stars got some good news in that Jamie Langenbrunner won't need surgery for an injured neck, which should help a depleted lineup. As for the Coyotes, they've lived through turmoil all season, so some wild trade rumors as they head toward the trade deadline shouldn't disrupt their locker room.

It would still make sense that the Coyotes get something for free-agent goalie Nik Khabibulin before that deadline. It could mean the difference between first and second in the division, or more to the point, the difference between winning a playoff round for the first time since moving to Phoenix and another first-round exit.

Turning around the Hab-nots
Whether or not the Canadiens make the playoffs, coach Alain Vigneault has turned in one of the best coaching jobs in the NHL. Montreal has been hammered by injuries costing the team close to 400 man-games, and Vigneault has managed to keep his team in position to make a playoff run.

The Canadiens' win streak is now up to six games, and the best news is that Saku Koivu is finally healthy and back in the lineup.

Sharpened Sabres
It's no coincidence the Sabres have started to play better with the return of Dominik Hasek. Buffalo is starting to look like a playoff threat, as Hasek is 4-0-3 since returning from a groin injury. Since the All-Star break, he is 4-0-2, with a 1.12 goals-against average and a .959 save percentage.

As for the rumors about Mark Messier going to Buffalo, yes, the Sabres would have interest, and yes, Michael Peca has already stated he would give up the captain's "C" for Messier. But Peca can keep that "C" stitched on his jersey. Remember, Messier has to approve a trade, and while he would likely say "yes" to Toronto, New York or New Jersey, it's not likely he'd relocate in Buffalo.

For those teams looking for a veteran center other than Messier, check out Chicago, where the Blackhawks are ready to listen to offers for Doug Gilmour.

Philly must deal excess strength
Three reasons the Flyers have to move some muscle by the trade deadline: Sandy McCarthy, Craig Berube and Gino Odjick.

Unless the Flyers have mistaken the Stanley Cup playoffs for the strong-man contest on ice, they've got way too much of the same sort of artillery for the postseason.

And has anybody noticed that Brian Boucher appears to have taken away the No. 1 job from John Vanbiesbrouck?

Trouble looms for Rangers
After a terrible start, the Rangers picked up some momentum while star defenseman Brian Leetch was out of the lineup with a broken arm. So when Leetch returned to the Rangers, it should have been a boost, right?

Not exactly. The Rangers won just two of his first eight games back. Now the Rangers head into the final quarter of the season with a killer schedule, including two games against the Sabres and Hasek over the next week.

Al Morganti covers the NHL for ESPN.


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