Three Games for Doan's hit on Sexton

If you didn’t see either incident as determinative, whatever. The point is, the league seems to have. Doan was not clean enough for them to make this a “no prior record” situation and wait to make an example of the next player. Whether they cared about the punch on Vishnevski or the fact that they had to review two borderline hits from a player in the same game, they clearly factored in who Doan was, just as they did when they chose not to suspend him for punching Vishnevski, even though they said they were going to set a bright line rule that year.

My key point was that it’s ludicrous to try to hold a workplace disciplinary system to the example of the American legal system, especially when that workplace reaches its rules through collective bargaining with a union. If players don’t want to be fined for every little thing, they won’t be. If players don’t want to have to recompensate an injured player for what can be an unintended injury on the ice (and what cannot be recovered by tort because both players consent to the battery that occurs within the context of a hockey game). The NHL is not going to fine Doan for a missed 2 Minute Boarding call on Fowler because it sets a precedent where they could fine guys for every penalty in the book. By contrast, the IRS will throw you in jail for not paying your taxes for a whole heap of social imperatives that don’t exist in hockey. You can’ t just compare them because they both seem to involve punishment to you.

may doughtys legs be broken