London Knights Sim suspended five games for name calling
The landscape of hockey is changing, and due to that, there has been a rise in instances where suspensions have been handed out across the board for words more than actions. Although the punishments may have been justified, have they gone too far? In the case of London Knights forward Landon Sim, it's possible, but difficult to say.
Sim, a draft pick of the St. Louis Blues, is the son of former NHLer Jon Sim, who carved a career through sheer determination and toughness. The younger Sim was suspended five games not for what he did but for what he said, and without justifying what he said was right, one should wonder what precedent the Ontario Hockey League is setting with such a stiff punishment.
While it's important to treat your opponent with fairness, respect, and dignity, it should be noted that almost every player who takes a shift during a game has things slip from their mouth. Does this warrant a suspension every single time? Five games is such an arbitrary number in this case, and one has to wonder if the OHL did this on purpose, knowing that the team or player can't appeal the suspension because it wasn't more than ten games.
If this scenario is David Branch taking one more kick at the cat levelling discipline, he sure did a good job, but at what expense and cost? Sure, the game has changed, and safety is paramount for everyone involved, but honestly, you need to ask yourself what's next. While Sim's vocabulary, which is in question, was not rather appropriate, is the league or even the CHL going to be holding a fine-tooth comb over each game moving forward, making sure what can be misconstrued as disparaging remarks can't be said?
Only time will tell.
| POLL | ||
How many games should Landon Sim have been suspended? | ||
| 0 | 178 | 74.8 % |
| 1-2 | 24 | 10.1 % |
| 3-5 | 15 | 6.3 % |
| 5+ | 21 | 8.8 % |
| List of polls | ||
