Duncan Keith Suspended Six Games

To the non-sporting world, a hockey stick can be construed as a weapon. For safety reasons, “your stick, your responsibility” is the mantra. Good life advice.

Rules are Rules

It is the hockey player’s duty to be in command of his stick at all times. There are rules about high-sticking, slashing, tripping, and the like to curb how players use their stick. Of course, there are accidents and in such a physical game like hockey, it is impossible to be in full control of one’s stick all the time. Thus, when issuing penalties, referees, and sometimes those in the NHL’s Department of Player Safety, do take into account when those accidents happen and whether premeditation or intention are a factor.

On Tuesday, March 29th when the Minnesota Wild hosted the Chicago Blackhawks, two-time James Norris Memorial Trophy winner, three-time Stanley Cup winner, 2015 Conn Smythe Trophy winner, and Blackhawks’ assistant captain Duncan Keith did something that can be only described as dumb hockey. After falling from a body check given by the Wild’s Charlie Coyle which landed Keith flat on his back, he then took his stick and struck Coyle in the face.

The referees immediately issued a five-minute major and ejected the Blackhawks defenseman from the game for intent to injure. On Wednesday, the NHL suspended Keith indefinitely and offered him an in-person hearing for the incident.

Since Keith was offered an in-person hearing, a suspension of five games or more was expected. According to Chris Kuc of the Chicago Tribune, there was a delay because “the League was still working with the Hawks on logistics.” However, Keith waived the in-person hearing to expedite the process and opted for a phone hearing. The hearing occurred Friday afternoon.

Many analysts expected that he would not be available for the beginning of the playoffs. Luckily for Keith, Coyle did not suffer a serious injury as he returned to the game and has remained in the line-up since. However, factors such as intent and having already been suspended twice since 2012 did not bode well when determining the length of the suspension. While technically not a repeat offender by NHL standards (incidents occurring within 18 months of the current infraction), it would have been hard to believe the league would not take a look at his prior offenses.

As mentioned earlier, sometimes accidents do happen on the ice. For example, a player may be checked along the boards and will temporarily lose control of his stick because of the force of the hit. If his wrist goes slack, the stick may inadvertently hit another player in the head. A high-sticking penalty will still be called, but it will be a minor penalty given that there was no intent to harm and no blood drawn.

This clearly was not the case here. When Keith hit the ice, one can see he took about a second or two to register what happened; Then there was a slight pause. In that pause, the Blackhawks defenseman, clearly retaliated by gripping then swinging his stick right at the unsuspecting Coyle’s head. In no way, shape or form can it be denied that Keith did not know what he was doing. Earlier in the game, Coyle had tripped Keith, though no penalty was called, and that may have been further angered the Blackhawks defenseman.

When Keith hit the ice, one can see that he took about a second or two to register what happened; Then there was a slight pause. In that pause, the Blackhawks defenseman, clearly retaliated by gripping, and then swinging his stick right at the unsuspecting Coyle’s head. In no way, shape or form can it be denied that Keith did not know what he was doing. Earlier in the game, Coyle had tripped Keith, though no penalty was called, and that may have been further angered the Blackhawks defenseman.

In no way, shape or form can it be denied that Keith did not know what he was doing. Moments before the penalty, Coyle had tripped Keith, though no penalty was called, and that may have angered the Blackhawks defenseman. However, that is in no way an excuse for Keith’s actions.

Third Time Is Not the Charm

This is not the first time or second time, but the third time that Keith has been in hot water with the Department of Player Safety, which leads many to question whether he is a dirty player. The first incident happened on March 21, 2012, in a game against the Vancouver Canucks.

On the play, Keith elbowed Daniel Sedin in the jaw. It was a rather serious injury as Sedin was unable to return to the game and was out with a concussion for 12 games. One of the infamous Shanaban videos was released to explain the five-game suspension that followed.

It is interesting to note that Brendan Shanahan, then senior vice president of the Department of Player Safety (DoPS) at the time, did not make a direct assertion as to whether intent was a factor in making this decision though it was discussed. When describing the play, Shanahan merely gives a factual account rather than expressing an interpretation of what he saw.

“Keith closes on his opponent and extends his elbow, striking Sedin in the face.”

Shanahan goes on to say,

“Regardless of Keith’s assertion that the intent on this play was to impede Sedin’s progress as opposed to retaliation for an earlier hit, Keith’s hit was still dangerous, reckless, and caused injury.”

Although intent was discussed since it is mentioned that Keith argued he was attempting to stop Sedin rather than trying to dish out revenge, it was not the main issue in this particular incident.

When deciding on the number of games to suspend Keith, it appears that the “dangerous, reckless” play, as termed by Shanahan, that did result in an injury was the central focus. Considering that this happened in the post-Sidney Crosby-concussion era, and the NHL was attempting more transparency, it makes sense that they would try to concentrate on this aspect. Perhaps the one thing in Keith’s favor was that he had never been in trouble before, except for a fine. Though he still got five games.

In his second run-in with the NHL DoPS, Keith took a high-stick to Jeff Carter of the Los Angeles Kings during Game 3 of the 2013 Western Conference Finals, a series which the Blackhawks won before going on to win the Stanley Cup. He was suspended for one game in that instance.

Two Wrongs Do Not Make a Right

In the Stanley Cup playoffs, emotions run high and often amok. Carter took a slash at Keith’s ungloved hand, which was a bit of a cheap shot, but Keith’s reaction was still inappropriate. He clearly used his stick to hit Carter, though he may not have been aiming for his head.

In this case, he was suspended one playoff game, which usually carries more weight than a regular season game. It might be something like two or three regular season games to one playoff game.

As opposed to the incident with Sedin, Carter was able to return to the game and did not seem to suffer any serious injury in the days following. That may have contributed to a lesser suspension though the league was definitely going to respond to a hit to the head.

On Friday evening just before the Blackhawks took the ice in Winnipeg, the NHL announced that Keith will be suspended for six games. He was suspended for the game against the Jets Friday night already due to the match penalty, the remaining four games on the Blackhawks regular season schedule, and their first playoff game. Patrick Burke, Director of Player Safety, issued a video describing how the decision was made.

During the game, Coyle and Keith had been crossing paths, including the moments leading up to the high-stick. In fact, Burke concedes that Coyle is the reason that Keith is flat on his back, but when deciding on the terms of the suspension, Burke argues,

“This is irrelevant when we discuss Keith’s actions. Even if Coyle tripped Keith intentionally, it would not in any way excuse a response of this kind.”

Moreover, he terms Keith’s reaction as,

“an intentional and retaliatory act of violence by a player who has a history of using his stick as a weapon.”

Perhaps the only saving grace for Keith was that Coyle was not seriously injured on the play. With the NHL taking closer looks at head shots, he is lucky that he only cut Coyle’s nose and left him with a black eye.

Keith has since apologized to Coyle, which the Wild player accepted. It seems the two have buried the hatchet, but it remains to be seen if the past can really stay in the past the next time these two teams meet. All eyes will be on Keith the new time the Blackhawks take on the Wild.

With this third incident, which is pretty egregious, the question emerges as to whether Keith is a dirty player or not.